Sun shines for Regatta

The beaches were literally packed with huge crowds of people who had come to enjoy the feast of powerboat racing, activities and competitions running throughout the weekend.

Regatta Group chairman Terry Mills said his first year at the helm had gone extremely well and he thanked everyone who had made the regatta such a hot success.

"We got the crowds we were hoping for," he enthused.

"The whole event was just brilliant and it was so nice to see it all come off. The weather gods were certainly smiling on us, too!"

Terry said that Regatta Group vice-chairman Margaret Higgins and he were considering doing it all again next year, but they hadn't made any definite decision.

A few tweaks here and there meant that this year's Regatta was a lot less spread out than it had been in previous years.

The powerboat pits were no longer up-river in the marina, but were brought into the throbbing hub and set up at Banjo Road. The entertainment was also moved from the Oyster Pond to the Green, which made for a heady atmosphere as everything was brought together.

"I think it was a lot less disjointed. As a powerboat racer, I have always spent the Regatta weekend up at the Marina, so to be down in the main area was absolutely brilliant and it all worked very well," Terry added.

With so much going on in the river, at sea and on land, wherever you were, there was always something happening.

And it was thanks to Keith Croft and his partner in crime JT that everyone knew exactly what was happening and when. They did an absolutely first-class job at compering throughout the day and added to the already fantastic atmosphere.

At sea on both days, there was powerboat racing and ZapCat racing to watch, as well as a search and rescue display on Sunday morning.

Children were by no means bored with the crabbing competitions on both days and plenty of activities on The Green to keep them entertained, such as the art drop-in workshop held on Sunday.

The Green was full of stands and displays, including the Littlehampton Lions Club, the Royal Navy, Littlehampton Museum and the Littlehampton Bonfire Society.

The river was no less interesting as visitors sat and fed the swans, while watching everything from the Thames barge Victor chugging in and out to a super display of Topper dinghies by the Arun Yacht Club and Arun Youth Junior dinghies.

Arun Yacht Club cruisers and Tempests could also be seen leaving and re-entering the harbour as they took part in a race from Western Beach.

Saturday evening's entertainment went down a storm with crowds on the Green as DJ Tony Jay spun the discs to begin the proceedings.

Cheers went up as Forever Young took to the stage, before talented musician Ben Waters wowed the audience with his superb jazz and blues at the piano.

The climax on Saturday night was the fabulous fireworks display by the riverside, which prompted plenty of oohs and ahhs from the excited crowd.

Terry particularly wanted to thank Regatta Group members Keith Croft, Nick Boffee, Margaret Higgins, Kevin Weller and Martin Osborne, for the amount of effort and hard work they had poured into this year's event.

He also wanted to thank Sentinel Security, who gave their services free of charge for three days, 1087 ATC for providing night security, the Littlehampton Town Council's A team, Colin Hitchcock, harbour master, and his team and Tony Donald, firework organiser, and his team.