Again this year’s race round the Isle of Wight was very popular for Weymouth sailors with 9 local yachts taking part.
IRC – Farr Out, Arcsine, Wild Fire, Draig O’r Mor, Keoma, Crew Cut
ISC – Effusion, Echo, Tumba Rumba
Inbetween the atrocious weather we have been having so far this summer the brisk southwesterly forecast promised to provide a fast trip from Weymouth to Cowes and around the 50 mile course. The start times this year were very civilised by usual standards with our boats starting around 8 o’clock.
I was sailing on Ricky Bruton’s Elan 295 Effusion in ISC Div 6C with the Ricky, Bill, Debbie, Caroline, and Jaine. I was back in my old position on the front which promised to be very wet – so on went my skiing thermals under my wet weather gear – a decision I didn’t regret !
With a fresh SW breeze the Squadron line was slightly biased to the Island end but with the expected usual pile up at that end and difficulty tacking out on port with starboard boats we decided to opt for clear air somewhere between middle and the port end. Rehearsing the approach to the line always goes well before the start, it’s when a hundred or so boats get in the way that the preparation goes to pot. That said, we had a good start, on starboard, on the correct side of the line, in clear air, with no incidents – about as well as can be expected for a RTI start !
With the tide ebbing our strategy was to stay in the main channel with the stronger current which worked well, apart from a crash tack when our concentration lapsed on port – that woke us up and it didn’t happen again ! Jaine’s boots full up after 20 minutes – only 7 hours to go !
Hurst narrows were typically congested and choppy. We tacked against the Shingles in the stronger current to round the Needles and Varvassi taking no chances with the sneaky inside passage. As we got settled in Freshwater Bay the kite went up which worked well for quarter of an hour or so but we dropped it as the gusts increased and it was clear we wouldn’t carry it to St Catherine’s.
Rounding St Catherine’s the sea state increased and the spinnaker went up again – this time on a dead run. Bill did a great job of riding down the waves although I was terrified when each time I looked up at the pointer I saw we were sailing by the lee ! We overtook a lot of boats and made good ground until a broach ended up with a Chinese gybe. Down came the kite – no injuries to crew or boat.
At Sandown Bay once we’d composed ourselves, the spinnaker went up again and we continued the sleigh ride including a conventional gybe to Bembridge (thanks Caroline !). At this point we all breathed a sigh of relief as the kite was dropped – that was the last we’d see that flying today !
We went inshore at Ryde Sands and tacked away when each wading seagull was spotted. Fortunately we managed to escape ploughing furrows in the Island – others were not so lucky. The decision to stay close to the Island in the shallow water to escape the flooding tide worked well compared with the surrounding fleet, although the gusty conditions in Osborne Bay (aka the Norris Nadgers) were a bit testing, particularly for Ricky who had been trimming the main for over 7 hours. Even in the lulls, because of the flat water, we managed 6 knots.
From the headland no more tacks were needed and after double checking which of the two finish lines to cross we finished the race in 7 hours 46 minutes.
Well done to the crew – we finished first in division and 21st out of 750 ISC boats.
You can check our tracks on the Race Player
Submitted on 3rd July 2012