TAMESIS Offshore Group
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The Race
that never was
It was blowing old boots and then some on Saturday 28 May, the day
scheduled for the Tamesis Offshore Race – Jack's 38th
Trip – from Portsmouth to Beaulieu River. Gusts of over 40 mph were
being recorded in the Solent and with a stong wind warning in force
Martin Adams, the stand-in Race Officer on Murena II, wisely decided
(by phone) the race should be abandoned before it was even started. He
was still at home in Richmond!
Meanwhile, five of the nine boats which had entered for the race were having second thoughts in port overnight as the wind whistled through their rigging. There was much consultation via mobile phones the next day about about whether to sail or drive to the supper. The broadcasting of three maydays and a pan pan during the afternoon helped make up a few minds.
Closest to the start line at Gleeds, near Portsmouth, were Steve Osgood, Stewart Colley and Ted Neal – last years's winners of the Offshore Cup – aboard Cicada, Steve's Contessa 28, in Haslar Marina. Steve had flow into Gatwick from San Francisco the night before to join Stewart and Ted who had sailed Cicada from Poole in a strong but manageable offshore wind on the Friday. They were warned off by military guard boats for sailing too close to a US aircraft carrier anchored in Stokes Bay.
Cicada actually made it out to the start line at Gleeds at 14.00, the start time, to find that Clive Mence and his crew in Chaika C (Scanmar 35) were also there, having sailed under storm jib from the Hamble, but were unable to communicate because Clive was at the helm and no one else knew how to operate the radio telephone.
Jeremy and Max Vines took their five crew members on Pickle (Dufour 34) from Lymington to Newtown Creek for a picnic lunch before sailing across to Beaulieu. Rumour had it that they were surfing at 9 knots under reefed jib alone.
Tony and Leonie Steer and their two man crew on Shen Shui (Moody 33) reached across from Portsmouth to Cowes for lunch and a stroll (see report below) and then across to Beaulieu at 7 knots. Other boats ventured out but returned to their moorings when they discovered how rough it was.
Of the 34 people who sat down for a three-course supper at the Royal Southampton YC Gins Clubhouse, 11 arrived by boat and the others by car. The sailors agreed they had had the easier navigational task.
Jack’s Trip on board Shen Shui
Despite the strong wind warning and the confirmation that this race was cancelled the crew of Shen Shui took a unanimous vote to sail to the rally at Gin’s Farm and happily had an action packed, fun weekend. We left early to take the last of the ebb down to Cowes tucking under the lee of the IoW.
When you spend time with people that you only meet socially you learn a lot about them. Peter Simpson I know cannot survive a day without an egg or an apple and he seems to be a good advert. But Rupert Fletcher was a revelation. On a lunch break in Cowes he shot to the shops and delayed the boat's departure as he purchased a huge canvas painting, larger than the saloon table. He is a delightful shopaholic.
The Beaulieu River was picturesque, the past commodore very welcoming (except his wife was allergic to cats) and the rally dinner delicious.
We left before the bar became dangerous and had a very rough passage under a tiny Genoa downwind to Osborne Bay (detours to Cowes were banned), where we dropped anchor under sail. We had lunch whilst waiting for the tide to turn. Aircraft Carrier 77 was on our route home so we dutifully left her to port 100 metres and were not harassed by the police guard on our legal passage.
The waters were much smoother now with wind and tide from the west and we were entertained by first a high wire rescue off Browndown and the Inshore Lifeboat towing in a stricken yacht from number 4 buoy Portsmouth. Happily Shen Shui returned to her mooring safely, as did Rupert’s painting!
Leonie Steer
Offshore Group wins an Oscar
The Tamesis Offshore Group has won an Oscar - the new ship's cat aboard Shen Shui, Tony and Leonie Steer's Moody 33. Leonie says he fell overboard on his first outing and now wears a lifejacket at all times. The following photos by Leonie shows how well Oscar has found his sea legs.
In the middle of Lyme Bay deciding to gnaw through the lazy jacks before the cat overboard incident!
Clipped under the spray hood on a night passage from Dartmouth
Safely in the cockpit
Heatwave brings a hot finish to Jack's 37th Trip
The heatwave had some very unexpected effects on Jack's 37th Trip on Saturday 26 June. After a 15 mile race from Portsmouth to Lymington in which the wind shifted from a gentle easterly breeze to a spanking southwesterly four yachts finished within two minutes of each other and three actually had the same finishing time. After the application of handicaps the Offshore Cup was won for the second year running by Cicada (Contessa 28) helmed by Steve Osgood and crewed by Ted Neal and Stewart Colley.
A light south easterly breeze gave a close reach to the first mark, North Sturbridge, and first there after a problem identifying the final toot of the five minute starting procedure was Pickle (Dufour 34), skippered by Jeremy Vines with an enthusiastic crew of eight. Jeremy, fresh from his success in the Round the Island Race, was busy on the foredeck preparing the spinnaker. Pickle's kite was soon leading a fleet of colourful nylon. Marigold (Hustler 25.5), helmed by Eric Webb, was second round North Sturbridge followed by Cicada and Andy and David Gibson's Sereia of Mersea (Hustler 25.5). Marigold, sailing with a reduced crew, was the only boat not to fly a kite.
By the time they reached Cowes the breeze had gone and spinnakers collapsed. Wind vanes began revolving uselessly in the Medina popple. The fast running spring tide was taking them over the ground at more than four knots without any wind in the sails and there were several awkward spinnaker collapses which then had to be disentangled from forestays. But a cracking good seabreeze came in from the south west as they passed Gurnard and there was a lively beat to the finish at Berthon. The tidal advantage was on the Island rather than the mainland side and this was a deciding factor in bringing so many boats together at the finish.
Pickle, helmed by Bertrand de Speville, took line honours with an impressive elapsed time of 2.41.23 but her heavy handicap sent her to the back of the fleet. Jeremy and Max had invited everyone to drinks at Pickle Corner, their lovely new home in Lymington and the 37 participants enjoyed Pimms and nibbles before departing for supper at Lymington Town SC. Club Captain Phil England welcomed members after ex-Vice Commodore Chris Morris had said grace, and announced two nominations for the Seacock Trophy from the events of the day. This was followed by a confession from the Offshore Group Captain who admitted to having been seen wearing Marigold rubber gloves to clear a blockage in the heads. He said the lack of a fifth toot at the start had been connected with the use of a temporary bucket and chuckit system during the race which had flushed up the starting procedure!
Handicap results: 1 Cicada (Contessa 28), 2 Shen Shui (Moody 33) Tony & Leonie Steer, 3 Sereia of Mersea (Hustler 25.5), 4 Marigold (Hustler 25.5) John & Rita Dunkley, 5 Murena II (Rush 30) Martin & Barbara Adams, 6 Celeste (Beneteau 44) Anne Hutchins, 7 Pickle (Dufour 34) Jeremy & Max Vines.
Yachts line up for the start (Photo: Stewart Colley)
Contestants get to grips with their spinnakers on route to Cowes (Photo: Anne Hutchins)
Tamesis members enjoying the shade on the balcony of Lymington Town SC
Stewart Colley, Steve Osgood and Ted Neal celebrate their victory after returning to Cicada's mooring in Poole (Photo: Stewart Colley)
Jack's Trip 2009 was a bit of a blow
The clerk to the weather was playing games with us again. He knew that Rear Commodore Steve Katz was offering very good odds on the Offshore Race - Jack's 36th Trip - being galed off for the third year in succession. So he warned us it would be windy. The 10 Offshore Group yachts that set off from Portsmouth on Saturday 25 July were therefore prepared for a bit of a blow. But when Marigold opened the gate at Gleeds there was hardly any wind at all. Boats shook out their reefs and hoisted larger genoas. Pickle and Sereia of Mersea led the way with a series of painfully slow short tacks against the tide towards the Gilkicker shore. Boat by boat they rounded the point and eased into the slacker waters of Stokes Bay using the biggest sails they could manage. Then he struck. As the leaders tacked over towards Cowes to round the West Ryde Middle buoy they found themselves heeling heavily in a good Force 5. This proved too late for the crew of Celeste, who, having failed to clear Gilkicker, started their engine and retired from the race. It was a great relief to be able to bear away on the run up Southampton Water in choppy seas to the finish at Coronation. Pacifying the wildly flapping sails before motoring up the Hamble to Swanwick was an exhausting relief.
The clerk to the weather could not be blamed for Fossdyke being unable to start her engine (a flat battery) and she was kindly towed up to the marina by a passing catamaran. Pickle was the first to finish in just over two and a half hours and must have been expecting to keep the Cup because Jeremy forgot to bring it for the prizegiving at the barbecue in the marquee at Velsheda's at Swanwick Marina. This lack of foresight has been referred to The Society of Ancient Mariners as a possible Seacock Trophy award. Although Pickle was first across the line, after the handicaps had been worked out the winner was Cicada, sailed by Steve Osgood, Ted Neal and Peter Johnson.
Peter
Johnson, Steve Osgood, and Ted Neal
The
finishing positions after the application of handicaps were:
1
Cicada (Contessa 28) Steve Osgood, 2 Sereia of Mersea (Hustler 25.5)
Andy and David Gibson, 3 Pickle (Dufour 34) Jeremy and Max Vines, 4
Murena II (Rush 30) Martin and Barbara Adams, 5 Marigold (Hustler
25.5) John and Rita Dunkley, 6 Fossdyke (Sadler 290) Herbert Hunt, 7
Shen Shui (Moody 33) Tony and Leonie Steer, 8 Mojo (Hanse 301) Steve
Katz, 9 Carminowe (Freedom 25) Richard Gooderick, 10 Celeste
(Beneteau 44) Anne Hutchins (RTD).
Afterwards four boats - Cicada, Marigold, Pickle and Shen Shui - joined the cruise in company to Portland to support the Tamesis Club organised National 18 Championship and Club Captain Phil England presented the Offshore Cup to Steve Osgood and Ted Neal at a special ceremony at the Olympic Sailing Centre on Tuesday 4 August.
Phil England presents the Offshore Cup to Steve Osgood and Ted Neal (Photo: John Dunkley)
The Tamesis Offshore Group evolved from a race and rally that was started in 1973 by Jack Tuson and Bill Pettitt (Commodore from 1977-79) to cater for members who had graduated to racing yachts as well as dinghies. The inaugural race was from Yarmouth to Poole. Jack Tuson donated a trophy and the event soon became known as Jack's Trip. It is now held annually, usually in the Solent, and attracts up to 15 yachts. The Group was formalised and its captain elected to the Sailing Committee during Peter Simpson's first year as Commodore in 1992. Participating yachts range in size from 25 ft to over 40 ft and are handicapped for racing using the RYA's Portsmouth yardstick system. The rally dinner is rated a "not to be missed" event and is held at a different venue each year, usually a Solent yacht club, attracting up to 62 people. Tamesis dinghy sailors are usually invited to crew in the race.
Members of the Offshore Group have achieved high placings in many yachting events, including Cowes Week, the Round the Island Race, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, Antigua Sailing Week, Cork Week, and the National Sigma Championships.
Ed and Genie Webb flew the Tamesis burgee around the world on their Rival 38, Wandering Dream, on a four year circumnavigation that began in August 2000 and took them across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. They won the Cruising World Trophy in Wandering Dream as the fastest couple to make the Atlantic crossing in the 2000 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, taking just under 21 days. See the VOYAGE page for a brief account of their circumnavigation.
Jeremy Vines, Genie's father, crewed in the 2003 ARC in Sky Hunter, a J42, and Alastair Whyte crewed in the 2004 ARC in Pearl Fisher, an Oyster 56. Free Spirit, Peter Smith's Sweden 42, was placed 73rd overall out of 163 competitors in the 2006 ARC. Stewart Colley crewed in the 2009 ARC in the yacht Star Chaser, a Swan 51, which was 7th in Cruising Class E and 74th overall.
Brian Timbrell sailed in the Global Challenge yacht Imagine It Done in the 6,700 mile leg from South Africa to the USA in 2005. The fleet of 12 identical 72ft ocean racing yachts left Cape Town on this fifth leg of the race in May and arrived in Boston in June. Brian has sailed across the Atlantic four times and his wife, Caroline once. Brian has also cruised in Arctic waters to 81 degrees north, within 500 miles of the North Pole, aboard the former 67ft British Steel Challenge yachts. Anne Bayne did a similar cruise in 2009 on the yacht Tilting at Windmills, a 43 ft Australian ocean racer and former Sydney-Hobart winner.
Charles Fox has raced across the Atlantic, and Chris Ledger has crossed the Atlantic single-handed in a Folkboat. Not bad for a Thames-based dinghy club!
The late Len and Kay Smith (Peter's father and mother) cruised in the Mediterranean in their catamaran, Willow Cat, from June 1981 to December 1984. Adrian and Jane Fearnley cruised in the Mediterranean in their Westerly Oceanquest 35, Helenaswell from 2004 to 2008 and now keep their yacht in Jolly Harbour, Antigua.
Jack's Millennium Trip in 2000 produced several offshore nominations for Uffa's Spoon - the trophy awarded for the biggest sailing gaffe of the year - but when these were outshone by a dinghy nomination, the Offshore Group created Jack's Trip-Up Trophy, which was presented to Martin Adams and David Baker (then Commodore) for going aground at the end of the race and nearly missing the rally supper. This was replaced in 2002 by the Seacock Trophy, presented by Steve Osgood, the skipper of a competing yacht which was flooded down below to berth level during a near gale, after Roy Doughty (a former Commodore) had left a heads seacock open. This has become informally known as Jack's Cock-Up trophy and is presented before Uffa's Spoon amid great hilarity at the Vice Commodore's Dinner in February. (See SOCIAL and NEWS pages.)
For more details please contact the Tamesis Offshore Group Captain: John Dunkley (phone 020 8399 5993).
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23.10.11