The high point of the OGA 55th anniversary rally was the race in the Solent off Cowes on Saturday. There was a brisk SW wind and the course started with a beat against wind and tide. About 66 boats entered but some of the boats struggled a bit to get to windward and only about 20 finished the course. On Bonita we had a fine crew of D and Ant, and managed to get to windward by tacking in shallow water on the Mainland side. If our early track looks a little confusing, bear in mind that lots of other boats with plenty of momentum and large turning circles were doing much the same in the same bit of water at more or less the same time.
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| Pre-start manoeuvres outside Cowes, then race to the West |
There were many spectacular views of old boats ploughing though the waves, but taking photos while making short tacks isn't easy. A few pictures are shown below.
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| Pioneer |
Pioneer above is a large Essex smack, recently rebuilt from a wreck, and regularly takes parties of schoolchildren to give them a taste of traditional sailing. She did well in the race and also got the prize for the crew with the youngest average age. Various other boats in the race are shown below
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| My Alice |
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| Hester |
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| Rosebud |
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| Nomad in Front |
Bonita likes a reasonable breeze and we were able to finish the course and got a prize for getting home third in our class. There was a suitably festive supper and prize giving in Cowes to complete a very successful and well organised rally.
The picture above show Susan J, owned by Dave and Julie Patuck (who have been regular crew on Bonita) crossing tacks with us.
Click the picture title or here to see a video taken by D, our on board videographer.
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