Tamesis Offshore Group

The re-run of the Tamesis Offshore race in the Eastern Solent on Saturday 15 September was a satisfyingly quiet affair sailed in a gentle south easterly wind and warm sunshine. The conditions were in total contrast to the gale force winds, severe weather warning and heavy rain that necessitated the abandonment of the original race to Lymington for which 10 yachts entered on Saturday 30 June. However, they were no less challenging. The first leg was a beat from the Craftinsure.com buoy, off Wootton Creek, to Bob Kemp, near Ryde Pier, against a strong west-going tide. The three yachts that came to the start each chose a different course - Sereia of Mersea (K6167 - Hustler 25.5) set off on a long tack towards Portsmouth, Murena II (K5663 - Rush 30) went inshore towards the northern shore of the Isle of Wight and Marigold (K7001 - Hustler 25.5) tacked up the middle. At first Murena seemed to be making the best progress but the south easterly wind faded as she neared the Island and it was Sereia which got there first although she, like the others, had to put in several tacks close to the buoy to avoid being swept on to it by the tide. Sereia hoisted a red and white cruising chute for the close reach across to Browndown in Stokes Bay and built up a lead of nearly a mile followed by Marigold, with Murena a similar distance behind, both on a white sail reach. Sereia continued to increase her lead over the seven mile course and finished at Norris almost 12 minutes ahead of Marigold and 26 minutes in front of Murena, to win the Offshore Cup for the fourth time. The strength of the tide was a problem throughout and the competitors had to offset its influence on every leg to avoid being carried on to the wrong side of each mark with the prospect of having to tack back into it if they failed. Nine members enjoyed a post race supper at the Island SC, Cowes. Results: 1 Sereia of Mersea (K6167) Andy & David Gibson, Nick Williams, 2 hours and 30 seconds; 2 Marigold (K7001) Peter Johnson, John & Rita Dunkley, 2 hours 13 minutes and six seconds; 3 Murena II (K5663) Martin Adams, David Baker & Jim Green, 2 hours 26 minutes and 40 seconds.

The Offshore race from Portsmouth to Lymington on Saturday 30 June had to be cancelled following the issue of both a gale warning and a severe weather warning by the Met Office. Heavy rain squalls persisted throughout the weekend and only four yachts, Pickle (Jeremy Vines), Sereia of Mersea (David Gibson), Cicada (Steve Osgood) and Maggie (Stewart Colley and team Laser) actually sailed to Lymington - Pickle from the Hamble, Cicada from Beaulieu, and Sereia and Maggie from Portsmouth. Sereia and Maggie actually sailed the course, starting at the scheduled time of 12.00, and Sereia won their impromptu race by a small margin. Everyone who sailed got very wet. However, although the race could legitimately be described as a "wash out", 45 of the 52 people who originally booked attended the dinner at the Royal Lymington YC, which was a great success. The rain was so intense that many of those who had driven there got very wet just walking from the adjacent car park to the club's front door!

At the dinner Club Captain Phil England presented trophy glasses to Mike and Stephanie Taylor, from the crew of Wood Smoke (Eric Webb), who had been unable to attend the Vice Commodore's dinner in February to receive the Seacock Trophy for an event in Jack's Trip 2006 because of their forthcoming marriage the following month.

John Dunkley, the Offshore Group Captain, said that although the cancellation of the race meant the Offshore Cup could not be awarded, the Seacock Trophy was still very much in contention. A number of interesting nominations had been received which would be put before the Society of Ancient Tamesis Mariners for consideration in due course.

The following report was written by Stewart Colley, skipper of team Laser on Maggie: "On 23 June, I actually managed to make it Round the Island this year in a Sunfast 37. Well worth the 06.10 start and a good breeze making for a fun sail. Although we did get a few drops of rain during the race, we got a lot wetter in Cowes in the evening when it really chucked it down. Gets a bit crowded when everyone crams into the limited pub, restaurant, and beer tent space at the same time. In investment manager speak we finished third quartile, actually 44th ex 60, which, given the British Steel pensions crew, was not too bad an achievement, and mercifully the Sunsail fleet is not given an overall race ranking.

"For Jack's Trip last weekend we chartered a Bavaria 38 for a Laser team and practice commenced with Carolyne, Ken, Donald and me on Friday. A bit frisky with up to 32 knots on the indicator, but good fun, and we were royally entertained by Eric and Moyra Webb and crew aboard Wood Smoke, the only other Tammy boat to make it to Gosport, in the early evening. We learned from them that the race had been cancelled. We were joined by Peter and Nicole later in the evening and after supper at the Castle, we retired hoping for better weather in the morning.

"Well, it still looked grim but the wind had eased a bit and we had the boat, so we decided to sail to Lymington for the supper anyway. As we headed out we more or less passed by Gleeds, the start mark, so we decided to hang around 'til 12.00 to see if anyone showed up through the murk. Sure enough, the familiar light blue hulled Hustler (Sereia of Mersea) of Dave and Andy Gibson appeared (I crewed for them last year), we agreed course A, and a race, if not the race, was on. I have always been impressed by the performance of John's Hustler, and this one was no exception, and we were shocked to quickly realise that they were going faster through the water than we were with a boat two thirds as long! They seemed to be able to point better too. Must have been the tubby 'built for comfort' hull shape and the lazy man's in-mast main and roller reefing jib - our boat, Maggie, certainly did not like the Solent chop, nor was she happy with the sail loaded on. Obviously nothing to do with the skill of the crew.

"Anyway, after a very wet beat all the way we got to Lymington shortly behind them, soundly beaten on handicap. Just as well it was only a fun race - not the real thing. It poured with rain all evening but we somehow managed to dry out and appear at the Royal Lymington looking reasonably respectable, enjoying a splendid supper there before paddling back to the boat through the rain and puddles. On Sunday the wind had got up again but we were running back mostly with the tide so it was relatively pleasant once out of the Lymington entrance. Got the old tub above 7 knots on occasion. Decided to go up the Medina past Cowes to the Folly Inn for shelter for lunch, but were hit by a rain squall so moored up and lunched on board. Some shelter! Got back to base at Haslar, Gosport about four, boat thankfully in one piece. A wild, wet weekend, but great fun for all."

Donald Forbes and Carolyne Vines steering Maggie up the west Solent in a bit of a blow.

Team Laser (Carolyne, Ken, Peter, Nicole and Donald) in the Medina on the way home.

Team Laser enjoying lunch aboard Maggie down below out of the rain.

The following nominations have been received for the Seacock Trophy for 2007: The crew who left the Offshore Cup behind after the rally dinner. The skipper who failed to obtain the gate number of his pontoon, leaving himself and his crew in the pouring rain with no access to their berths until they were able to "borrow" an inflatable dinghy and row round to their yacht. The skipper who had trouble with leaking heads seacocks and plans to install a portapotty as a more refined alternative to bucket and chuck it. The skipper who beat down to Lymington against the west Solent chop with his crew on the weather rail, testing their oilskins to the limit in the pouring rain and spray coming over the bows, and on arrival asked them to hose the boat down before they went for a shower.

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.

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.

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 have been cruising in the Med in their Westerly Oceanquest 34, Helenaswell since 2004.

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).