2007 Race Reports

Race 9 - Alderney Race

2007 Alderney race report from Oz Privateer

The lead up to the race was, to say the least, action packed. Following the accident that took Ozzy out of action in Race 1 and the subsequent time lag due to insurance companies, Mark Goodacre and his team were working around the clock at GYS to get Ozzy in to a fit state to take part in the Alderney race. 0700 Friday morning Tim and I were at Port Solent helping the rigger plant the mast in Ozzy, Jo was preparing chicken in white wine for 9 and even the student members of the crew were thinking about getting up.
At 1300 all the crew were assembled helping to put all of the sails, safety kit and all the other bits of kit back onto Ozzy and at 1430 we left the dock ready to try Ozzy out.
The trip to the JOG start line was unusual for us in terms of timing and scenery; we normally head out from Beaulieu which takes about 40 minutes.
As usual the forecast and the wind direction were at complete odds with each other resulting in a windward start and the ODM being the favourable end of the line. With the majority of the Class 3 boats making for the ODM things got a little bit crowded for all of us with Ozzy just squeaking round the mark.
As we headed out of the Solent we expected the wind to shift round to the NE, which it didn't. We settled into our beat to Alderney and enjoyed a fantastic meal courtesy of Jo. Making good progress in about 7kts of breeze we envisaged a morning arrival in Alderney, however, the weather gods decided to give us some thick fog and not a lot of wind. At this point we were just on the edge of the separation zone with enough headway to point Ozzy in the right direction. The AIS soon came into it's own giving us a clear view of vessels heading our way. Shortly after midday we started to get some variable breeze from the N allowing us to carry the lightweight kite towards Alderney. The finish was bizarre, where we could not see Alderney but we could hear people on the breakwater, as we crossed the line we nearly ran into a square rigger moored just behind the line (very Master and Commander). Using the GPS we found the moorings and eventually moored up next to Hope and Glory who had arrived at a similar time to ourselves.
As usual the Alderney sailing club made us welcome and it was nice to see Peter and Sandie finishing us all despite the conditions.
After a great meal in Bumps we retired to Ozzy ready for a 0400 return to the Solent.
In the morning we motor sailed for about 7 hrs when the engine died, by this time we had plenty of breeze allowing us to continue sailing towards Bridge. On investigation we found we had run out of diesel. Ozzy does not have a fuel gauge and in our rush to get away we had forgotten to factor in the motoring back from the accident and the hours the yard had put on the engine in addition we had not packed the spare can of fuel.
Shortly after the fuel crisis a large grey vessel (not on AIS) with a big gun came towards us, in full on James Bond style a rib popped out of the stern of the vessel and charged across to us. Black suited men from HM Customs and Excise boarded Ozzy and asked very politely who was on board and if we were carrying any contraband. After a check on who we were, where we had been and where we were going, we were able to have a good chat about what they do and the challenges they face and we were able to tell them a bit about JOG. Sarah asked the guys if she could have a ride on the rib but unfortunately they were unable to help (something to do with health and safety). With Sunday lunch calling, the HMC&E chaps left us and returned to the Mother Ship. In similar James Bond Style to before, they drove the rib into the back of the ship where, once on board, a door closed behind them.
Off St Cats we hit fog again and ran out of wind. Fortunately for us Paddiywack was passing by and kindly let us have 10Lt of Diesel, which got us back to Port Solent where GYS are going to finish off the bits of work that they were unable to manage in time for Alderney.
As usual, thank you to our race officers for race and the hard work that they put in.

Report from Zest, Class 4

After a week of decent north easterlies, I suppose it was inevitable that the supply of wind would run out just in time for the race. In common with the rest of class four, having heard the recalls for class five we made a competitive start a mere fifty metres shy of the line, but at least going in the right direction for a change. Confident of a shift to the predicted north westerlies, we kept on the north side of the deep channel, which seemed to do ok until the wind turned south west. Crossing back towards the Island, we were mildly irritated to find Paddiywack rather too close for comfort.

Along with most of the rest of the fleet, we tacked south soon after Bridge to take the tide on the lee bow. The navigator, with touching confidence in the forecast rambled on about not getting too far west so we would not be upwind of the finish in light winds. After a series of re-evaluations of our options, the net effect of which was to keep about to the rhumb line, dawn found us poised to hurtle across the shipping lanes - still with light southerlies. Fog duly descended, and we set off to play in the traffic. Not having AIS, this relied on listening to the plaintiff calls of the foghorns, smelling the diesel smoke, observing ghostly wakes go past, and keeping our heads down. Don't know if it is anything to do with the Ouzo report, but an awful lot of ships seem to give yachts a very wide berth these days. At least the holes in the wind didn't occur when we were actually in the shipping lanes.

The start of the east going tide found us about twenty miles from the finish, and as a result off the navigator's diligence, almost directly upwind of the finish in light airs. Gloomy predictions about ETA were followed by brief (very brief) discussions about the effect of continental drift, the wisdom of anchoring in the Hurd Deep, and of going to Cherbourg. Deciding not to decide, we agreed to press on until we actually started loosing ground seriously (which the navigator confidently expected to be about ten minutes time). However, the wind picked up and backed enough to allow us to keep a reasonable speed, actually in the right direction.

As is always the way, the wind seemed to drop progressively as we got closer to the finish, and we ended up creeping across the line about 4pm. Well, GPS said we did - the first thing we saw was a yacht on a mooring buoy. Apparently Harry on the end of the breakwater could hear us on the radio, but couldn't see us. He could confirm our presence from the skipper's comments floating across the water as a very soggy light weight spinnaker wrapped itself round a spreader tip and removed almost an entire leach as it came down.

The relatively small number of finishers made the drinks session at the sailing club something of a challenge - I have vague recollections of this being taken very seriously. Setting off at midnight, there were discussions about whether or not it was still foggy. Perfect sailing conditions for the first six hours, in light easterlies, which turned into perfect motoring conditions when the tide turned. Just off St Cats, the sea breeze filled in from the SE, sails were set again, and we were boarded by customs. Survival suits, crash helmets, dark visors, steel boots, stab jackets, the works. Could have been Judge Dread. Seemed to be boarding any boat that passed. All very polite, but a bit of a rude awakening. The trip was finished off by vis going back to 50m as thick fog followed us up to the forts.

Anyway, thanks as usual to the race team at both ends of the race. Hope Pete and Sandie made it back to the Island in time for the Stones.

Report from Paddiywack, Class 4

For this race the Island Youth Water Activities Centre offered crewing opportunitie to three young people. Glen Austin (19), Scott Bruce (16) and Kirsty Gardner (16). Glen and Scott have recently returned from crewing on Gipsy Moth IV and Kirsty was embarking on her second cross-channel race aboard Paddiywack. Mike Acton was once again at the helm this time assisted by Kevin Richardson as first mate.

We enjoyed the beat down to the Bridge buoy as conditions were ideal for Paddiywack. We managed to round second in class 4 and had to reshape a strategy for conditions that weren't exactly as forecast. For a while we stayed on port tack going out to the West, however it seemed that this was not paying as we saw other boats heading South at greater speed than we were managing. We came back towards the fleet and then made the mistake of heading East of the rhumb line on the basis that all of the forecasts I looked at had predicted more wind to the East. The wind decreased and we were at the mercy of the tide.
In the early hours the fog came in just as had entered the first of the shipping lanes. For the second race in succession we were looking out for ships in fog with the engine running in neutral just in case. In view of the vis. we carried on at right angles to the flow of traffic which set us more eastwards all of the time.
It was decision time, we were in between the two shipping lanes in dense fog. Carry on with the race through another shipping lane or go home through the shipping lane that we had just sailed through. We carried on remembering that the forecast had said fog banks rather than the entire channel swathed in fog.

The winds remained frustratingly light and many of our crew found the fog very disorientating. It became apparent that we were in for a long slog as we did not have enough speed to get to the west of the rhumb line before the tide turned to stream east all afternoon. Finally the breeze filled in from the South East and we were able to set a spinnaker to at least stem the tide, the fog cleared somewhat and we enjoyed sunshine sailing. The wind went round to the North we gybed, the tide turned and we were able to make some miles over the ground towards Alderney. As we got closer the fog closed in again and we crept into the harbour with the aid of our GPS plotter!

Nearly 25 hours had elapsed from the start of the race and our original plan of setting off for Cowes at midnight was shelved. We set off at 6am and enjoyed a glorious sail back. When can we fix the weather so that we have a glorious sail there? Disappointed to encounter fog again around the south of the Island, this made us question our decision to sail towards Bembridge. The crew of Oz Privateer were quite pleased to see us motoring across Sandown Bay though as they had a diesel and wind shortage. We concluded a very satisfactory transaction to the benefit of both parties.

Many of our crew didn't enjoy significant portions of the weekend, but when they looked back on the whole weekend they agreed that it had been a great adventure and are all looking forward to their next opportunity to go yachting.

Report from Electron, Class 5

"Right children" said Skip as he eyed Millie and Tug giggling on the pontoon. "I have bought loads of food 'cos it's gonna be a long 'un". Tug looked at Millie and whimpered. Millie did is best Frankie Howerd "ooh er missus". "So" said Skip "I am not inclined to retire. Unless there's a very good reason we will stick it out" And so, just three up, Electron plodded off to the start line for an early start. Tug had already volunteered to be galley bitch for the trip and on the way over to Gurnard ferreted about the boat taking stock of the victuals: "OOOH, we've got stag chilli and rice - can I cook it now!" To which Skip gave an emphatic "NO", followed up with a "once we're out of the Solent we'll have it". Tug was pacified and set about brewing tea, for the first of many times!

Electron had an unfashionably good start. The fact the boat was only three up did not deter Skip from mixing it at the pin end of the line. With a flurry of bravado he conned the boat to within a metre of Gurnard on starboard and tacked on the line back out into the deeper water. Unfortunately nobody on the boat had seen the Cowes TV rib. Fortunately, the Rib helm was switched on and only a near miss was recorded - which went like this:

Millie: "Did you see that?"
Skip: "See what?"
Tug: "What?"
Millie: "That rib"
Skip: "What rib"
Tug: "Can I do dinner now?"

It was obviously going to be a difficult and impossibly flippant race (more later!)

It was about this time that Millie suggested the race have a theme. After a few tacks, the odd loss of concentration which let Whistler and Act of Defiance get miles ahead, it was decided all of the crew would be Pirates in Johnny Depp style!

"Arh, what be the course the 'elm shud steer me lovely" - and so on…..

Now, with JOG racing there is only one certainty in life. That of the absolute certainty that the wind will either be dead on the nose or dead on the stern. So, with "Johnny Depp" acceptance. The crew of Electron tacked the boat down the Solent with lots of "Arh's" and "Avast, port tack boat to larboard" etc.Once out of the Solent Tug did his galley bit and the boat settled down to a 2 on one off routine. Skip was determined to finish the race and so tried to make sure everyone got some kip. Unfortunately, as soon as the fog came in the crew had to stay on deck so not much rest was had in the end.

About an hour or so before sunrise Saturday Skip broke out the Haribo sweets. Now these little puppies are loved by the Electron crew, who tend to over indulge on them with one serious side effect - sugar rush! The main problem then being everyone gets a little hyper active. So, as the sun started to rise and the mist swirled around, Electron was drifting along to hysterical laughter and the "Electron Crew Whistling Orchestra". It seems, Millie and Skip decided they would whistle as many tunes as they could for the benefit of the crew of Whistler - just a few metres away. The theme of arty outward going efforts continued for the rest of the race with a proposed whistling EP on an aeronautical theme and at least two albums on whistled sea shanties and other nautical type songs. Not tiring for a moment (there were still plenty of Haribo's) Skip and Millie then decided - in pirate speak, to do the next race as Tommy Cooper - they are barking mad - the lot of them.

The fog thickened. The wind stayed light and slowly dwindled. Skip, uncharacteristically decided to do some nav and suggested a tack would be beneficial. "Lets wait for a thick bit (of fog) and tack away from Whistler - they'll wonder where we disappeared to he he he "he said. Tug and Millie giggled and joined in the conspiracy. With a few "arh's" and other pirate noises the boat was tacked. Stupidly, the laughter and giggling carried on so much that there was no stealth at all and Whistler could have been a mile away and heard what was going on.

The fog got thicker and the ships got nearer. One, never seen, was close enough for its bow wave to role the boat severely. Skip announced that he "could smell the Watch Keepers after shave". Millie just mumbled that his knees would not stop trembling! The fog horns were sounding all around Electron and the wind died. As Skip concentrated on trying to get some boat speed Millie decided to mimic a fog horn. Now, Millie is pretty good at a number of things but his "Big Ship Fog Horn" is exceptional. He looked away from Skip and sounded - "hmmmmmmm" Skip jumped: "Pooh (edited) that's close". Millie did it again and Skip nervously looked around and started to get a bit of a sweat on. Millie came clean and admitted it was him. For about 5 seconds Skip did not see the funny side - ah well, you can't win them all can you?

With visibility down to a few hundred metres at best and little breeze Electron was slowly drifting across the shipping lane at a very awkward angle. Skip cheered the crew by issuing a small tot of rum - "arh, that be very peasant" announced Millie.

The bottle had only a couple of tots in it, so was soon empty. The crew struck up a conversation about messages in a bottle. It went something like this:

Skip: "Shall we do a message in a bottle"
Millie: "Yeh"
Tug: "Who shall we send it to?"
Millie: "Let's send it to Whistler"
Tug: "What shall we say?"
Millie: "Where are you?"
Tug: (writes the note)
Millie adds: "Then we'll get it back from whistler with a note saying - "we're here"" and we'll then send another note back saying "Where's here?"

Millie: "and then they'll…….."

He was about to embark on another round of weird talk when Skip announced it was time for the kite. Up went the code 1 "White zombie". Everyone hurried around and prepared the light sheets. Up went the kite, down came the jib. Millie trimmed for a while and then said: "Here Skip, can you buy another kite?" Skip, reluctantly suggested that the Electron budget was being stretched this year because of all the other repairs and renewals then finished with a "why?" Millie trimmed some more then said: "Well, do you know how difficult it is to trim a white kite against a white background?" then added "Where's my sunglasses"

As Braye approached Skip fussed and worked at making sure Electron stayed up tide. Down tide would be a disaster after such a long passage. The finish line was completely shrouded in fog and it was difficult to be sure exactly where the line finished. Skip, in his usual competitive manner just sailed on a little further to be sure before he recorded the finish time. A late kite drop then ensued as Electron sailed into the moorings - no problem! Engine on, find a single boat to a buoy and come alongside - clunk, throttle breaks with Electron in forward gear! It could have got a bit messy if it were not for the quick reactions of the crew and a good kill switch!A long race in very difficult conditions with a reasonable result. Being short handed, the un-sung hero of the race of Peter (the auto-pilot) who never wavered once and allowed the crew to concentrate on trim! Thanks go to the race officers and all those who got in early enough to drink all the booze at the party to make sure the Electron old soaks missed the lot!!!

Footnote: The return journey was not too bad, if a little boring. The crew of Electron finished the Haribo sweets and came up with a hair brained scheme to do a 2008 calender, the working title of which is "Electron Crew 200*" (not very jazzy) Needless to say, a lot of fun was had. Provisional images can be seen on the Electron web site www.electron.nildram.co.uk

Report from Whistler, Class 5

Following the gloom at missing Deauville (short lived when we saw the results and read the reports of the return trip), we were eagerly looking forward to getting back on the race track with the race to Alderney - well most of us were - another outbreak of diary incontinence had left us short handed but with the return of Tim and a bit of international recruitment (very successful - she bought a very nice chocolate cake), we managed to have a workable crew of five.

We motored up to Cowes in time to take on board some pie and chips to supplement our usual rations of Pot Noodles and Mars bars, and had time before the gun for a quick look at the line and the usual exchange of pleasantries with Electron.

Having initially tacked off with most of the fleet we then opted to follow our own counsel and tacked down the deep water, working our way to the front of the pack and leading Class 5 out past the Needles. We spotted Act of Defiance had tacked onto a more southerly course and after a quick bit of mental "nav" followed suit. Anticipating a long race in failing winds (oh, how prescient!) we settled into a watch system of two people on and two off, with one "floater", which seemed to work OK.

Through the night the wind failed but as dawn broke we could see that we were in close company with Act of Defiance and Electron. After slatting around for quite some time it gradually built enough to get all three of us moving; AOD once again tacked off and Electron (showing their usual good pace in the very light stuff) crept up on us, accompanied by non-stop cackles and laughter - whatever they were on, we'd like some!

The wind built and we were able to get back past Electron and then the fog rolled in and swallowed them, although they could be tracked until out of earshot. We were then alone until the finish except the ghostly moans of foghorns as we approached the shipping lanes. We were able to cross the northern lane with decent breeze but once again it failed us - the one saving grace being that we were actually in the separation zone between the lanes. We were trapped there for the best part of 2 hours... and now know there are two almost identical pink buoys (there was mass despair when we first spotted the second after drifting for an hour!) The wind filled in fitfully and as soon as we had spotted a gap on the AIS, we entered the southern lane. Of course the moment that we went for it another bunch of targets appeared filling the gaps! We managed to pick our way through with the need to talk to only one vessel, which was following an erratic course (seemingly tracking our every move) as they sought to avoid a fishing vessel.

Nav and tactics were something of a challenge with the wind absolutely nothing like the forecast, no visual reference except the plot on the PC and no idea where anyone else was apart from Old Mother Gun, who we roughly plotted following their radio exchanges in the shipping lanes, so we made the best of what we had and pressed on…

As we tracked down to the finish the wind built and, with the skipper combining the roles of emergency bowman and conning Whistler from the nav station, skirted the off-lying rocks before gybing down to the finish. In the harbour tiredness, dusk and the fog combined to produce a surreal, monochrome, dislocated vista, especially as the tall ship loomed out of the gloom - but we were there!

With every restaurant fully booked we necked a few pints whilst critiquing the band at The Moorings, before setting off into the thankfully fog-free channel once more - at least we still had some Pot Noodles!

Report from Act of Defiance, Class 5

The omens were good - we had 3 weather forecasts that were all aligned (so should have been obvious that we would get something different!), the crew were on time and we had the novelty of a fair tide on the way to the start from Haslar. All this meant that a new AOD record was set and we were through the identity gate receiving the cheery wave with a full 30 mins spare. Oh and on top of that a dolphin had decided that the Solent was the place to be and gave us a few soul lifting sweeps down the side of the boat.

Using the luxury of our spare 30 mins we had a good look at the line, a pre-race snack, planned our timed approach and made an uneventful start. There then followed a tactical tacking battle down to the Needles. Everytime we thought that we were clear the guys on Whistler exposed our lack of detailed Solent knowledge and found an extra something and led the fleet out past Bridge.

The AOD crew then settled down to Mediterranean Chicken with cous cous. No starters or desserts this time as the chef claimed to have been too busy - something to do with being stuck trying to find a lighthouse of Plymouth earlier in the week.

Our weather forecasts all implied SW sea breezes until the late evening to be followed by light NW which would veer to the NE and be stronger to the East of the rhumb line. So we were not expecting the SW to last till the early hours of the morning with the wind then veering to the NW and continuing round to the South by Sunrise. So past Bridge, with the wind becoming a bit more Southerly we tacked and made ground to the East. It was an interesting night and as the race developed we found ourselves in the company of 2 other boats which at daybreak turned out to be Whistler and Electron. Many thanks to the chaps on Electron for their high spirits and good humour. Listening to the non-stop comedy and laughter coming over the sea was a real spirit lifter as we drifted aimlessly waiting for a little puff of breeze. AOD dropped the head sail for a couple of hours to save it from flogging. As the breeze picked up, AOD tacked of to build some boat speed and sea room and then tacked back to the South and the approaching fog at around 07:00. At this point we were very glad of our winter investment in a Sea Me and that we had someone on board who could use the radar. Since we were in the middle of the shipping lanes with less than 200M visibility, we put the engine onto standby to ensure that we had the instant ability to avoid anything nasty that may loom up, and that we had enough juice to keep the radar and Sea Me running.

By 10:00 it was apparent that we were very unlikely to finish on the East tide but the next West. So having adjusted our position as far West as possible, we then crept South on the East tide, before gybing back to the South West as the tide turned West. We had a good last hour to Aldereny, before the breeze started to drop and we crept over the line to finish, just in time to join the party. The tall ship looming out of the fog at Alderney by the finish was memorably eerie. To cap it all we managed to get a table at the First and Last before setting off in the early hours for a motor sail back and a foggy entry to Portsmouth. Many thanks to Peter and the JOG team for their time and efforts and being so keen to get us a drink at the finish.