Sailing from the heart of Portsmouth

For a change we decided to start the racing off the wall, course 1 was set with a light breeze down the wall, SW 12kts ish

RA p
SS p
PSC p
SS p
PSC p
SS p
PSC p
Finish at SS

All the Victorys were line shy and spread across the middle of the line
Close tacking up first leg especially just past PSC with lots of crossings
Coming into RA all boats on starboard, procession but close together, except Z78 who went far left on the course nearly to St Helens Fort…

Slow to put up spinnakers, Port pole, 80, 54, 76, 77, 75, 70, 53 and Z78 positions round the windward.

Coming into Suffolk Sails Z53 had an early spinnaker drop and everyone rounded with strong tide pushing them into the harbour

Places to SS- 30 min first lap
75
54
80
76
77
70
53
78

Spinnakers at PSC
54 (tacked into wall, this is what Gareth would have done….)
76
80
75
70
77
53
78

Places at SS, quick spinnaker leg of 12mins, second lap
80
76
54
75
70
77
53
78 (RET)

Places at PSC
80
76
54
75
70
77
53

Spread out left to right across the downwind with the shortened course flag/wind sock displayed.

Finishing at 2001 within 30 seconds-

80
76
54
75

Then

70 2002:31
78 2003:53
53 2006:05
78 RET

Congrats to Z80 with Russel and Munch

What a contrast to last weeks racing in the central Solent…. calm, light winds and sunshine!

See you tomorrow, Thursday 22nd August, for the crews race

Zoe
Z71

Cross Street was quiet at 0830 this morning as the lack of Victory Class WhatApp messages meant Munch did not have to utter profanities to wake up the sleeping sailors. After a delightful breakfast the sailors assembled at their usual time in the ISC to quickly find that the Island had arranged a two hour postponement with Cowes Week Limited to bump their beer and bbq profits before sailing. The ISC desperately handed out free rum samples to ease the boardem.

After many rain squals we finally headed to the moorings in a little rush once AP had been removed, only to sit in the rain on the Victories going nowhere. The rain cleared and our course was announced, off to the strange unchartered west we went.

The course was -

Start at RYS Line 1

Cowes Yacht Haven (s)

Sevenstar Yacht Transport (p)

Yacht DataBank (p)

Gurnard Ledge (p)

RYS Line 1 to finish

A square-ish course crossing the Solent twice beating each side of the crossings.

Differing tactics at the start- Z69 on the pin end but late, Z73 in the middle but bang on time, Z80 v v late in the moorings, Z48 on the RYS rocks.

After a tricky beat with little breeze and lots of tide up the green past Egypt Point the fleet positions were changing regularly. At the windward mark Z69 emerged in the lead with Z71 following but nearly Z73 who couldn’t round CYH due to Z71 being on starboard holding them off. After deciding that the leg to the north shore would warrant a kite the fleet hoisted their colourful spinnakers and had a drag race to the entrace of the Beaulieu river. Congrats Z73 for a tought fight to the windward. Good navigation and excellent kite trimming were key on this leg!

Z69 pulled ahead but Z71 were hot on their heels. The Victories chasing the front two were split across east and west with Z77, Z74, Z48, Z54 fighting hard. Z69 and Z71 dropped spinnakers before completing their crossing of the Solent due to being further east, Z77 navigated superbly and closed up on the top two. At Sevenstar Yacht Transport the wind had shifted and it was nearly a drag race to Yacht DataBank, but the tide changes bought the advantages for Z69 who pulled away from Z71. After tacking up the north shore and going to lay Yach DataBank, Z69 slightly misjudged the layline due to the tide strength and had to double tack to make the mark, this allowed Z71 to hold on a bit further and catch up with the lead boat, once they rounded and headed for the big green buoy on the island shore Zinnia catapulted themselves on a tight reach, no spinni required. On the second beat Z77 closed the gap on Z74 and Z54 did even better and managed to cross infront of Z74 whilst making for Yacht DataBank, Z48 were also hot on the heels of the second group. At YachtDataPoint Z77 rounded ahead of Z74, follwed by Z54 & Z48.

Z71 didn’t managed to make any in-roads into Z69s lead. Most boats stayed in their positions but Z77 and Z74 had to deal with a couple of pesky Xs!!! The run down from Gunard Ledge to the Squardron finish was rapid due to the tide pushing the boats home. Z54 did cause a couple of early gybes by going for the inside line, Z74 squeezed past Z77 and headed the canons of the squadron line.

The final results were-

Z69

Z71

Z74 (Carols first Cowes gun- congrats!)

Z77

Z54

Z48

Z67

Z70

Z80

Z73

Congrats Team Scammell! Lets hope there is more breeze tomorrow.

We do do sailing… but time for a beer!

Zoe & Munch with guest editor Geoff Dixon xx

Evidently, we do just drink…..

We promised some sailing… we were wrong… 0830 hours Munch woke up Cross Street with a “For f**ks sake” after reading the text from Russell which pretty much summed up the opinion on the days racing, we were to be shore bound for another day due to 18-24 kts gusting up to 28 kts from the south west.

The committees decision allowed for us to take a leisurely breakfast for us to then amble to the Island Sailing Club to welcome the late coming Victories. Apon arrival the contingents from Z70, Z71 and Z73 were already halfway through their first pint of the day, it was 1126….

After discussing the decision not to race in much detail the crew of Z71, plus Munch, decided to venture out and watch the Sail GP racing which was set up along the green at Egypt Point. Whilst milling around in quite sizeable (and wet!) chop we watched a class 4 J-something broaching with their spinnaker up, initially thinking that they were bonkers to have it up unnecessarily after finishing their race due to the strong breeze funnelling down the solent, we quickly realised that they were in trouble as the spinnaker was out of control with a blown tack line, pinning them down at a horrific angle.

Stretch, in his orange helmet - being a pro windsurf rescuer - instructed them to blow the spinnaker and we collected it from the water, as they blew the sheets a poor crew had a bight of sheet wrapped around her leg nearly pulling her overboard, thankfully only her shoe was pulled off (without her foot in it may i add!). The boat dropped the main and got under control, five shocked faces thanked us for helping them, hopefully they headed back to their mooring and had a stiff drink to calm the nerves.

We pootled off around the Sail GP exclusion zone, nearly ending up in Lymington! After seeing how breezy it was we were convinced that the less durable F50s wouldn’t be racing. Through the skepticism of the seasoned racers onboard the rib and after a lot of waiting around due to mark repositioning, race 1 got underway - it was quite exhilarating ! The Yanks capsized before the second mark (in slo mo), the Aussies stormed ahead and the Brits had a good tussle with the Japanese team before burying the nose after a big bear away and catapulting one of their crew forwards. No damage to the crew member but the boat did not fare well…

After the first race domestic duties called and the four damp Victory sailors returned to Cowes the long way via 3R, NE Gurnard. The north islanders (Stretch and Gareth) returned home whilst the excitement proved too much for the south islanders and they returned to the dry land for a nap.

If you want to find the youth social contingent tonight they will be in the The Anchor from 2130 hrs, come join us and take part in some dancing to bring on the winds tomorrow.

We promise to have some actual sailing news tomorrow… we don’t just drink…

hmmm deja vu?

Happy Cowes Week!!

Zoe & Munch xx

With racing abandoned for both white and black group due to strong winds the first day of Cowes Week was set aside for a lazy morning followed by collecting registration packages and then wandering along to Gurnard to double check that it was windy- we can confirm that it was rather breezy….

Thankfully the shops were open for last minute kit purchases and the bars were thronging with hungover sailors topping up on the booze.

The serious sailors used the day to complete last minute checks and repairs on their boats, Cowes Yacht Haven pontoons were awash with professional crews busying themselves in the sunshine.

Tomorrows racing for white group has already been postponed by two hours which allows for copious beering tonight (and tomorrow morning for the committed)

If you want to find us the Victory Class social contingent, the youth section will be in the Duke of York, follow the loud music and bad singing, come join us!

I promise we will have some sailing news tomorrow….hopefully! We don’t just drink…

Happy Cowes Week!!

Zoe & Munch xx

​

He was brought up in Dublin and moved to the UK in his early 20s having graduated from the Dental School at Trinity College and set up home in Cosham with his late wife, Sheila. He was a passionate sportsman playing rugby for Portsmouth as well as being selected for Hampshire. Retiring from rugby he sailed with his old team mates, Ian Mead and Ged Grieve in Shearwater for nearly fifty years. Billy brought his ‘work-hard’ ‘play-hard’ approach to sailing, especially Cowes Week. As well as loving the racing at Cowes, Billy fully embraced the social side where the trio were early adopters of the Royal Corinthian for the week, a legacy that lives on with the Class to this day. Many of you will recall the late night games of ‘Bomber Command’. This always culminated in a port engine fire having to be put out by a soda syphon. The port engine was usually an X-Boat sailor! How Billy and his team mates ever sailed the next day remains a mystery to many.

Despite their ’tiredness’ the following day they often found themselves with a gun. Their success was in no small part due to Billy’s trimming skills and strength on the long spinnaker legs which remain a feature at Cowes. Upwind Billy was adept at keeping his cigarette alight in all weathers. He even managed to keep the ember burning on his Marlboro one day after falling into the Camber!

Aside from the Victory Class, Billy sailed in a number of IOR boats over the years including with Adlard Coles whose books many of you will have read. Billy was unfortunate to be the first person to be rescued in the tragic 1979 Fastnet Race while sailing with fellow PSC member, Tony Lloyd. Their boat, Camargue, capsized in heavy seas in the St George’s Channel. Many will have seen the news footage of the crew being winched into the Culdrose helicopter and Billy’s subsequent appearance on ‘This is your Life’!

Billy was a life-long sportsman playing golf and squash. The latter probably longer than was sensible. He also had many interests which included history and archaeology and was a volunteer for the Probation Service.

Billy leaves children Siobhan, Neil and Jo. His funeral is at 11am on Thursday 13th June at St Thomas’s Roman Catholic Church in Emsworth and afterwards at the Slipper Sailing Club.

Russell Mead

Boats on the startline were 57, 70, 71, 74, 75, 76, 78, 80, unfortunately Z68 broke their tiller and didn’t start the race. The first leg was a reach to PSC, the majority of the fleet started at the Suffolk Sails end of the line with their spinnakers up.

The fleet split at PSC with Z75 leading the pack towards the Isle of Wight, whilst Z57 took a gaggle of Victorys to the edge of the channel. The wind was gusty with a sea state reminiscent of Cowes week, if only it was a little warmer!

Z75 led around the first windward mark (VW) down the gybe mark (KB) followed swiftly by Z71 and Z76. Kites had to be dropped at PSC for the very tight reach/near beat to PSC.

Z75 continued their lead at Suffolk Sails and up to Vail Williams for a second time, whilst the rest of the pack fought for the other places.

Downwind from VW to PSC there were a few gybe battles to try and gain places, however coming into PSC Z76 pipped Z71 followed by Z57 sneaking in before the finish.

Take home from the race- when in doubt definitely put you jacket on, the waves are wetter than they look …

The results-

Z75, 76, 57, 71, 70, 80, 78, 74. Congrats to Z75 on their win!

Thank you to OOD Ron Fidler.

The next race is tonight, Thursday 9th May and then Saturday 11th May. See you on the water!

Zoe, Z71