Cowes and Back Race – The Full Story

The weekend of this years’ Cowes race proved that the CYC fleet are in no way fair weather sailors! In the week preceding, the wind was forecast to be very favourable with a southerly wind on the first day, spinning to be a north westerly on Sunday for our return. We could not believe our luck, no upwind battle to get to Cowes, fantastic! To dampen this news though was the forecast of rain, buckets and buckets of it. There was even a provisional booking for Noah to make an appearance, as it was verging on biblical.  It was no surprise then on Saturday that the sound of rain drumming on the deck head accompanied my morning alarm. One small mercy was it kept all of the other Bank Holiday boats firmly on the dock, so it was just the race fleet lining up to exit the lock into the gloom. Even the Birdham Bunch found themselves in the minority so made excellent time escaping captivity, long may that continue!

The restorative power of an egg and bacon sandwich did little to brighten the mood on Lyanna as we motored out of the harbour. I would not say the mood was mutinous; however the coffee ration did have to be doubled to quell trouble. As we headed out of the harbour it became more and more apparent that the wind was a little more spicy that we had expected, as a good solid F5 was propelling the rain drops at us with considerable force. However, this dreary picture did nothing to dampen the spirits of the intrepid CYC fleet and one by one all 20, yes 20 boats, congregated at Chi buoy for the start. After a bit of radio trouble on board Lyanna we started the race sequence whilst the fleet got to grips with the number of reefs required for the day. Team heavy displacement yachts decided that we just about had enough wind to get going under full canvas whilst the lighter, racier boats were sensibly cranking in the 3rd reef. All except for Jerry and Helen on board Kerry Dancer, who decided to just ‘put a brick on the accelerator and hold on’.

Thankfully, the start went smoothly with boats giving each other some space in the testing conditions, perhaps with the exception of Haraka and Crayzee Feeling. Crayzee lining themselves up for a perfect start were thwarted by Haraka getting them on starboard, not once but twice. Was this planning or fluke…. it depends who you ask. Windreaver also managed to avoid giving the committee boat the usual prolapse, for which we are very grateful.

Off the fleet set down the Solent on a screaming reach. If only it was not so wet we might have some better photographic evidence of it, but you will have to take my word for it as those who were there had other things in mind, especially as approaching the first mark we noticed a fishing boat moving slowly and changing course as if the late great Oliver Reed was at the wheel. Whoever it was must have had a sobering moment when 20 yachts came bearing down on him out of the gloom. The front two boats opted to go in front of him and the following 18 boats opted to go astern, completing a rather unpleasant fish sandwich.

As the fleet rounded the first mark the boats were still in pretty close quarters. Our more compact companions in the fleet were having a great time in the conditions and although they were probably a little soggier than those on the larger offerings, being a little bit closer to the briny, when you are already soaked, you can’t really get any wetter. They were achieving some fantastic speeds and sticking to the larger boats doggedly. As the fleet rounded Warner and set course between the forts, the weather began to moderate slightly and the sea state flattened out as we got into the lee of the IOW.

On Lyanna, currently in second place, we noticed some activity on the foredeck of Cool Runnings and a few moments later were shocked to see a cruising chute being deployed. Obviously not happy with his current lead over the pack, Captain Collins had called the engine room and requested Warp 9. Off they shot, sometimes in control, sometimes, well, not so much! Meanwhile on board Haraka, Richard was having a bit of an issue with his crew, a quantity of whom had abandoned their posts on the rain lashed deck in favour of sitting down below and watching the coronation on TV. The icing on the proverbial coronation bun was when he heard the heater spooling up! Still, at least the cabin was warm for when they arrived.

As the fleet approached the final mark we had to cross the Solent from Gosport to just outside of Cowes,  and the wind started to run out of puff, especially the closer we got to the shadow of the island. With a good 2 knots of tide running, the older, saltier lot could read the writing on the wall and hardened up so as to not get swept past the finish mark. Sadly some boats did not realise this in time and got carried to the west by the tide then had to tack back, which was a cruel twist of fate given how we had started the race. I’ve heard rumours that some of the fleet might have had some close encounters with the finish mark, but nothing was made official so I’m none the wiser. There was certainly no pink paint on the buoy the next morning so perhaps it was just a rumour….

Cowes Yacht Haven did a great job in getting the fleet all in the same area, and once everyone was alongside and about 20 litres of restorative tea drunk, everyone was feeling up for a night out! The pontoon party was a blast with all of the crews swapping stories of the race in great cheer. As for the results, Jerry and Helen on Kerry Dancer claimed a well-earned victory, followed by Philip and Sue on Good Day Sunshine in second and Kate and I on Lyanna in third. The crew of Windreaver have obviously not had an idle winter and came in in fourth position, Kerenza in fifth and Aquadisiac sixth. The conditions were such that some of our usual podium preferity did not get a look in, which will make this year’s results very interesting, especially with the introduction of two shorter races later in the year.

The forecast for the next day did not include much in the way of a wind allocation, so we decided to start an hour earlier to give us a bit more time in a positive tide to make it back to Chichester. Overnight the fog horns of the Southampton shipping were sounding keeping some of the crews awake, combined with a Racing Secretary pacing about fretting over whether we would be able to race at all or should we have just given everyone a lie in.

The next morning dawned with a heavy haze but enough visibility to allow for safe navigation down the Solent. So after some caffeine, on came the engines and the boats slipped their moorings and headed for the gloom. Thankfully it was not raining! Due to our ‘parking’ arrangements Lyanna found herself boxed in between Aquadisiac and Cool Runnings. Both Nick and Peter realised that they would not be late for the start while the start boat was pinned to the pontoon, so they both took their merry time faffing about with sails and chatting with each other, enjoying my frustration at being trapped between them. However, our boat has a 35-year-old diesel engine which is not a morning person, so it soon gassed Aquadisiac off our stern.

Because of the absence of anything more than a zephyr, boats were allowed to keep their engines on until the 1 minute gun, something I was very glad of watching everyone trying to keep up tide of the start line in 2 knots of tide. As the start approached there was much foredeck activity with colourful sails being readied for fast deployment as soon as the start gun went. The start went smoothly, although Captain’s Lady was facing the wrong way, but that was an improvement on previous form so progress is progress!

Lyanna is a new boat to Kate and I, as such we have not dared open our downwind sails locker just yet, so we set off under white sails only and sat back to watch a frenzy of foredeck tomfoolery as the well-oiled racing machines behind us realised what 6 months of not racing does to previously well-rehearsed cruising chute deployments. Some got away with it smoothly and pulled away, others were less than fortunate. Muddy Waters managed to deploy what I can only describe as a reefed cruising chute as most of the head of the sail was wound tightly around itself. Then there was Cool Runnings who somehow managed to make the simple task of unfurling their chute into a 30 minute melodrama which kept the fleet entertained as the tide drifted us on our merry way down the Solent. The hour being early and the wind being close to non-existent, it was not long before the sound of frying and the aroma of bacon could be smelled on the wind as many boats piped all hands for breakfast. On board Misty Blue, Simon was solo but could not resist joining in and somehow managed to rustle himself up a butty as well.

On board Lyanna, we are the committee boat so we are the start line. This has its advantages, especially in light winds, so we got out in front, even with just our white sails up. This meant we had the most amazing view of the whole fleet off our stern with their cruising chutes flying. This was obviously only temporary, as one by one the fleet overhauled us. Good Day Sunshine arrived at coffee time, which was good as they passed so close we could exchange biscuits. Up ahead Muddy Waters and First Light were having a great battle. This was ideal conditions for the pair of them, being very light boats, as they demonstrated their nippiness far ahead of the rest of us. Cool Runnings finally sorted their chute out and set off in hot pursuit. Fully crewed this time, Haraka deployed a rather large spinnaker which stole the wind from the three boats in front of them and allowed them to surge past. Meanwhile, Tern IV were also suddenly making good progress so a request was put in from Lyanna for Claire to show herself on deck to ensure there was no sneaky emptying of water tanks going on down below.

The return leg could not have been more opposite from the outbound, with the boats slowly sailing in close company and chatting all the way back to Chi. As we approached the finish, the sun even put in an appearance which was the perfect end to a challenging but brilliant weekend race. Muddy Waters rightfully claimed the crown for the return race, with Good Day Sunshine in second and First Light in Third, Kerry Dancer in fourth, Misty Blue in fifth and Windreaver in sixth. The reason this is so special is that all of the boats above are less than 32ft, so it proves it is not size that counts, it is how you handle it!

Overall, Philip and Sue on Good Day Sunshine won the series, a first for them, huge congratulations! Kerry Dancer came second and Muddy Waters third. We have some new boats in the fleet this season so far, with Hermit 2, Spray, Morwenna II and Flyer joining the fleet plus our own Media Sec Anita on Topsy having a go to see what all the fuss is about. A very warm welcome to you all.

That’s about it from me, we have a busy season ahead and I look forward to seeing you all out on the water for the next one.

See the link below for a full breakdown of both races and overall results.

James

 

Sailwave results for CYC Peter Buttery 2023 at Solent 2023 Overall