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Location: Minster Sailing Club
High Tide Sheerness: 10.12
Wind: NW Force 3 decreasing
First Dinghy Start: 10.30
Sailboard Start: 11.30
Catamaran Start: 12.00
Course: Clockwise round the Island
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before he hit his fin |
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We got to Minster before 9 o'clock, which was far too early, but at least we were able to find out where the sailing club was (about a mile west of the usual beach), and realise there was no room to rig up. Too many dinghies!
So we headed back to the beach, had some breakfast, and I rigged up the Neil Pryde V6 7.5m. I then noticed that my boom had lost a rivet, and Nick Wigston offered to lend me his spare boom, but Dad fixed mine by taping a footstrap screw into the hole, which seemed to work.
At 11 o'clock Trevor Jones and I set off to the start, which was off shore at the sailing club, and at 11.30 we were off!
Nick Wigston set a cracking pace, but I managed to keep in touch with him for the first mile or so. After that I was on my own in second place, passing various dinghies from time to time which had started earlier.
Warden Point: 12.15-12.45 Times are when the windsurfers are passing
I was still going well at Warden Point, after about an hour, at which point I was heading South to turn round the East end of the island. The sea suddenly got very shallow, and I kept well clear. Then I noticed that two of the sailors behind me were cutting across the sandbank, so I cut over ahead of them.
Bad mistake! There was a severe crunching sound as my fin hit the bottom, so I headed out to deeper water again, and stopped for a quick drink.
I carried on apparently OK, but the trim wasn't quite right, and I wasn't going upwind as well as I should. It wasn't till the end of the race that I discovered my fin was half out of the box, and tipped backwards at an interesting angle. Anyway, I was still moving, battling West up the river against Mark Holder on Mistral kit.
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They even raised the bridge... |
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Harty Ferry: 1.15-1.45
I reached Harty Ferry at the two hour point, this is a good spot for spectators, as there is a pub with a garden right by the old Ferry. After that, the river gets narrower and narrower, and the tacks get shorter.
Suddenly we heard a loud horn, and a huge cargo ship came round a bend in the river. We all moved aside, turned the corner, and came upon the next obstacle, the bridge!
The Bridge: 3.15-3.45
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The wind had dropped, and the tide was rushing against us under the bridge, so just approaching it was bad enough. Sailing under it was impossible!
What you had to do was sail close to shore, jump into the shallow water, and walk the kit under the bridge against the tide. Having got to the other side, you had to get well past the bridge before sailing off again, or the tide would sweep you back against the parapet.
It was definitely the low point of the day, but the dinghies and cats had it worse, they had to tip their boats over and walk them through, then right them the other side.
Queenborough: 3.45-4.15
Once past the bridge it was plain sailing through Queenborough round to Sheerness, although the wind was dying all the way. Luckily, Mark Holder and I got round the Northwest point while it was still possible to head upwind, and we then drifted down slowly to the finish, for a total time of just over five hours.
The Finish: 4.00-4.45
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Nick Wigston was the clear winner, taking only four hours and thirty minutes, which was very quick given the fading wind. I asked him how he did it, and he said he pumped all the way! I had to be content with being the first (and only) Under 19 to finish.
All the finishers received a Certificate of Circumnavigation for what is claimed to be the longest such race in Europe. There were not many finishers, because a large number of sailors had retired at various points on the way round, the bridge taking the highest toll.
And so we all headed off home, or to the bar, depending on need.
