Homeward bound

Sarah and Royal Sovereign Tower

With a too-good-to-resist westerly we have set off for home only briefly pausing for the night anchored in the lee of Dungeness.

Finish of the Round Britain Challenge

On Sunday morning there was a simple gathering in Cowes of the skippers, crews and friends of the 20 boats involved in the Round Britain Challenge. In words pictures and music there were reflections of the shared experiences of the cruise. Many felt it had been greatly enriched by being part of a group of broadly similar boats cruising together.

Barbara Runnells sings 'Moon River'

The cruise has not completely ended: Minstrel and Capraia will not have finished their circumnavigations until they get back to Milford Haven. We and several other boats will be heading  eastwards for home tomorrow.

In the evening Sarah and I went out for dinner with Sian and Ant and Barbara from Moon River.

Barbara is much admired by us all for having completed the circumnavigation single-handed. Single-handed coastal sailing with its ever-present navigational and shipping hazards requires constant vigilance; in this respect it is much more demanding than offshore single-handing.

Jolyon, Eric and Mary with Minstrel

The effects of the RBC will carry on for a while; in this month's issue of Classic Boat there is a fine article on Witch by Claudia Myatt while Nic Compton's article on Bonita is due to appear in the October issue. No doubt there will be much exchange of photos when we all get home. Our Dutch friends are planning ways to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their branch of the OGA in 2014. 

Racing in heavy weather

Taking in a reef

Saturday morning bought strong and blustery SW winds. About sixty gaffers set out bravely to race in the Solent and presented a fine sight. There were several press boats in attendance and they must have got some excellent pictures. This photo was taken by Sam Scott. Sam, Vicky and Ant followed the fleet in a launch. In the picture we are in the process of taking in yet another reef in the mainsail.

Everyone had a wet and exciting sail. Unfortunately there was some damage and a few collisions. At least two boats became entangled with the race marks while another became entangled with fishing gear laid next to one of the marks. A fair number of boats retired due to the stress of weather.

Bonita had D, Tim and John helping out. We had a somewhat wet sail with a fair bit of water flowing over the deck which washed the scrubbing brush overboard. Apart from that mishap Bonita took it well. There were some dramatic photos taken of her leaping from wave to wave such as this posted on Facebook by Nic Compton. We hope to post some more race photos in this blog in due course.

After everyone had got back safely there was a prize-giving in the marina. Bonita came around the middle of the field as she often seems to. Of the RBC boats, Witch and Annabel J both did well winning prizes. The round Britain boats all are carrying a lot of extra gear and may have grown a bit of weed in the last four months, so any success against the local racers is impressive.

The video shows replica whaling boat Molly, one of the few open boats to complete the course. At the end of the upwind leg we overtook her while her crew had a lengthy break to bail her out but once she was emptied they resumed the race and stormed by us in fine, if precarious, form.

It looks as though tomorrow may be quite windy as well, but we plan to head back to the Swale soon.

Trevor's lessons from Bonita's circumnavigation

As I watch Bonita tacking up the Solent on my PC in Canada....

Click on the picture above or on this link to watch the video...

Bonita Track in Old Gaffers' Race 17 August 2013

Watersports and Celebration

Blindfold rowing - John and Emma lead Mike and Sarah

Today started wet and windy but nevertheless the gaffer's festival continued with watersports in and around the marina. These were similar to the ones we had enjoyed in Ipswich where the weather had been much warmer. 

D and Mary from Minstrel took part in the downwind rubber dinghy racing. Propelled by two large coloured
umbrellas they contributed elegance and dignity but at a more measured pace than some of the participants. We had more success in the blindfold rowing which was won by John and Emma in Young Alert's dinghy. Runners up were Sarah and myself in Bonita's deflating inflatable. The twins will have to decide how best to share the prize - an engraved commemorative glass - with George as owner of the winning dinghy.

The winning Solent clog

The photo shows hot competition in the clog racing. Various teams have spent weeks converting wooden clogs into ingenious sailing boats. Steering was sometimes erratic in the gusty winds. The race was won by a clog boat made by the OGA's Solent area.

Sian's RBC cake

In the evening the extended Beckett family were invited to Sian and Ant's flat outside Cowes. Also present were Jon, Jane and Geoff who had crewed for me at various stages of the trip. Sian and Ant had arranged a magnificent celebration to mark Bonita's big voyage. The picture below shows a magnificent round Britain cake complete with key ports identified and surrounded by a turbulent sea.

11 of Bonita's 16 RBC crew. Tim, Geoff, D, Jane, Mike, Sian,
Sarah, Ant, Emma, John and Jon

The fourth picture shows the members of the crew in their prized Beckett Rankine sponsored shirts. The evening was a suitable tribute to the affection in which the old boat is held.

Tomorrow there are plans for one of the biggest races of gaff rigged boats ever held, but strong winds are forecast so it remains to be seen how many make it out there.