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THE 2011
NEWSLETTER
OF THE
EAST ANGLIAN
OFFSHORE
RACING
ASSOCIATION
IN THIS ISSUE
Prizewinners 2011
Chairman’s Report
EAORA Entries
EAORA Week
Winning EAORA & J NATIONALS
My First Fastnet
Rolex Middle Sea Race
and more...
EAORA Prizegiving 2011 2011 EAORA
Prizewinners
OvERAll CHAmPIONSHIP REd dRAGON TROPHy COlONElS TROPHy
BlACkwATER CUP (Winning team for RORC East Coast Race) (Goblets, Pattinson Cup and Sunk Race)
1st Fay-J 1st Crouch Yacht Club Inn Spirit
(Stan Fenton) 2nd Royal Burnham Yacht Club (Alan Bartlett)
2nd Inn Spirit 3rd Haven Ports Yacht Club
(Alan Bartlett) dOlPHIN AwARd
3rd Heartbeat IV NORE COmmANd TROPHy (Top Boat EAORA & Sail East combined)
(Judy & Jason Payne James) (Winning team for Thames Estuary Race) Inn Spirit
1st Crouch Yacht Club (Alan Bartlett)
ClASS 1 2nd Haven Ports Yacht Club
CARmEN CUP 3rd Royal Burnham Yacht Club COASTAl SERIES
1st Inn Spirit 1st Inn Spirit
(Alan Bartlett) STAR TROPHy 2nd Amazon
2nd Heartbeat IV (Awarded by the EAORA Committee) 3rd Fay-J
(Judy & Jason Payne James) Brian Bolton 4th Heartbeat
3rd Oystercatcher XXVIII (EAORA Race Officer)
(Richard Matthews)
CHARlIE mIllS mEmORIAl
ClASS 2 TROPHy
BARNARd CUP (Best EAORA boat in the RORC North Sea Race)
1st Fay-J Tonnerre de Breskens III yOUTH PROGRAmmE AwARdS
(Stan Fenton) (Piet Vroon)
2nd Amazon yOUTH PROGRAmmE TOP BOAT
(Tony & Chuffy Merewether) dAvId GEAvES TROPHy (Best EAORA boat 10 races with four discards)
3rd Upstart (Most miles races in EAORA, RORC & RBYC Inn Spirit
(Tony & Tim Cross) Williwaw) (Alan Bartlett)
McGregor IV
ClASS 3 (Peter Ward) TOP OffSHORE CAdET
GUNflEET CUP Ellie Bates
1st Cosmic Dancer III NAvIGATORS CUP
(Russell and Karen Walker) (Awarded by EAORA Committee) mOST PROmISING
2nd CTP Fay-J OffSHORE CAdETS
(Mike Celis) Nigel Cook Robbie Hooper
3rd Harvest Moon Will Harvey
(Paul Drew) ROyAl THAmES CHAmPIONSHIP
OvERAll CAdET HIGHEST OffSHORE
lIByA CUP Class 1 Inn Spirit mIlES RACEd
(Maximum Points No Discards) (Alan Bartlett) Ben Harden
1st Inn Spirit Class 2 Fay-J
(Alan Bartlett) (Stan Fenton) TOP JUNIOR CAdETS
Class 3 Cosmic Dancer III Grace Payne-James
INTER-ClUB CHAmPIONSHIP (Russell and Karen Walker) Katy Scott
1st Crouch Yacht Club
2nd Royal Burnham Yacht Club
3rd Haven Ports Yacht Club
Front Cover - Fay-J
2
Report from the Chairman So in no particular order:
2011 Report from the Chairman
EAORA and the Crouch Yacht Club celebrated the
Judy Payne-James Centenary Houghton Cup which is one, if not, one of the
oldest offshore races in the World.
Some of you will remember, from my earlier letter this
year, the EAORA Committee had looked very closely at 100 years ago Commodore Sidney Houghton presented
how we could simplify the nature and timing of our races, the cup to represent a test of seamanship, navigation and
simplify the compliance issues for regulations, understand endurance and the race certainly delivered on that. With
the pressure of diminished leisure time and sharpen the a 120 mile course around most of the East Coast wind
programme with a view to appeal to a greater range of farms, mirroring where possible the original race course,
boats. competitors experienced sometimes frustrating conditions
with the faster boats kedging during the night by the Outer
In order to achieve this, we felt EAORA racing needed Gabbard wind farm.
to become more inclusive, easier to start racing in and to
participate in and most importantly deliver a programme Line honours were taken by the renowned Piet Vroon in
of races which was relevant to the needs of yachtsmen and “Tonnerre de Breskens 111” but the smaller boats maximised
women today. on different wind patterns, were able to save their time and
it was seasoned EAORA competitor Russell & Karen Walker,
New initiatives were introduced such as the Special Regs. in their Baltic 37’ “Cosmic Dancer 3” revelling in the perfect
ISAF Cat. 4- shorter Coastal series, the skipper’s own safety conditions and winning the Houghton Cup overall.
self- checking, later seasonal programme starts, back-to-
back races with bank holiday deliveries home, feeder races The early season races were windy to say the least with the
to get boats to key regattas and also assisting in the process Royal Burnham Yacht Club’s Ralph Herring, West Mersea
of getting your IRC rating. Yacht Club, Pattinson Cup & Royal Ocean Racing Club /Royal
Harwich Yacht Club North Sea Races experiencing winds of
With a worsening & uncertain financial situation, now 30 kts plus.
undoubtedly affecting virtually all boat owners and crews,
I am very pleased to report that EAORA has finished the The North Sea race, 220 miles to Scheveningen, was
2011 season with 35 boats racing (one of the best years described as one of the coldest and hardest for 25 years for
since 2002) 753 offshore miles completed, new boats, new the 11 EAORA boats that took part, out of the 35 boat IRC
crews, more youths, new member clubs and a strong bank fleet.
balance.
A hard, foul-tide beat, for most up to Smiths Knoll, took its
We know that it will take time and patience to see the full toll through the night with many crew suffering with cold
benefits of these changes and so the Committee remain and extreme sea sickness. The EAORA fleet, used to these
positive and committed to carry on the constant dialogue testing conditions, did not disgrace themselves with all
needed with our competitors and other associations on boats finishing in the top 20 of the overall results ( & top 5
the East Coast... to ensure that EAORA delivers what the of each of their classes) and one of the star performers was
modern offshore racer needs. Angus Bates in his J122 “Assarain” winning Class IRC 2.
Traditionally at this point the Chairman’s report goes Special mention must go to the EAORA cadets (Ben
through a précis version of each race weekend but with Harden, Robbie Hooper, Grace Payne-James, Ellie Bates,
individual reports posted on our web site ( I am sure you Ruta Nakrostye and Hugo Sunnocks) for their fortitude,
have all read them ) I felt I would break with tradition & endurance and huge enthusiasm for the race, when they
mention just a few of the season’s highlights. arrived in Scheveningen!
A record was smashed this year by Richard Matthews,
Tom Humphrey’s designed “Oyster Catcher XXV111” for a
North Sea crossing from West Mersea to Ostend. During
the WMYC Sunk Race and almost catching the PRO having
dinner upon their early arrival, Richard and navigator John
Munns navigated the boat across the banks off Ostend,
where the depth dropped to less than half a metre under
the keel, whilst during speeds of 20-24kts.
Oystercatcher XXV111 crossed the 95 mile course in 6 hours
and 6 mins- finishing some 3 hours before the next boat
home. They won deservedly the Sunk Trophy.
Another new boat launched this season was Vice Chairman
Tony and Chuffy’s Sunfast 3200 “Amazon”
3
2011 Report from the Chairman The Walker Challenge 50 mile sprint race from Harwich to As this is my final report as Chairman of EAORA I would
Ramsgate saw many boats experiencing gear failure and like to say how proud and honoured I have been to be the
spinnaker blow-outs in the 20kts plus breeze. Amazon was first lady Chair of this unique and historic association. The
able to set her new Code zero perfect for the conditions and friendships of the people whom Jason and I have met and
won by 9 seconds to Oystercatcher XXV111 after almost 6 sailed and raced with and against over the last 15 years play
hours racing. an important part of our life.
My highlights of 2011 have to include a mention to the 4
EAORA boats that headed South this year to compete in
the 604 mile RORC Rolex Fastnet. A big undertaking to
qualify with crew miles, regulations & boat preparation in
this challenging race. Congratulations got to Peter Ward’s
Humphrey’s MG38 “Mc Gregor1V”, Trevor Basset, Ian McGee
and Graham Minton’s Prima 38’ Oz Privateer, Adrian Lower’s
Swan 44’ “Selene” and to Angus Bates and team Assarain for
being the top East Coast boat and finishing 27 amongst the
professional and international 247 IRC boats.
Peter Ward & McGregor 1V won deservedly won the David
Geaves Trophy for the most offshore miles raced at 1154
miles.
So the overall season points came down to the last race
the WMYC Buckley Goblets- 90 miles to Ostend. The
anticipation and maths calculation of where the finishers
needed to be added to the excitement of the race. Three
boats -The Godfather of EAORA, Alan Bartlett’s Humphrey’s
One Design “Inn Spirit”, Stan Fenton’s J 105 “Fay Jay” &
Jason and Judy’s Payne-James Dufour 45’ “Heartbeat1V all
knew what they needed to do but it was going to be down
to the conditions on the day which suited the particular
boat. “Oystercatcher XXV111” stormed across winning the
Goblets which meant the final results were cast as:
Overall EAORA champion: and winning season for the first
time - Congratulations Stan Fenton’s “Fay Jay”
Runners up: superbly helmed by Ian Hart - Inn Spirit also A huge amount has been achieved over the last few years
winning the Coastal Series, Youth Cup and Libya cup. and this is due to the work and dedication of the fantastic
3rd overall: Heartbeat 1V and the Class positions being: EAORA committee. My personal thanks to them all: Vice
Class 1; Inn Spirit, Heartbeat 1V and Oystercatcher XXV111 Chairman Tony Merewether, Principal Race Officer and
Class 2: Fay Jay, Amazon and an excellent 3rd performance the oracle Brian Bolton, Hon Auditor Michael Wood, Hon
in her first season Tim and Tony Cross’s J 109” Upstart” Secretary Catherine Shelton, Past Chairman Paul Wood,
Class 3: Cosmic Dancer 3, Mike Celis’s Elan “CTP” ( from the Michael Wallis (whose unstinting support from Wallis the
Royal North Sea Yacht Club in Ostend ) and Paul Drew’s First Florist knows no end) Claire Scott, Ian Hart, Stan Fenton,
29 “Harvest Moon” Peter Ward, Trevor Bassett, Tim Galloway and youth
The Crouch Yacht Club won hotly contested Inter-Club programme co-ordinator Dani Southey. Our thanks, as ever,
points trophy. to our member clubs, in particular the Royal Thames Yacht
Club, and their club race officers all whom give of their time
and expertise to organise our racing.
I think my final words have to be to the next generation of
EAORA offshore sailors -our Insure & Go sponsored Youth
Series- now in its 4th year and this season we’ve had 20
cadets racing as part of 11 boats IRC crew limits, taking part
in all of the races. The cadet’s determination, excitement,
competitiveness and thirst to learn is one of the most
rewarding things I have seen whilst offshore racing.
I wish them and EAORA every continued success and know
under the guidance of the new Chairman Tony Merewether,
East Anglian Offshore Racing Association is well set to
continue the great traditions of East Coast offshore yacht
4 racing.
2011 EAORA Entries
EAORA ENTRIES 2011
Sail No Boat Owner Club Handicap
7707 Fay-J S Fenton CYC 1.009
9707 Inn Spirit A Bartlett CYC 1.041
1424 Heartbeat IV J & J Payne-James RBYC 1.095
9462 Amazon T & C Merewether CYC 1.000
3921 Cosmic Dancer III R Walker HPYC 0.965
9224 Upstart T & T Cross HPYC 0.995
4321 Oystercatcher XXVIII R Matthews WMYC 1.381
720 Assarain IV A Bates RBYC 1.100
7540 Titian S, J & R Galloway RBYC 1.018
1239 CTP M Celis RNSYC 0.980
976 Selene A Lower RBYC 1.003
9461 Harvest Moon P Drew CYC 0.873
3725 Dark & Stormy R Bailey WMYC 0.950
6639 Strait Jacket D Lenz RBYC 1.005
46 Tonnerrre de Breskens III P Vroon BYC 1.262
8354 Spirit P & C Scott HPYC 0.983
8956 Ninjod P Brant HPYC 1.014
9323 Elixir R Waterhouse & D Haley CYC 0.984
8371 North Eagle 2 M Peter WMYC 0.970
2000 Golden Fleece M Wheeler WMYC 0.942
3905 Phantom R & R Gozzett WMYC 1.050
8725 Deliverance 2 G Peck HPYC 1.070
7765 Boatox R Hayden & K Linscott WMYC 0.964
111 Arabella Niall Dowling 1.091
809 Lutine Lloyds Yacht Club LYC 10.89
980 Strata 3 East Anglian Sea School 0.995
986 Strata 6 East Anglian Sea School 1.007
1393 Cirrus 2 East Anglian Sea School 1.006
3015 McGregor IV P Ward MSC 0.984
5528 Casamara Simon Phillips 1.084
6070 Scaramouche Darek Suchomski 1.028
8528 Whistledown III G Howat MLSC 0.968
8606 Booty! R & P Stewart RBYC 1.081
9238 Kahuna R Apthorp WMYC 0.991
9430 The Geek I Langston & Partners CYC 1.014
5
EAORA and Me EAORA and me A glance at most of the EAORA trophies will tell you that
Rodney Hill knew how to win races and in the years that
Richard Matthews followed I crewed aboard most of Rodney’s yachts up to
the time that he bought the S&S one tonner Morningtown
My first EAORA race was the Pattinson Cup when, aged from Mike Winfield and I learned a lot. Morningtown was a
eleven, I was invited to sail with Rodney Hill aboard state of the art one tonner with heaps of sails, lenticular rod
Viking of Mersea. Viking was like a Stella on steroids, a rigging, a linked trim tab, the works. She narrowly missed
24ft waterline Buchanan designed knock off, but unlike winning the cup in Helgoland and when her owner fell on
the Stella masthead rig and big enough for RORC races. I hard times Rodney was in the right place at the right time,
could sail a dinghy but it was a very kind gesture to take and picked her up for a song. As luck would have it, for me
a kid with little or no knowledge on an offshore race. We that is, Rodney was midway through building a factory
are not talking about the owner’s family, just a kid from the in Australia and offered me, by now 19 or 20, the use of
same village. In today’s health and safety conscious world, Morningtown for season.
I wonder how many owners would do this. In truth I don’t
remember that much about the race except feeling more I’d done a few EAORA races as skipper aboard my dads
than a little apprehensive when the chute went up and Stella Scorpio but in those days an S&S one tonner was
the lee rail went under as we power reached towards the like moving up from a mini to a Ferrari. I made full use of
mouth of the Crouch. that opportunity and I recall one owner wrote to Rodney
telling him we were crazy because after rounding the Sunk
LV we finished the race with the lightship keepers fishhooks
embedded in the stem! If asked I would have to say the guy
would have done well to pull his lines in, seeing 40 or 50
yachts approaching (those were the days!). As it happened
Rodney got another letter that same week from the owner
of a dismasted yacht that we rescued at Shore Ends and
towed back to Burnham under sail (the engine never did
work properly) thanking him for the rescue and sending
a bottle of whiskey. Rodney, who for sure would have also
collected those fish hooks, told the winging owner to mind
his own business.
In those early years I went on to crew in EAORA events with
several owners including David Brook aboard Bandit, Tom
Evers on Thom Thom, David Powell with Mersea Oyster, and
John Harrison aboard a series of Hustler yachts.
I recall an overnight race with John Harrison aboard his 28ft
Gunsmoke; I think it must have been the Houghton Cup,
when we were beating back into Burnham in darkness on
the way back from the Sunk in light and shifty conditions.
The little Gunsmoke was a real weapon in those conditions
and having grasped the basic idea of tacking on wind shifts,
we started overtaking the larger yachts ahead. John got
so excited that in a moment of weakness he offered the
crew a free meal in the West Mersea YC for every yacht we
passed from that moment to the finish. Somehow by the
time we crossed the line we had overtaken all but one yacht
and clocked up an amazing 18 dinners! John was true to his
word and we ate free for most of that summer.
by Richard Matthews
As an aspiring skipper I was eager to learn and hungry to
win and fortune smiled on me again when John Harrison of
6
Hustler yachts was launching a new Hustler 25.5 designed and they went on to sell over 160 on a royalty basis. I even
EAORA and Me
by Holman & Pye. John wanted to campaign but was too licensed a second builder in Perth, West Australia. From
busy promoting his Hustler 30 and 35 models to do so those simple beginnings Oyster Marine grew to become
himself. Would I like a free yacht for the season, put a crew of the world’s most successful yacht companies, providing
together and race it - does the Pope kiss tarmac - you bet! employment for around 600 fine craftsmen and winning
We named that little Hustler UFO and, as they say, the rest two Queen’s Awards but that’s a story for another place,
is history. this one is about EAORA, although without EAORA Oyster
would have never got started.
In that first season, 1972, we had a few issues getting to
grips with the boat but once we did we realised we had As a sidebar, while we waited for UFO 3, the first 34
an absolute rocket ship in light airs. We won the Thames production boat, we did a few EAORA races in Scorpio, the
Estuary race, my first overall win as skipper and went on to family Stella. I’m happy to be corrected but the Stella class
win our class and miss the overall championship by a single have had an illustrious career in EAORA races and were ‘hot’
point to Les Crawley’s Swan 37 Neno. One of the season’s throughout the sixties. By 1975 there were very few racing
highlights was going up to the Ijsselmeer in Holland for the offshore and we won the EAORA Lowestoft Harwich race
Flevo Races, where we won all four races overall, against that year. The crew were my old friend Rod Oates (trustee
a 200-boat fleet. The following year I bought UFO from of the Royal Temple YC - now my golf buddy, the late John
John and with help from David Cooper in the H&P design Harrison of Hustler fame and my dad, also no longer with
office, who was a regular crewman, we modified the rig us) It was a bit of a joke because my dad actually hated
to currently fashionable seven eighths fractional, which racing and referred to spinnakers as an invention of the
improved our heavier air and off wind performance and devil. We had a cracking start off the Royal Norfolk and
gave a small rating advantage under the RORC rule under Suffolk YC, with a booming fair tide, and spinnaker up we
which we all raced at the time. The ’73 season went well and were a few hundred yards ahead of the fleet before the
we won the EAORA Championship for the first time. competition knew what hit them. I remember sitting inside
a partially inflated Avon inflatable on the coachroof eating
a full English breakfast cooked by dad as we zoomed past
Sizewell and then Orfordness. A square run in 15 knots
of breeze, perfect Stella conditions. We carried a fair tide
all the way to the finish at Harwich and to the best of my
knowledge this was the last time a Stella won an EAORA
race overall.
What followed became a bit of a fairy story because, in an
effort to get some tax efficient sailing, I founded Oyster
Marine and commissioned H&P to design a three quarter
tonner and, as sailors on a budget, we had a foam sandwich
one-off hull made and fitted her out ourselves, weekends
and evenings. I recall leaving Heybridge Basin and sailing
up to Harwich for the start of the North Sea race doing
the whole trip down below cutting up slabs of foam and Over the years I have been lucky enough to own some
covering them with polythene sheet held with gaffer tape superb yachts and no less than six of these have been
to make mattresses. Such was the competition in those EAORA overall champions. There are so many memorable
days, 1974, that here were 3 one-off three-quarter tonners, moments EAORA racing that I could write a book, or books,
launched in that season alone, joining the EAORA fleet, UFO much less a short article, but suffice it to say that EAORA
2, Bob Stewart’s Dingo and John Wiltshire’s Red Dragon. racing has had a profound affect on my life. Competition
by Richard Matthews
Disappointingly UFO 2 rated too low for three-quarter ton aside the camaraderie and friendships made while racing
level racing but we had a good year and by the end of the East Anglian are beyond price.
season more than had the measure of the competition. One
highlight was winning the RYS Regatta during Cowes Week. The yachts we race have changed a great deal over the
years. Those long keel designs like Viking and Thom Thom
I was in the tea and coffee vending machine business in would be considered dogs by modern standards but in
those days and Oyster Marine was a bit tongue in cheek their day they were fully competitive and, unlike a lot of
as a business. At the end of the ’74 season several people current vessels, were ‘proper’ yachts. Thom Thom had a
asked where they could get a UFO 2 lookalike and we did gimballed saloon table and we used to cook proper meals
a licensing deal with Colvic to build and market the UFO while racing. Today’s racers are faster and probably more
7
EAORA and Me exciting but the sport has changed in many ways and not
all of them for the better. I recall, not that may years ago,
asking a respected East Cost sailmaker if he would be kind
enough to return the trophies we’d won the year before to
the Medway YC when he raced there in the Thames Estuary
race. He declined on the grounds of excess weight and
when I said “you’re joking” he explained that they raced
in what they stood up in, and mailed their towels, wash
gear and dry cloths to MYC to await their arrival! That’s
pretty keen but whether that kind of extreme is in the best
interests of the sport will be for others to judge.
The sad fact of the matter is that in the “good old days” (I
hate myself saying that!) we raced proper yachts and looked Indeed, at one point when we were chasing championships,
forward to a relaxing weekend of EAORA racing. These days we would not start a race with less than 20 starters, because
it’s full on, and even on my 54 footer we don’t go below, as less than maximum points were available. What’s the
she needs weight, all of it, on the rail, upwind or down. Sure, average number of starters today? So called sports boats
in our UFO days we hooped and hollered if and when the haven’t helped and of course work and family pressures
speedo touched 10 knots going down the back of a wave. are greater today, but how many EAORA crew have done
This year on the West Mersea to Ostend Sunk race, in which a night race? Indeed how many night races are there in the
we sailed the 92-mile course in 6 hours 6 minutes, for the series? Then there is the distraction of Sail East - high time
last 2 hours we averaged 23 knots! they were integrated into the EAORA scene.
I suppose that’s progress but next season we are going
to try something completely different. Some of you may
remember Imp, a 40ft Ron Holland two tonner from 1977.
In her day Imp was the most competitive racing yacht in
the world, whereas for the last 2 years she has lain ashore
unused in South Carolina. I was talking about camaraderie
and friendships made through sailing and here you have it.
by Richard Matthews
Imp’s owner, who I met sailing, has lent her to me for the But hey, I’m starting to sound grumpy and I don’t mean to
next several seasons. The 54 Oystercatcher XXV111 has be. I say long live EAORA in whatever form it takes, let’s go
been sold to Japan and Imp will soon be shipped back and and enjoy racing around the Thames Estuary and southern
prepared for the season ahead. Sounds like we will once North Sea. Let’s savour the racing and the camaraderie
again be hopping and hollering at 10 knots! ashore which sets East Coast racing apart and makes it
special.
I am always sad at the slow decline of support for EAORA
racing which, despite the best intentions of those good folk Look out for Imp - we’ll be looking out for you!
involved with running the series, seems to slip year by year.
In the ‘good old days’ we would regularly see fleets of 50
8 boats with the more popular races reaching 70 plus starters.
EAORA week
EAORA Week
Katy Scott - Spirit
This was my first time on EAORA week, after I started
crewing foredeck this year. A baptism of fire if ever there
was one. Typically my parents give me the hardest and
most physically challenging job for my first year racing.
We had most of the crew as we left Levington marina at
lunch time with all but Lynn on board who was going to join
us at West Mersea. Dave & Teresa, who were allocated the
married quarters (my cabin which I had to trade for a shelf,
literally, I hate being small.) Harry our wonderful navigator, We waited from news from the committee boat, a beautiful
who had come back from Hong Kong especially for the yacht named Another Diamond, and over the radio we
week. Trish and Lynn who kindly filled in as last minute crew. heard “EAORA race fleet, EAORA race fleet, EAORA race fleet.
My grandparents came and waved us off, giving us some This is Offshore One, Offshore One. Today’s Cannonball
apple pie and éclairs they brought back from France. Race has been postponed.” We then heard a little later that
the race had been abandoned. I was actually very happy
about this because after the day before, all I wanted to do
was sit on deck and listen to my IPod. The fog didn’t lift at all
as we motored up the coast but as soon as we all piled into
our first lock and came out the other side to Flushing, we
were hit with lovely sunshine and I even put my shorts on.
We continued down the canal and through bridges which
we got through in record time according to Mother. When
we arrived at Veere I was impressed by how pretty it was,
the water was a clean blue colour not like the Orwell which
is a murky brown. We went for a walk and had an ice cream.
Veere was really nice.
We had a speedy trip down to West Mersea so there was
time for beers and a phone call before dinner and then
an early night before the long race to Oostende the next
morning. After a long nights rest on my shelf, I along with
everyone else was ready for an early start and the long
tiring journey that was a race across the North Sea. We got
up to NE Gunfleet and turned right, and it was non-stop to
Oostend. It was quite windy and we had the spinnaker up, it
got even windier, so we put the genoa up instead. Mum was
doing foredeck with me, we both got absolutely soaked.
There was quite a few opportunities for snacks on the way
over but since I can rarely do more than 8 hours at sea at a
time, I was a bit sea sick. Thanks goes to Dave for clearing it
up. We arrived in Oostend after about 10-11 hours and mum
almost immediately started on the G&T’s. The next morning
I sat up from my shelf and noticed we were surrounded by
thick fog and that fog also extended out to sea and along
the coast (where we were meant to be racing that day).
by Katy Scott
The next day’s race started just outside of where we stayed
the night, it was a beautiful day and there wasn’t much 9
EAORA Week wind so we had to wait for a while before we could start we then had the opportunity to see the most amazing
the race. It was shorts and dubarrys all round. It was lovely lightening show as we stood on deck ready to leave the
racing up and down the Veeres meer but it was one of marina. We thought we were going to get drenched but it
those unpredictable areas when you just don’t know if the only rained a bit. There were quite a few unexpected loud
depth will suddenly drop unless you have the chart right in thunderclaps as the storm passed and we left the marina,
your hand. We draw 2.1 metres and we had to be careful mum nearly fell in the water.
not to run aground. As we approached the finish line and
thought we had got away with it, we tacked too late and
became just nicked on a sand bank. Despite our best efforts
which included hanging our bottoms over the side to try
and swing us off, we were well and truly stuck. To the other
boats cruising past us, we must have looked a little odd. But
that’s racing. After a few Dutch boats offered to help and
we explained that if we accepted help, which would be
cheating but thanks anyway. We had to turn the engine on
and motor off, abandoning the race. Inn Spirit, one of the
other EAORA boats had also run aground just along from
us, they had to get towed off as they were so hard aground.
It was only later, Mum remembered that was where Red
Macaw our sister boat (another sigma 38) had run aground The weather cleared and we started the race, it was going
the year before. We motored past the committee boat to be about 20 miles. The committee boat stays with us the
to the lock which would allow us to go through to the whole week, Brian and Wendy deal with the races and Mike
Oosterschelde which was a tidal area of water, and motor to looks after the moorings. It’s like going on flotilla but with
Wemeldinge, which was our next stop for the night. you own boat, and we get to race each day. They also have
floaty animals that Wendy attaches to the stern of Another
Diamond to mark the start line.
We were having a good race and enjoying the warm
weather again, but slowly the wind dropped. We were the
last to finish and it took over an hour to finish the last bit. We
literally weren’t moving.
We finished, dropped the sails, started the engine and
headed for the bridge which only opened every 30 minutes,
then we realised that the committee boat also had to get
through but had to pull there anchor up first. We slowed
down hoping that we could keep the bridge open long
enough for them to get through as well, they made it and
we continued on.
That night we stayed in Colijnsplaat (real name), we had time
When we arrived our first thought was that we needed to for a shower and then it was time for the Chairman’s cocktail
by Katy Scott
stock up on supplies and even though we were eating out party on Heartbeat. The theme was the ‘Best of British’ and
that night, we needed basics and snacks. After that it was everyone dressed up. We went as the royal family and had
time for showers and a beer. We had a prize giving party face masks. I went as one of the corgis. (because that’s the
that evening on the committee boat and crew from the sort of amazingly original person I am.) We won second
different boats had a chance to chat. The next morning I prize, Cosmic Dancer came first, they had dressed up as
woke to a really strange booming noise which sounded a butchers and brought Pork Pies and fruit cake for everyone.
lot like artillery fire (I imagine) it was still hot but very cloudy, It started to rain just as we arrived; it’s amazing how many
10 we asked the harbour master and he said it was thunder, people you can fit on a Dufour 45.
EAORA Week
Another trip to the supermarket was needed as we were
running out of beer and iced tea and more importantly,
doughnuts.
We had dinner on board Spirit and later went off the bar for
drinkys. We had really heavy rain and had to wait before we
could go back to the boat so we wouldn’t get wet. We had
a bit of time for balloon antics as well. The next morning
it was really windy, so racing was postponed. We went to
explore the village and went to the supermarket, since we
could find no where to eat breakfast. Very upsetting.
The race started about 12.00 after we had gone through
the bridge again. This time we were racing to Goes. It was
still quite windy so didn’t take long to complete the race.
We had to be in Goes by 5pm to be let into the old town
harbour. Once we finished the race it was a trip up the canals
to Goes. First a lock and then a couple of bridges. Goes is a
lovely old town with cobbled streets.
That night the prize giving party was on Amazon and I
won a prize for spending quite a while looking like a dog
although I was on the phone when it was given so I missed
that, typical me. We then went into town for dinner. We left
at 9.00 the next morning as we had to get through 2 locks
and a number of bridges, going back into the Veersmeer for
a passage race back to Veere. Amazon was the unlucky one
this time, she ran aground and had to motor off. We then
had to go back through the canals to Breskens. We stopped
off for Diesel and we dropped of one of our crew Lynn at
Middleburgh, she was going to get the ferry home from
by Katy Scott
the Hook of Holland. It took ages for us to get through the
bridges this time and there was just us and Heartbeat, the
other boats had gone on ahead.
11
EAORA Week boats and shut the hatches and put towels and other stuff
down below so they wouldn’t get wet. This was an excellent
opportunity to have a peek inside other boats but after
taking in Fay J’s washing, I slipped on the wet deck and got
a really nasty bruise on the back of my leg. Dave called over
to me, I assume asking why I was hopping up and down
holding my leg in the middle of a storm, because I couldn’t
actually hear him. Friday was a race down the coast back
to Ostend, it was a lovely day and we had a good race to
Ostend. Plenty of time to shop and get ready for the end of
week prize giving in a restaurant just across from the Royal
North Sea Yacht Club harbour.
It was a great evening, but unfortunately we hadn’t had
a good week and didn’t win any prizes for racing. I won
the youngest cadet for the week which was nice. Some of
the boats left that night to go home but we left the next
morning after breakfast. Harry was getting the Eurostar
home as he was flying back to Hong Kong that afternoon. It
took us 12 hours to sail back to Levington marina.
The week was great but I hope next year there will be more
cadets of my own age that I can be with. When receiving my
prize for youngest cadet the Chairman asked me what my
favourite thing about EAORA week, I stood there, thought
We decided that since we were so late we would stop off hard and answered honestly; “the doughnuts.”
in Flushing and go to the supermarket there. We got bread
and cheese and pate (and Dave got me a special doughnut,
Thanks Dave!) ready for dinner that evening.
We arrived in Breskens about 6pm and went up to the bar.
Later we went back to the boat for dinner. It started to get
really windy, so we went on board all the other EAORA
by Katy Scott
12
fay-J competing in the two races we were fifth in our class. Jelly Baby had won
Fay-J in the J Cup 2011
both races and Journey Maker 5, Blackjack, Dr Jekyll were all
J Cup 2011 Emily Goodridge tied for second place.
Instead of heading home from Holland week, Fay-J headed
off to compete in J Cup, hosted by Guernsey Yacht Club. It
was a long delivery but Guernsey is a fantastic location and
the delivery crew enjoyed a detour to Alderney for some
fine food and wine en route.
The social calendar is taken almost as seriously as the racing
at the J Cup. Before racing had even begun, we were treated
to a Vin D’Honneur at Castle Cornet, courtesy of The States
of Guernsey. The wine flowed freely in a stunning location
and with clear blue skies, everyone was looking forward
to a few days of tough racing in beautiful conditions. It
was a great opportunity to get to know some of the other Day 2, Fay-J racing past Brecqhou
competitors, who were very friendly (before the racing
began!) and many had known Fay-J from her days on the The second day dawned with clear skies and a gentle 8-12
South Coast with her previous owners. North Easterly breeze. This time, it was the turn of IRC2
to head off round Sark. This was the only coastal race
This was the tenth anniversary of the J-Cup and the 3rd time and we were keen to get a good result. But we were in
it has been hosted by Guernsey Yacht Club. There were unfamiliar waters where the benefit of local knowledge
forty one boats in four classes: IRC1 (J111, J122, J133), IRC2 is considerable when the tides rip around the islands and
(J24, J92, J105), J97 and J109, competing in races over three eddies are unpredictable. We had picked out a few boats
days. We were in IRC2 with 9 other boats. that seemed to know their way around and kept a careful
watch over them. The race started well and we picked the
The calm conditions disappeared overnight and those right course around Jethou with the other leading boats.
of us sleeping on the boat were rudely awakened in the Some boats clung to the coast of Herm, whilst others went
early hours by an ominous thud. The wind had picked up straight toward Sark. We dithered in between briefly but
and the boats that had been rafted together in the calm then went for Sark and watched helplessly as the boats that
conditions the day before were no longer as securely fixed stayed by Herm were pulled ahead by the tide.
as their owners may have intended. It appeared we were
the only crew sleeping on board our boat so we bounded It was a beautiful day and as we raced (slowly) past the
out of bed to demonstrate our competent crew skills in our Barclay brothers’ castle on Brecqhou, the photographer’s
PJs before the marina turned into a J-boat bumper car track. boat broke down so he was stuck with just Fay-J to
photograph for half an hour - we now have some great
souvenir shots! As we reached Sark, we too caught the tide
and started moving ahead. There was very little wind so
we kept close to the coast line with the tidal flow. Nigel
navigated round the rocks admirably despite Stan refusing
to tack until true panic sounded in Nigel’s voice each time.
As we rounded the bottom of Sark, we were in second place
to Dr Jekyll, a J92. We overtook them just as the wind died,
to sneak line honours and second place overall in a race that
was definitely the highlight of the event for us. Despite a
great race around Sark, a poor result in the short race earlier
in the day meant we remained at 5th place in IRC2.
Day 1 Racing - Fay-J and Journey Maker 5
The first day of racing saw the strongest winds of the week
by Emily Goodridge
with 20-25 knots of North Easterly breeze. Whilst we were
very keen to race around Sark, it was the IRC1 who set off
into the drizzle whilst we had a few short races round the
cans in The Little Russell just off St Peter Port (much to the
anger of a local fisherman who did not appreciate 30 J-boats
practicing their fly by!). The racing finished shortly after
lunchtime allowing time to relax and explore Guernsey. It
was a disappointment to finish racing so early in the day but
as the IRC1 boats arrived back with their bedraggled crew,
we saw that perhaps we hadn’t had such a bad deal! After Day 2, Fay-J dodging rocks round Sark 13
Fay-J in the J Cup 2011 On the last day, despite the lack of wind, racing was as And on winning EAORA...
competitive as ever - everyone knew who they were out We started this season with an ambitious race programme.
to beat. No more nice polite and friendly warnings about Having decided to compete in the Fastnet, we set ourselves
fellow competitors getting poles out too early and the a tough schedule of East and South Coast RORC races
J109 starts were a spectator event in their own right. The to prove Fay-J and her crew were up to the rigours of
wind got weaker and weaker as the third day progressed. the challenge. The season didn’t start well and we were
We managed to wrap our kite in the light airs and ended amongst the many boats suffering breakages in the Ralph
up retiring from a race so needed another race to get some Herring; with engine problems adding to our woes, we
more points in the bag. Sadly it was not to be - as the wind were unable to compete in the Pattinson Cup.
dropped below 5 knots, the race office decided that two
races were all we were going to get and it was time to head The Houghton Cup saw our fortunes change, with a third
back to St Peter Port and a huge gala dinner. overall, in what was a really enjoyable race. Bad weather
meant we had yet to make it to the South coast for any of
Overall we maintained our 5th place in IRC2, which was the other RORC races and a bad experience on North Sea
won by Andy Howe, Annie Kelly and the crew on Blackjack, Race persuaded us that Fay-J really is a very small boat when
a J92S, with victories in both races on the last day. Black Jack it comes to big seas. As a result, we pulled out of the Fastnet.
also collected the “J-Cup” from which the regatta takes its
name. IRC1 was won by True Love (Colin Wall), a J111, Fever Respectable results in EAORA week kept us on track but
(Grant Gordon) was top J97 and Vitric (Tony De Mulder) won we thought we’d thrown away our chance with EAORA by
the J109 event. missing the Walker Challenge due to the delivery back from
the J-Cup. Second overall in the Thames Estuary meant we
All in all, the J Cup was a great event. It was fun to race were still in with a chance but we needed some luck on our
in different waters and there was plenty to learn from side in the Buckley Goblets. Fortunately for us, the wind
the other boats (especially at the beginning of the week shift, that many boats expected, did not happen until later
when “those nice guys from the East Coast” didn’t seem and we got the points we needed to win overall.
too threatening for our competitors to share their secrets).
Racing was as competitive as you would expect between The Buckley Goblets was a fantastic end to a roller-coaster
such closely matched boats so there was no room for errors season for us. We are looking forward to defending our
and no chance to catch up from a poor leg. title next season in what will no doubt be another fiercely
contested EAORA series. Thanks to the committee for all
The deliveries were long and the return trip was particularly their hard work!
tough - the boat ended up stuck in Brighton, which meant
Fay-J we unfortunately ended up missing the Walker Fay-J’s crew for the 2011 season included Stan Fenton,
Challenge. Thanks to Stan, George, Nigel, Mark and Tim for Nigel Cook, George Brown, Jon Butt, Tom Youngman, Mark
the deliveries. Emanuele, Tim Dow, Chloe Gamble and Emily Hepburn.
Fay-J, Upstart and Strait Jacket competing in the Houghton Cup
by Emily Goodridge
14
my first fastnet ours went like this:
My First Fastnet
Peter Ward Cowes - Cherbourg (22 - 24 April). 75 + 75 miles of JOG
racing. It would act as our shakedown but couldn’t count as
(Its a bit like babies first tooth, something wonderful is qualifying as there were no night miles. (Ha. No night miles.
happening, but there’s also a faint recollection of pain) We arrived at 5am. 30Mins before Oz Privateer, who spent a
good 4 hours drifting in their clubbing outfits, unable to cross
So at 7am on Monday 10th January we’d done it. That the finish line for a night on the town)
weekend I’d been reminded by one of my crew that entries
opened at midnight on Sunday. Knowing how popular Cowes - le Havre (30 April - 1 May). Between 90 and 140
this race was, and the lengths I’d gone to in order to find a miles of RORC racing. (We got bashed up on the way home,
boat both in budget, and with the required stability rating, I unable to make Dover in what turned out to be F7 on the nose
wasn’t going to be late getting our application in. We were so ended up in Brighton)
now officially entered into the Fastnet. If you’re a seasoned
offshore racer, then you’ll read what follows with a knowing Houghton Centenary Cup (20 - 22 May 2011). 120 miles of
smile, ‘been there, done that’ can’t see what all the fuss is EAORA racing. (Around every wind generator in the Southern
about!. But if you’re planning your first Fastnet campaign for North Sea. Seriously Crouch YC that was a superb course,
2013 as either a crew member, or owner, don’t let what you please, please please, let’s do it again.)
read put you off. It’s well worth the effort.
North Sea Race (3 - 5 June 2011). 180 miles of RORC racing.
(Hmm. More on this later!)
So that’s one trip south and enough races under the keel
to get us ready for the North Sea race. If things went wrong
in either the Le Havre race or the Houghton cup, we’d still
qualify. And if we didn’t, we still had time to go South again
and race the
Cowes - St malo (8 - 9 July 2011). 164 miles of RORC racing.
(Not the last time we’d see Alderney this season)
I wanted to put an all Blackwater crew together. In the end
LtoR Andy Chidwick, Derek Brown, Richard Chidwick we had an all Marconi-SC crew signed up for the various
races to get us through to qualifying. And, for reasons you’ll
I told my non sailing mates that we’d entered and when read later, we had to sail all of the above, and a little bit more.
they asked, ‘Duhhh..what’s the Fastnet’ the answer was
simple, ‘Its a 600 mile race from the Isle of Wight, out to
Ireland and back to Plymouth. How wrong could I have
been. It’s not just a 600 mile race, and for the record, here
are those simple bits.
Simple Bit 1. - Qualifying
Qualifying. What’s all that about then. We’ve got a boat with
the required SSS, its IRC rated, complies with EAORA safety,
and the regular crew, is eager to sail the race. We’ve even
done a little bit of offshore racing. Surely we can just rock up
at the start and off we go? Oh no! You’ve got to prove that
both the boat and the crew is ‘fit for purpose’, so I set about
devising a schedule that included room for failures along LtoR Mike Turner, Derek Brown
the way, that would still allow us to meet the qualification
requirements. Simple Bit 3. - The Qualifying deliveries
We chose Haslar for our southern base. Easy to get to by
Simple Bit 2. - The Qualifying Schedule train, and not too much hassle to get to the Cowes start
50% of the crew must race 300 miles offshore within the 12 lines from there. I didn’t want to stay South for too long, it
by Peter Ward
months prior to the race, in the boat they intended to race takes money out of your account that could otherwise be
in. The simple route for EAORA racers is: spent at the bar, and by the end of the season we knew that
no matter how strong the wind blew from the SW, we could
RORC North Sea (180m) + East Coast Race (120m) make the trip in 36 hours from Bradwell. We lost count how
= Qualified many times we went past the 7 sisters and we only ever got
stuck once in Ramsgate because of bad weather. (That’s
That’s 2 weekends + another for the obligatory Sea Survival conveniently forgotten Brighton then) I’ll add the mileage up
course. Easy. But I wanted to build a contingency plan so by the time I’ve finished writing this. Oh and I nearly forgot, 15
My First Fastnet we had to get the boat back from Plymouth as well. In need to carry all that weight anyway?)
all it took 15 different people to complete the racing and • Hull almost punctured by launch trolley pads. (Almost)
deliveries. Now that’s a campaign. • Water above the sole boards on too many occasions. (At
times, in fact 90% of the time, it was drier on deck)
• Cooker crash bar, smashed off by more flying crew.
(Believe me. This wasn’t a stampede to do the cooking)
• Lee cloths torn off. (Remains unexplained)
• Chart plotter screen gave up the ghost. (We didn’t know
how to use it anyway.)
Simple Bit 5. - Qualifying the Crew
Next time these words are on the tip of your tongue, think
again before uttering them. ‘I’m never seasick’. Especially
if you’re coming offshore sailing with us. I thought it must
be something to do with the boat at one point as almost
everybody who sailed our Fastnet campaign felt sick at
some time.
Every race we seemed to be bashing to windward with
someone ‘head in a bucket’ or ‘hanging over the side’. On
the North Sea race we had 4 crew ill in their bunks and
another suffering in the cockpit, which left just 3 trying to
get the boat up to Smiths Knoll. It was just one of those
LtoR Drying out the VHF years where the weather seemed to be unkind, but then
again, it might just have been the skipper everyone was
Simple Bit 4. - Qualifying The Boat reacting to? (I didn’t think of that at the time, but in hindsight
We carried almost a full workshop with us throughout everything seems so much clearer.) So we dropped out of the
the season. Apart from our delivery trip from Belfast the North Sea race and headed home. A DNF in an endurance
previous summer and an appearance in the Houghton cup, sport is always painful, it’s like you just can’t make the grade
we were still getting to know her. We’d completely stripped and in this one, where we failed, the sailing school boats all
and refurbished the steering binnacle and rudder bottom succeed. Well done Strata’s. Also, it now meant that we had
bearing over the winter. We’d replaced the standing and to go South again for the St Malo race. (Bugger!)
running rigging, fitted AIS and race routing software, an
auto bilge pump, replaced the gas pipe and fittings and Before we headed off to St Malo, we needed a second
sealed numerous joints where water found its way in. The contingency plan. Our aim was not to drop out of the St
list was endless, but thanks to the crew, we managed to go Malo race, but how might we qualify if we suffered gear
South in time for our first race. Luckily we had lots of cable failure or some other none seasick related problem.
ties, baling twine, jubilee clips and epoxy glue onboard. If it
broke, we’d fix it. And break it did. Here’s the list: So we did the race to Ostend at the start of EAORA week
and planned to spin on the line and sail back home so that if
• Danbouy smashed to pieces by runners, twice. we needed to, we could write to RORC asking them to take
• Horseshoe buoy ripped in half by runners (Hmmm, must all of the Ostend ‘there and back’ miles into consideration.
learn how these runner things work!) Unfortunately the full plan wasn’t communicated too well
• Diesel tank emptied itself in the bilges during a F7 to a couple of the crew. (No I’m not apologising for that) One
headwind. (Nasty job). had his party gear packed for a visit to the Cosy corner and
• Fuel pump failed as we tried to enter Brighton in the another, who’d been a little disturbed by the size of the
same strong wind. (Interesting) waves on the crossing over, was not best pleased when
• Prop shed its blades as we entered Cherbourg marina. we called Brian after crossing the line, telling him we were
(We retrieved them and refitted. How lucky was that) going straight back.
• Table de-mounted as crew thrown out of bunk. (Fixed - Three members of the crew, suffered badly each time they
Baling twine - get some) went out. They persevered, and two of them even signed
• Winch gears exploded smashing the drum as we hoist up for more suffering on the St Malo race. Both were ill
the main. (Our grinders been on steroids) again, but we finished the race and qualified before they
• Replacement fuel pump failed as we motored to the demanded to be dropped off to take the ferry home as once
by Peter Ward
start of the North Sea race. (Who needs an engine, we’re again, we spun on the line. (Demanded is most definitely not
going sailing aren’t we?) too strong a description and I’m sure we saw a couple of people
• VHF radio failed due to water ingress. (Out with the giving us the fingers from the back of the ferry as it passed us)
semaphore flags then)
• Companion way steps broke lose. (A mass stampede after Having qualified, all three then sacrificed their position on
the question - who’s off watch next?) the boat for the Fastnet as they didn’t want the boat to
• Water tank emptied itself into the bilge. (Why do you drop out of the big one because of their illness. (Thanks
16
guys, you took one for the crew) That left us with only 3 crew Simple Bit 7. - last minute demands
My First Fastnet
qualified, so in the end we had to write to RORC listing all Now don’t get me wrong, everyone who sailed the Fastnet
of the non-stop miles we’d done on the numerous South campaign on our boat, did much more than sail. All took on
coast deliveries and spinning on the line at Le Havre, St Malo a shore-side or prep role that reduced some of the workload
and Ostend. They accepted our plea (along with all of our on my shoulders, if they hadn’t, then I doubt we would have
grooming of how much we enjoyed the racing they put on blah made it to the start line. But in the final few days before the
de blah de blah, ...you got the picture) and we added 2 last start, the last minute challenges came thick and fast, most
minute crew members to our Fastnet crew list so we went completely unexpected and some very surprising. I’m sure
to the start 8 up. Thanks RORC race office we love you xxx. it was the same for every skipper in the fleet, but it really
was very, very nice to hang onto a buoy off Cowes with an
hour to spare, all challenges met, having a brew with a crew
that had invested so much effort to get us to that point. (I
even started to relax as we watched others sail through the
inspection gate in multi-coloured storm sails. BIG mistake!)
Simple Bit 8. - The Start
Having said just a few minutes before, ‘lets keep our eyes
peeled at the start’, I steered the boat straight into a dead
end whilst on port tack. Even now I’m still replaying that
on my minds eye skybox. It’s a real nightmare. If you were
sailing the Contessa 32 that was so close to getting ‘T’ boned
shortly after the start then I apologise. What a plonker, after
LtoR Tom Clayton all that we’d gone through to just get to the start, I nearly
threw it all away just 20mins into the race. (Phew! I need a
Simple Bit 6. - Qualifying the Paperwork breather, somebody else take the wheel.)
“No we can’t post it to you, its too large. No you can’t
collect it from the London office, you have to come to the Write an article about your first Fastnet the committee
Cowes office to get it.” It was one week before the start of said. Bloody Hell, I’ve done 2000 words already, Claire’s
the race. I hadn’t been getting the e-mails from RORC and screaming for the article, I’m well beyond the deadline, and
just through a chance discussion I learned that the tracker we haven’t even got to the Needles yet! (No I’m not writing
and decals had to be collected from Cowes. Our plan was this whilst sailing, its nearly Christmas now)
to head straight to the line on the day of the start as the
briefing wasn’t compulsory. (Who needs a weather forecast, So now the simple bits are out of the way, onto the bits
I mean you’re not exactly going to chicken out if everyone you wanted to read about.
else starts. Right?) We guessed Cowes would be too busy
on the days before the race, so we’d stay in Haslar. So after The Race
delivering the boat the weekend before the race, the crew Well now I think about it, yes the race was tough, especially
headed home whilst I detoured to Cowes. My journey went on the way out to the Rock. There were 65 in our fleet and
something like this: we were down in the 50’s. The Sigma 38’s which rated
1 point higher than us were well ahead and Selene was
Haslar to Portsmouth - Foot Ferry storming along nearly 40 miles in front of us by the time
Portsmouth to Ryde Pier - Fast cat Ferry they got to the rock. (And as for Assarain well they were so far
Ryde Pier to Ryde - Walk. It was faster than the train. ahead they were sailing in a different season to us.) Hang on,
Ryde to East Cowes - Slow Bus are those lights really on Alderney someone asked? They
East Cowes to Cowes - Chain Ferry - Walk were, but we stuck to our plan.
Cowes to Southampton - Fast Ferry
Southampton quay to Station - Minibus Then there was a time during the night not far from Lands
Southampton to London - Train End when the waves were coming from every direction.
Cross London - Tube The cockpit was swamped and we had to bail with a bucket
Liverpool St - Burnham on Crouch - !”#&%$ replacement before the next one got us. But, we’d had worse earlier in
buses again the season. We knew the boat was good for it, although
somewhat wet, and everybody on board now had the
And as if the journey itself wasn’t annoying enough (we’d recent experience that told us whatever came next we’d
just sailed a 36hour delivery from Bradwell to Haslar in F6+ rain) just get through it.
by Peter Ward
the RORC office were at first reluctant to give me the tracker
because of a, well lets call it ‘procedural error’. Everything But let me remind you of what I said earlier, “It’s not just a
was hunky dory in the end though. (No I’m not going to go 600 mile race, and it certainly isn’t simple. The Fastnet race
off on one about this as that’s another story and I do hope to do for us weekend, amateur, low budget racers, is as much
this race again at some stage in the future. End of) about qualifying, as it is about getting round the rock. (I’m
the guy with no seat in his pants and holes in his wellies, so toss
me a coin when you next pass me on the pontoon. I need it for
17
My First Fastnet my next campaign) Looking back, it’s clear, if we’d simply Then voices from every quarter. ‘They’ve put the kite up!’.
been allowed to enter, and go straight to the start of the ‘Hey look at them!’, A sudden flurry of activity accompanied
race we certainly wouldn’t have made it. Qualifying allowed by the clattering of poles quickly followed. We’d grabbed
us to break a few things, have a few mishaps and build the about 100m and no sooner had they started to put theirs
experience and confidence necessary to go ‘real’ offshore up, ours came down. What a fantastic piece of crew work.
racing. RORC have absolutely got that qualifying demand Only the boats with asy’s and our huge light N01 kept
right. (That should seal it. We’ll get a guarantee entry next time going. At that very point, the tide turned, we crossed the
now) line and left everyone else clawing at every inch.
So I’m not going to apologise for telling you hardly anything The sight, the stillness, the eerily quietwhilst moving
about the Fastnet race. That’s another story. (Yes Claire, I’ll through all those boats was just fabulous.
write that another time dear.) The real story for me was in the
qualifying. But I simply must tell you about the finish. Later we learned that we’d gone up to 15th in class, which
gave us 4th in division. Amazing, I’d have been happy with
I’m not sure I’ve got the skill to be able to communicate fully, mid fleet. What a difference the 2nd half of the race had
just how amazingly special the end of the 2011 Fastnet race been.
was, but here goes.
LtoR Peter Ward, Mike Turner, Ian Ivermee
The Money Shot
Now anyone who races sail boats knows that luck plays a
The finish big part in winning and losing. And I’ve been reminded by a
We had no onboard internet connection. The only info we few people since the race, that ‘we were lucky it went light’.
had about the fleet was what we saw on the AIS screen, and So I made a list for myself to use next time, which I’m happy
picked up from intermittent text messages about what the to share with anyone else who’s contemplating the Fastnet
tracker was saying. We knew that the winds were dying, we for the first time.
were now up to 36th and our navigators planned a route
based on tidal flow, and boat speed of those ahead on AIS. When aiming to race the Fastnet make sure you’re:
We knew we were good in light airs. By the lizard we sailed Lucky in preparing the boat.
around the outside of about 30 boats caught up in the Lucky to ask more experienced people for advice.
overfall’s and then chased them down all the way home. Lucky with the amount of tools and spares you carry.
Afternoon turned to dusk and we were getting closer to the Lucky to have the skills on board to deal with any
fleet. By night time about 100 white lights appeared ahead eventuality.
of us. One by one we turned them red as we inched along Lucky to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses.
the coast. Lucky to know the strengths and weaknesses of your crew
mates.
With tide underneath us and a very light headwind. Weight Lucky to sail with competent crew mates.
on the leeward side made us the fastest boat on the water, Lucky to have contingency plans.
rushing ahead of others at an unbelievably different speed. Lucky to have great people around you to help.
It was as if we had our own personal gust. Lucky to leave no stone unturned.
Lucky to go that extra mile to keep everyone happy
Everyone converged on the line. The sea was flat. All crews Lucky to keep yourself and others safe.
by Peter Ward
hushed. Behind, a forest of red and green. Ahead row upon Lucky to finish the race.
row of white. No wind. We were still moving through. Lucky by wearing those lucky underpants.
Its gone behind whispered one of the crew. We crept In the words of that great offshore racer from Liverpool Jim
forward and in silence hoist the kite. We got an ever so small Royal. ‘Lucky my Arse’.
acceleration. It can’t be more than 200m to the line. Other
boats listened and for an age they seemed to hesitate. All names and identities withheld.
18
ROlEX middle Sea Race It’s easy to see why this race is becoming so popular. The
ROLEX Middle Sea Race
weather, for a start. Even in late October it’s still a warm 22
2011 - EAORA Goes South degrees in the evening, which makes it a pleasure to drink
outside. Having an evening drink on the Royal Malta Yacht
Jason & Judy Payne-James, & Russell Walker
Club terrace, overlooking the massive floodlight ramparts
of the Valletta fort, is just wow, there’s no other word for it.
Discussions early in 2011 about what race we would like or
The Crew Party on Thursday night was superb.
could do led to Team Heartbeat IV deciding that there was
a possibility of getting the boat to Malta to participate in
the Rolex Middle Sea Race if we left immediately after the
end of the 2011 EAORA Season. Judy and Jason travelled
to Malta in April and met George Bonello-Depuis (XXX)
the Commodore of the Royal Malta YC. He and his team,
particularly Alex Vella and Alana (XXXX) were fantastic in
encouraging us to race, and assisting throughout the whole
campaign of getting Heartbeat IV to Malta.
Although time was tight Heartbeat IV was MCA coded in
time (with great assistance from Paul Stevens and Scott
Kaczor) and delivery skipper Sticky Stapylton engaged to
get her the 2900 miles to Malta 10 days or so before the race
‘Crew Pre-Race Party’
started, having left a few days after the Buckley Goblets.
The race team was a mixture of Heartbeat’s normal (the
A big surprise was the sheer number of sponsored big boats
word is used loosely) crew and those we have raced with
with professional crews. Heartbeat IV one of the smallest
and against in EAORA. Due to a number of unforseen
boats there. A Swan 66 called LOT66 just looked an average
problems, and a couple of forseeable ones (the weather)
size boat. And there wasn’t just one or two of these huge
Heartbeat IV had still not arrived in Malta by the time Jason
boats, they just kept on coming. The biggest boat, a 100’
and Judy got on the plane to Valletta on 19th October. So
Maxi called Esimit Europa, had a rating of 1.902. By Friday
it was with a feeling of extreme anxiety that we landed in
morning the entire team had arrived and so we were able
Valletta to get a text from the three team members (Trevor
to recce the start in the adjacent Grand Harbour and have
Bassett, Ian Magee and Marcus Bonomini) who had arrived
a trial run, using all sails, and allowing the entire team, who
a few hours earlier to say they could see her coming into the
had not sailed together as a complete crew, to go through
harbour. Intense activity by the entire team over the next 24
their paces.
hours allowed, with huge assistance from Christian Simciuc
from S & D Yachts who had arranged riggers and marine
electronics engineers, the boat to be converted from a
delivery status into full race mode.
Over the next couple of days the remaining team arrived
made up of Dani Southey, Nicola Paterson, Roger Temple,
Ash Foxhall, Grace Payne-James, Russell & Karen Walker
arrived. The Royal Malta Yacht Club had just built two new
visitor pontoons in August, but where they are is open to byJason & Judy Payne-James, & Russell Walker
the northeast and they are vulnerable to a NE gale... which
is exactly what they got on the Sunday before we arrived
(see XXXXXX You Tube link). IV had a great position on the
pontoon with EAORA flags prominent among the multiple
Rolex ones.
‘Pre-Race Trial’
‘The RMYC Pontoon - Pre-Race Prep - note EAORA Flags’
19
ROLEX Middle Sea Race That afternoon and evening we were able to relax and
finalise routes and strategy and update weather.
‘Pre-Start Manouevres - Valletta, Grand Harbour’
Once outside, it’s a short hop up the coast to a turning mark
‘Pre-Race Planning’ to give spectators a good view, followed by a sharp right
turn for the 70 mile leg to the SE corner of Sicily.
Race day arrived, cloudy with rain, but more importantly,
wind - a good 20 knots of it - not what was forecast, either For a few hours we were flying with the big kite up and
in direction or strength. It did mean that all those with the wind on the quarter - 10 knots in a remarkably flat sea.
onboard computers and weather routers didn’t quite the The rain slowly gave up, but although it was grey it was still
advantage they hoped. warm. Next morning saw us in sight of Sicily...and hardly
any wind. What there was was on the nose. Several boats,
The course is straightforward. Start in Malta, sail 150 miles including us, decided to tack towards the land and patches
to the Straits of Messina between Sicily and Italy, 35 miles of wind in the early morning sun. For a while this paid off,
northwest to Stromboli, 150 miles WSW to the west corner but as the day wore on boats to the southeast started to
of Sicily, 75 miles SSW to the island of Pantalleria, 80 miles come up rapidly, reaching in on a freshening SE’ly, whereas
SSE to the island of Lampedusa, then 100 miles ENE back we had been beating into a light northerly. Shortly before
byJason & Judy Payne-James, & Russell Walker
to Malta. We were told the race can be won or lost in the sunset (around 6.30) we reached top end of the Straits
Straits of Messina due to strong currents (up to 5 knots) where you enter the Tyrrhenian Sea.
caused by wind drift.
The start in Grand Harbour is just that. Grand. Stunning.
Spectacular. It’s also surprisingly crowded. And it’s noisy.
They don’t use a boat starting cannon, they use the proper
cannons on the Saluting Battery way above your head. It’s
nearly impossible to get a clean start due to the light and
fickle winds caused by the high ramparts all round, so chaos
is inevitable. For Heartbeat IV it was great to start alongside
2 other Dufour 45e’s, Freddie Boehnert’s Doppelbock and
the Russian ‘Comrade’. We won the Dufour start!
‘Toe of Italy’
You’ve probably heard of Scylla and Charybdis, the first
being a sea monster whose talons grabbed sailors off
ships and the second a whirlpool which dragged ships to
20
the bottom. We feared that Scylla might take our pretty What also arrived was a massive windshift from south
ROLEX Middle Sea Race
14 year old maiden, aka Grace Payne-James, who was the to northwest in a matter of seconds. We had no time to
youngest competitor in the race. In the event we didn’t douse the kite and ended up steering SE instead of WSW.
encounter Scylla, but we did find Charybdis. This thing We managed to gybe the kite and resume our proper
actually exists, and is caused by the strong currents which course, albeit with some anxious moments as to whether
are forced through the narrow strait over a sharp reduction the kite would stand the 28 knots true that had appeared.
in depth from 800 metres to 80 metres. The south going We later learnt that another boat, Doppelbock, a few miles
current, which you get after a northwesterly blow, can run to the north of us, had recorded 40 knots. 4 hours later
up to 4 knots. As it happened, we had a weak north going Heartbeat was once again almost stationary off Cap San
current of about half a knot, but even this was enough to Vito. Fortunately a SE breeze began to fill in and it wasn’t
produce an area of surprisingly rough turbulence. As we long before we had 6 knots, then 7, all in the right direction.
went through, dead downwind in about 20 knots, a couple The next leg 75 mile leg to Pantelleria was a close fetch in
of ships came through just where we didn’t want them about 20-25 knots. The race report described this as being a
to be, but they sportingly changed course and kept clear. rough and lumpy leg for competitors. However everything
The Navtex had several navigation notices to commercial is relative to your own experience. Yes, it was a little less
shipping asking them to keep clear of competitors in calm than what we had experienced so far, but for those
the Middle Sea Race - yet another pointer to how big an of us used to the North Sea it was positively flat. In fact
event the race is in the locality. Next up was the 35 miles to we were amazed at how little sea the wind was producing.
Stromboli, broad reaching with the kite up at 9-10 knots in No tides, warm winds and very deep water must make a
flat water. difference.
However, the wind, as usual, began to die although we were As we approached Pantalleria around noon we caught
still making decent progress. Sailing past Stomboli, around up Aziza, an Italian Grand Soleil 40, who only rated a little
midnight, was unbelievable. You can see it from a long way below us, who had got away from us when we were stuck
off, even in the dark, and it always has a cloud cap on top. in the calm patch off San Vito.
As we got round to the north side someone said “hey - isn’t
that a glow?” Minutes later it erupted, throwing a big red
shower of burning ash into the sky - and it just went on and
on. It’s an extraordinary sight and had the entire boat going
byJason & Judy Payne-James, & Russell Walker
“wow... oh wow... look at that!”
After that its 150 miles to the island of Favignana off the west
end of Sicily. During Tuesday afternoon a large and very
ominous area of grey and black cloud approached from the
northwest. It was obvious that we were for a drenching and
it duly arrived.
‘and the rains came’ ‘Close to Pantellaria’ 21
ROLEX Middle Sea Race As there was a favourable lift close to the shore we took a the lack of wind in the SE Med. It was bang crash wallow
couple of short tacks along it then headed off south again wrap for the kite, but at least we were making 4.5 knots over
as the forecast was for the wind to slowly veer. By the time the ground. As we got close to the Marsamxett entrance
we got to Lampedusa, 80 miles and 12 hours later, Aziza the mast did an extra special hop and the kite fell into the
were well over an hour behind. water - the shackle on the halyard had unclipped itself.
Luckily we only had 200 yards to go, before turning into the
Lampedusa achieved fame as a destination for fleeing harbour. The last short leg to the finish was painfully slow,
Libyans. It’s only a small island but it has some pretty coves with fickle eddies of wind swirling around the high walls of
and beaches. the battlements. Finally, having taken 40 minutes to cover
the just 0.8 of a mile, we finished at 6.47 am.
‘Leaving Lampedusa’
‘Finish - 0647h’
As you leave Lampedusa the course back to the Comino
channel in the middle of the Maltese archipelago is about Then it was back to the pontoon on the Royal Malta YC and
ENE, and with a light southerly of about 10 knots we set the a well appreciated bottle of champagne (or three).
code 0 and were soon romping along around 7-8 knots.
The last leg, including the last 10 miles from the Comino
channel back to Valetta is about 100 miles.
At this stage Russell poked his head through the hatch
and announced “Listen up everybody. The situation report
is that there’s basically a front approaching from the west,
behind which the wind will go round to the northwest,
which will give a good reaching leg back home. It’s also
forecast to increase. The computer says we will finish at
19.49.30 hours precisely. The navigator says, rubbish to that,
but he does say, we will be back in time for a beer”. Loud
cheers followed.
byJason & Judy Payne-James, & Russell Walker
Oh dear. Something about not counting your chickens ‘The RMSR Heartbeat Team’
comes to mind. As our friendly southerly wind died away
a huge area of menacing black cloud slowly came up from
astern. We were surely in for a pasting and a drenching,
but all we got was a few spots of rain... and no wind. It was
extraordinary. We drifted on and on.
As the day wore towards evening a sharp clearance, which
was very obviously the cold front, appeared. And indeed,
a few gentle catspaws started to appear from the north
west, but nothing like the amount promised. By 10 pm on
Wednesday we had at last got some wind back and were
making 5-6 knots in the right direction. The wind had gone
round to the north which was fine for progress while you
had it, but once in the lee of the land in the Comino channel
it virtually died completely, so boatspeed varied between
0.5 knots and 2.5 knots if you got a faint puff. It’s only 2 miles
through the gap but it took forever. When we got out to the
other side for the last short leg back to Valletta, there was a
bit more wind but also an incredibly lumpy easterly swell.
22 Where this had come from was a complete mystery, given
The Rolex Middle Sea Race is a fantastic, classic race.
ROLEX Middle Sea Race
Heartbeat IV had a superb team, every one of which put
everything into making the boat go as fast as possible and
supporting each other. As all of us on board have found,
the key elements are planning, but most of all sailing with
people who you know you are safe with, and who you
like. This was a great race for Heartbeat IV, not in terms of
results, but in terms of friendship and teamwork, and sheer
enjoyment. If you ever get a chance to do the Middle Sea
Race, just say yes.
‘Post- race relax’
A couple of other points. Up until Lampedusa we had done
very well, being 19th overall (out of 68) at Stromboli and
Favignana and still 25th at Lampedusa - the boats behind
had a wind shift which meant they almost had no beat at
all. Ten hours of little or no wind, plus the windless leg to
the finish, pushed us back to 44th overall as the faster boats
which had already finished saved their time. Even worse,
the wind picked up as the sun rose and we had to watch
later competitors charging up to the finish line at 5 times
our pace.
Would we do it again? No question - it beats the Fastnet
by miles. The whole thing has an incredible sense of
occasion, from the start in Grand Harbour, the scenery
(you’re in sight of land for much of the time), the potential
for tactical decisions, no tides other than the Strait of
Messina, Stromboli erupting (which it does regularly), even
down to the prizegiving in the incredibly well preserved
16th century buildings of the Order of St John. The icing
on the cake was that Grace won the Youth Cup, being the
youngest competitor at 14.
byJason & Judy Payne-James, & Russell Walker
‘Grace at the Prizegiving party with Christian Ripard -
co-skipper of overall winner J122 - Artie’.
23
EAORA Programme 2012
date Race Organising Authority
Pattison Cup Cat 4 Coastal Series -
5th May 2012 WMYC
Burnham on Crouch to West Mersea
Ralph Herring Cat 4 Coastal Series -
6th May 2012 RBYC
West Mersea to Burnham on Crouch
North Sea Race -
18th May 2012 RORC/RHYC/EAORA
Harwich to Scheveningen
Jane’s Cup Cat 4 Coastal Series -
2nd June 2012 MYC
Burnham to Medway
Thames Estuary Cat 4 Coastal Series -
3rd June 2012 RCYC
Medway to Burnham on Crouch
Houghton Cup -
16th June 2012 CYC
Burnham on Crouch to Burnham on Crouch
East Coast Race -
29th June 2012 WMYC/RORC/EAORA
West Mersea to Breskens
Cannon Ball Cat 4 Coastal Series -
1st July 2012 MYC
Breskens to Breskens
EAORA week Cat 4 Coastal Series -
2nd July 2012 EAORA
Southern Holland
walker Challenge Cat 4 Coastal Series -
18th August 2012 HPYC/RHYC/EAORA/Haven Series
Harwich to Lowestoft
Buckley Goblets -
7th Sept 2012 WMYC
West Mersea to Ostend
Prize Giving -
13th October 2012 EAORA
Crouch Yacht Club
Overall Series Coastal Series Royal Thames yacht Club Qualifiers
11 races - 4 Discards 7 races - 2 Discards Pattinson Cup
Thames Estuary
Houghton Cup
East Coast Race
Buckley Goblets
For more information visit the website at www.eaora.org.uk
