Last Minute Packing and off tomorrow

Posted at 6:45 AM, Saturday, June 27, 2009

Have just recovered from last weekend.  Someone remind us we are not 25 any more!  The Round The Island Race was tiring enough, but the bike ride rounded it all off. 

Monday and Tuesday I felt like the walking dead.  Although we did complete both OK.

Had a great boat race but not so good results. 

Leg one down to the Needles saw some brilliant navigation from pal Derek put us in all the right spots to pick up tidaly streams and arrive there as one of the first in our 'black' fleet.  Busy as it always is, we suprisingly found ourselves usually with clear air, so popped out around the Needles to hoist a kite a run off before a medium westerly breeze.

A couple of gybes to get us into the southern coast saw us open a big rip along the spinnaker foot so Rob laboured down below taping it all up and once repacekd by Karen and Rob in double quick time, off we went doing still quite nicely.

St Catherines and the run up to Bembridge Ledge saw the wind softening but both Tom (the younger) and Steve ground away on the winches to allow Matt and Tom (the elder) to get the most from the sails.and as we closed the rounding mark we found the whole of the earlier fleets parked up drifting in zero breeze. 

We slid towards them gently but ourselves came to a stop and then watched the rest of the combined fleets - which we'd worked so hard to get away from earlier in the day - slide down towards us on a brand new breeze.  Very frustrating - but the race started all over again from that spot - meaning we all knew the result was going to be a lottery.

Lotsa fun with 1,000 yachts all trying to round Bendridge Ledge buoy at the same time and in a drifting wind.  Fortunately most saw it for what is was and there were more smiles and apologies than cursing and shouting - but eventually we got round and beat our way up to the Horse Sands Fort and our entry back into the eastern Solent. 

It was here close tacking inshore we really lost our race.  Swagman is not a nimble boat to throw around and with the whole race fleet together including hundereds of smaller boats able to spin on a dime, we seemed to spend nearly an hour clearing the point and getting in over Ryde Sands and out of the ebb tide.  Phew.

Good close reach up to the finish line saw us crossing in company with other bigger and indeed some much raceir yachts, but we all knew already that the silverware was going to the smaller boats in the fleet. 

We finished half way down our 'black' division 125 boats so not as good as last year, however was placed close to 130th in the full fleet so did achieve our top 10% goal.

But it was a longish but super day out with some really lovely people.

Thanks go to Rob for calling most shots.  Derek for great navigation. Karen for so quick spinnaker packing and always wide awake to what was going on around us, Matt and Tom the elder who nursed our main (one of the deck fittings lifed half way out so full pressure could never be applied without risking it being ripped out completely), Steve and Tom the younger for super grinding work.  All did a great job, 

We dropped off Karen, Derek, Matt and Tom the elder into Cowes and sped back to Lymington under motor with Steve and young Tom and Rob.  Parked Swagman up by 9 pm and Rob and I streaked  eastward in the car to Brighton.

Got there by 11 pm feeling a tad jaded even after a cleansing ale.  Guess it was due to us being up at 5 to prep the boat and a later drinking night on Friday.

But up again Sunday at 4.30 to jump the bus to London took some effrot - then 60 miles later we all slid back into Brighton on our bikes! 

Was not all bad.  Two pals Madelaine and Will prepped a fabuous picnic hamper we all tucked into at Turners Hill (half way), but just about collapsed into my pudding once we'd shared an evening meal and a few bears later that night.

All in all a super packed weekend - but it has left us with a couple of jobs to re-sort on the boat before we leave. 

Aim to do that tomorrow on the early ebb tide - possibly slide straight down south to either Cherbourg or maybe Alderny.  But lots of packing still to do today so best end this now!

Cheers

John and Sue