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The forecast looked very light, but the wind filled in beautifully as the race started.  OOD Graham King set the upstream figure of eight course P.  Andy Harris and Matty Key in Crescendo shot away from the start, creating a big lead very quickly.  Matt PJ and Alastair Banks in National 18 Optimus Prime was soon in hot pursuit, but never able to catch them.  The wind did come and go a bit, but overall we had an evening of champagne sailing.  Tom and Ed Low made their first appearance in Tom’s Merlin and were third over the line.  Thanks to John Adams for producing the results after the handicaps were applied – see below.

Thanks to Graham King and Ian Ramage in the box, Paul and Sara Jamieson in the Patrol Boat.

The race was followed by drinks in the bar and meal provided by Alaphia assisted by Chloe in the kitchen and David and Florin and Alice in the bar.

Crew names are variable and may not reflect the last race.

Report and photos supplied by Matt P-J

At the crack of dawn on Saturday morning the Optimus Prime crew of Matt PJ, Kaan Yargici and Peter Impey set off from Tammy once again to the River Blackwater in Essex for the first National 18 open meeting of the season, this year held jointly with the Fireball class.

Blackwater Sailing Club makes for an interesting venue to sail from because the estuary is only safely accessible to boats for approximately 2 hours either side of high water and if you are a bit slow getting back to shore then the river will have dried out to thick brown mud!!!

After rigging the boat and a welcome bacon sandwich for breakfast we were ready to go for 9.30am. However, despite the glorious sunshine and a ripping incoming tide there was not a breath of wind. So off we launched anyway and after a few supplementary strokes of the paddle we were off to the race course, all 3 National 18s and 20 Fireballs!

Fortunately the wind picked up and we had two good races off Osea Island in 5-10 knots of breeze; a perfect shakedown opportunity for a crew that had not raced together since August last year.  Even better, during the 2nd race the wind died and filled in again from the opposite direction so we had the unusual experience of flying our spinnaker on all 3 legs of the race course.  Then it was back to the club at full speed before the river ran dry for cold beers, FA Cup Final and barbecue.

Camping in the dinghy park overnight was very comfortable and convenient. However, when we emerged from our tents on Sunday morning it was damp, grey and very breezy. So off we trotted up the sea wall path towards Maldon to Wilkin & Son’s Team Rooms for a full Tiptree English breakfast with brown sauce and Little Scarlets strawberry jam – any of you real James Bond fan will know what I’m talking about. Now suitably charged, we launched into 20 knots of breeze with a gameplan to sail conservative, stay upright and not stick our mast in the Essex mud. That stood us well for the first three laps of race 3 but two quick gybes just before the final leeward mark almost put paid to that with a very violent death roll when the skipper’s lifejacket got caught up in the spinnaker poles. But recover we did – lost a place but avoided a dunking. And then the wind moderated for races 4 and 5; the last of which turned into a slow drifter against the tide on the very final leg.

Overall a great weekend’s racing on the East Coast that’s only ~90 minutes towing distance from Tammy. And remarkably, this was the first time I’ve ever received a prize for a third place finish in a three boat fleet – but who’s complaining!!! Second place went to Tammy old boys Ollie Houseman, Jeremy Vines and Harriet Sandall. And the winner was multiple catamaran champions Rupert White, Henry White and Matt Green – Rupert and Henry are son of Rob White and grandson of Reg White; founders of the legendary Brightlingsea catamaran, boat building and Olympic racing dynasty. Their business WhiteFormula is famed for previously building the Tornado and now builds the latest Ultra variant National 18 (pictured) along with many other seriously quick racing machines.

And just in case you were wondering and (unlike Jonathan Keys!) were too afraid to ask, there was no sign of the Essex Serpent all weekend!!!

The wind looked very promising on Thursday evening as we arrived.  Bit gusty but would give us something to think about.  A mix of Merlins, Lasers, an Albacore and National 18s started upstream in glorious sunshine on our usual figure of eight course.

Andy and Nim Harris in Merlin Rocket Crescendo shot away from the line and were only challenged and eventually overtaken by Matt Jones and Chris Martin in National 18′ Optimus Prime.

The other boats had many changes in fortune as the wind came and went, dropping many into holes not experienced by others.  The racing was close throughout.

Thanks go to Peter and Nicky Johnson in the box, Steve Lucas and Johannes and Josefine Wagner in the Patrol Boat for organising the race.

The race was followed by a tasty supper of beef burger, chips and loads of trimmings followed by a selection of ice creams.  Many thanks to Alaphia, Chloe for  for cooking the supper and Florian for running the bar.

Thanks to Steve Vines for the photos.

Results below – thanks to John Adams.

A good mix of classes set off in the light north easterly for the first of the Saga Trophy Thursday evening races.  The course was set in front of the clubhouse, which is just as well as the wind died shortly after 8pm.  OOD Stewart Colley wisely finished leading Merlin Seveneye sailed by Griff and Josie Tanner who led from the outset.  Everyone finished bar two of the Lasers who determinedly tried to reach the top mark for the last time, but were unable to as the wind had dropped completely.

The sunset was golden – a memorable start to the season.

Thanks to OOD Stewart Colley assisted in the box by Alastair Banks, Patrol boat driver and crew Florian Krueger and Beatrice Russ.  Alaphia treated us to macaroni cheese with smoked ham followed by trifle.  Thanks to David and special thanks to Yann in the bar (his last shift before he goes to Uni), Florin and Sophie in the kitchen assisting Alaphia.

Results below – thanks to John Adams for raising them so quickly.

Thursday Evening Saga 2022

Results are provisional as of 8th May 2022

Overall

Sailed: 1, Discards: 0, To count: 1, Rating system: PY, Entries: 40, Scoring system: Appendix A