CYC Round the Island Race, the Full Report
The CYC Round the Island Race is referred to internally as the Sociable Round the Island. Partly because the CYC Cruiser Racers love nothing more than a good yarn with a refreshing beverage and secondly, to aid with the former, we traditionally spread the task over a couple of days with a night out into the bargain. In a twist of tides for this year, our overnight stop was in Cowes, not Lymington, so our plan for the second day had some serious miles to make up…. more on this later.
With a 15:45 start, a lazy morning was on the cards for the fleet. Some would have thought that, with such a convenient hour, a full house could be expected at the start line, however from midday the lock at Chi Marina became the place to be, so many boats found themselves imprisoned whilst awaiting their turn to escape. With some serious motoring, almost all of the fleet made it to Chi Buoy for the start.
The weather forecast had us all guessing in the lead up with everything from zero wind and sun, to a Force 5 and rain with even some fog on the order of service. At the start there was not much on offer from the wind department with a fickle breeze from the south. As such, most of the fleet kept well away from the start line in order not to be unwillingly carried over it by the tide. All except Haraka, who, in a break from tradition, was not having a private duel with Crayzee Feeling, but out on their own, hoping for a flying start. Unfortunately for them, at the start gun the tide had moved them considerably closer to Cowes than they should have been, so they had to turn back and recross the line, a manoeuvre they performed with good grace and humour.
Bugsy 2 and Tern IV got great starts, initially pulling away from the pack, closely followed by Captain’s Lady. Slightly further back, Cool Runnings was trying to unfurl her wings and get going, but was to leeward of Crayzee Feeling and Aquadisiac, who teamed up to do their best to slow her down. Some old rivalry coming to the surface there I feel. Windreaver, Muddy Waters and Zeeeend followed this pack doing their best to keep to windward. Back at the start Selene IV and Saxon, the last of our Premier prisoners, had been released for good behaviour and set off after the rest of the fleet.
The wind increased to a gentle F4 giving us hope that a rewarding beverage would soon be in hand. However, coming from the south, it died as soon as we got through the forts and seemed to hang a hard left around the steeple of Ryde Church, leaving the fleet with a light vesper pretty much up the trumpet off of Osbourne Bay. Not too much of an issue for the seasoned pros in the race fleet, up went the cruising chutes and everyone sat back with some lunch in hand to watch the crew of Aquadisiac faff about getting their chute up. True to form, Nick did not disappoint, although thankfully no forestay wraps this time, so progress has been made.
As Lyanna was still pretty new to Kate and I, we had not yet dared to open the downwind sail locker. Watching the boats behind getting closer was encouragement enough for Kate to rouse our aged and unseen cruising chute out of its locker whilst I hunted down the appropriate pieces of string to tie it down. Upon pulling the snuffer to the masthead we were greeted by an odour of mulch and damp wool and what I can only describe as a colour scheme akin to an 80’s ski-suit which has been hot washed once too often. We were equally surprised when the thing held together and gave us an extra half a knot.
Excitement of cruising chutes over, the next challenge came from Southampton VTS who started chucking some serious tonnage at us as we approached Cowes, from an overly friendly Haag-Lloyd container ship to almost the entire P&O cruise ship fleet. Thankfully, we were out of the main shipping channel, however the wake produced from 50,000 tonnes travelling through the water at 15 knots can make for a fun ride.
Up at the front of the fleet Cool Runnings had finally found the right gear and caught up the front runner, Captains Lady, who was hitherto having a great race. Cool Runnings soon smothered them and left them bobbing with the rest of us.
The combined power of tide and breeze finally drifted the fleet over the line. Despite the conditions the fleet were mainly really close, with seven boats finishing within 20 minutes of the first boat over the line. After the handicap system had done its business of nobbling the overly enthusiastic, the final results were 1st, Captain’s Lady, proving that close attention needs paid to her not only in marinas but also in light airs. Bugsy 2 came in 2nd, perhaps she is sporting a lighter keel this year? 3rd was Muddy Waters, continuing her run of great results for this season.
The general idea for the Round the Island is that we go all the way around the Island. However, the weather was looking a little lacking in the wind for our early start the following day. When asked, would the fleet like to get up at the crack of dawn and motor around the island until the wind filled in, there was little in terms of support, except for one voice, no prizes for guessing who! There was, however, an overwhelming cheer for a lie-in followed by a late morning start and a course staying north of the island, taking in the cultural delights of the Nab Tower! With that decided the group headed for the Pier View Pub for dinner and a few refreshments. A good night was had by all and some well refreshed individuals embarked on a Sea Shanty-athon. Thankfully, Moodys are pretty well sound insulated, so the rest of the fleet were not subjected.
The following morning was a bit grey and misty, and that was some of the crews! The weather was pretty similar but the forecast promised an improvement, so after much coffee and with the smell of bacon still lingering in the air, the fleet headed for the start line. Again, not much wind to begin with for the start so the fleet had the challenge of staying up tide so as to not get swept past the line before the gun went. Also, Southampton VTS had one last go at getting us with a container ship so we delayed the start for five minutes to allow it to pass safely ahead of us. The start went smoothly and the fleet set about bobbing towards the first mark. Remarkably, the wind filled in rather quickly, albeit from the direction we were trying to go, so the fleet settled in to beat their way to windward in a good breeze.
With the wind direction and a couple of knots of favourable tides, it became a challenge estimating if it was possible to lay the mark on each tack. Often, what seemed like a safe line with easy clearance, was soon ruined by a slight change in wind strength or direction. I know on Lyanna we put in about 50 per cent more tacks than we had planned, and judging by the boats around us we were not the only ones making slight errors in tack-tical planning! All except for the crew of Haraka who, through some wizardry, suddenly arrived off our stern, having been a small triangle in the distance for most of the morning. The same could be said for Bugsy 2, who quietly crept up the fleet on the island side of the Solent.
As the fleet reached Ryde the wind strength increased considerably and reefs began to be dropped in around the fleet. Tern IV had, by this point, shot off like a whippet and was almost out of sight to most of us. If it had not been for the towering wingspan of Cool Runnings trying to catch her up, we would have had no idea where she was. Off Bembridge there were a considerable number of anchored vessels to contend with, which in the freshening breeze kept us interested.
Upon rounding the Nab Tower, the fleet set course for home. This transpired to be an almost downwind leg and, with the reduced apparent wind, lots of the fleet opted to go for something colourful once again. On board Lyanna we were locked in our usual close quarters battle with our shadow, Captain’s Lady, and decided to continue under white sails. A tactic we regretted as our adversary had the legs on us, so out came our tatty ski-suit to try and keep up, sadly too little too late!
A little further back in the fleet, Muddy Waters was sailing a great race, keeping pace with vessels with much longer waterline lengths. Windreaver and Saxon were having an interesting tacking battle having both had some fun laying North Sturbridge from the first mark. Selene IV and Zeeeend were enjoying the increased wind strength and making good progress. There was a Battle Royal unfolding between Haraka, Crayzee Feeling and Aquadisiac. They all rounded the Nab together, managed to all successfully launch their chutes and sailed in line abreast for the next three miles trying to out-fox each other. Aquadisiac managed to pull ahead towards the end but due to a misunderstanding of the finish line dropped her chute early, which allowed the others to catch up again and they crossed the line together.
The final results were: Tern IV in 1st place, Haraka 2nd and Bugsy 2, 3rd . Interestingly, once the handicap had corrected everyone’s times, the fleet were really close together, with the boat in 10th position only 18 minutes behind the leaders, which is a great result after four hours of racing. A special call has to go to Cedric and the crew of Selene IV who finished in 8th place, their best result so far, and only a mere two seconds behind Aquadisiac.
The CYC Round the Island race has a really impressive selection of silverware up for grabs, with separate cups for the outbound and return race, coupled with a beautiful silver wire yacht model for overall. Tern IV claimed the crown this year overall with a 4th and 1st. Bugsy 2 came 2nd, with a 2nd and 3rd, and Captains Lady in 3rd, with a 1st and 9th.
The next race is our penultimate race of the season and sees us heading to Yarmouth. The race is currently full, however, we can usually squeeze in a few extras, so if anyone would like to join us, please do sign up and we’ll hopefully find you a berth.
Thanks all,
James
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