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This is a 40 mile race clockwise around the Isle of Sheppey, starting at Sheerness,
with
sea, river, and estuary tidal sailing.
It
has been going since 1959 and is the longest dinghy race in Europe.
After the two long sea legs, the race turns around the eastern end of
and goes west up the Swale to the bridge, where boats come into the
shallows to be walked under the on their beam ends, with help from Club
members
The race is in fast sailing
water (with the land low-lying for the stretches through the Swale
Estuary.) Catapults Chris Phillips and Alastair Forrest took it on for
this year, starting in the fourth fleet (an hour and a half after the
slow dinghy fleet headed away.).
A Force 4 southwesterly made its predicted rise to Force 5 as the race
kicked off. One big cat nosedived on its way to the start line
(recovering from being in past the mast) and a Dart 18 dived and rolled
a minute into the race.
It was a day for fast times for the survivors (84 of the 130 starting)
and the wind direction was ideally aligned to the course to smash
records (below)
The two Catapults made uncontested reaching starts and a fleet
of 33 cats took off on the first leg.
This long stretch on most other days is liable to drag (the
headland marking the first turn seeming to come no closer) but
this time it was eyes down and a focus on the bows rushing at
the next two waves ahead.
The two boats kept closely-matched speeds, slackening the main in the
gusts, both probably able to be pushed harder (as driving through the
short waves gave little sense of an impending dive) but with 37 miles to
go, and open water, dumping power made sense.
Chris luffing up a little to the headland moved ahead and after a
brief period in the headland wind-shadow the boats tore into a
broad lead as the wind came over the flat SE corner of the
island.
The broad lead turned gradually tighter, following the rest of
the fleet well out from the SE corner shoal (where a Dart 18
ahead lost its rudder 200 metres out to sea) and then shifted to
hard on the wind across the mouth of the Swale estuary.
Both quickly decided that the short steep waves (from a sharp incoming
tide against the strong wind) made trapezing too risky, and
slammed their way across the Swale, seeming to be slow, although
the overall time (40 miles in 3 hours) says otherwise, and the
tide was at least friendly.
Alastair
had the humiliation of three times missing the far side tack
onto port (perhaps showing the big advantage of usually tacking
from the trapeze in this weight of wind) but this at least
carried him right over to the Kent shore and flatter water where trapezing became the clear
option.
The course allowed a very long port tack hard on the wind up the Swale,
and he pulled up and over Chris (not trapezing in the waves further out
in the stream.) The waves again picked up as Alastair very gradually
sliced across to the island side, but trapezing remained possible and he
built what seemed an unassailable lead as the river narrowed.
(Right: Alastair, far right, arrives at
the bridge) |
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However, Chris was then able to point up and avoid a final two tacks and
was a minute or two behind as they entered the turmoil of running into
the shallows under the bridge where marshals chest deep in the water
struggled to control the inrushing boats and assist tipping and walking
through.
After the bridge, reaching fast in flat water and then gybing through
the “s” bend to Queenborough, Chris surged up and was level through the
anchored boats, the Catapults 10 yards apart after 30 miles of racing.
(Left: Chris lands to negociate the
bridge.)
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(Above: Chris comes through on his beam ends.
Alastair is still faffing around on the far side, and is in for a nasty
shock when Chris powers up on him on the next leg.)
The final broad
starboard run past the Sheerness Docks did not lead as
anticipated into daunting standing waves at the Medway entrance for the
final gybe (perhaps because of the combination of off-shore wind with
the now outgoing tide)
For the final mile now on a broad reach, the Club seemed close enough to
risk driving the boats harder, until Chris nosedived, bobbing safely
back up but allowing Alastair to gain 50 yards and cross the line 12
seconds ahead.

(Above: coming down the last leg to the Club,
Alastair a bit ahead, and Chris due to nosedive and recover, perhaps in the gust
hitting the Darts behind. Photo
James Bell)
The Catapults did the 40 miles in 2 hours 58 minutes (including 10
minutes under the bridge) 40 minutes faster than Alastair’s last time in
2008. A Hobie Wildcat, the first cat home, took 1 hour 52, a new record.
They were 34th and 35th overall, out of the 86 finishers. Alastair in
three outings has results of 35th, 34th, and 34th, so his initial steady
improvement seems to be plateauing. This time the race seemed long at
points when fatigued, but over in flash once hitting the shore again.
(Below: Alastair finishes at speed --
in their culture, New Zealanders pray leaning backwards as far as
possible.)

Below: a fixed mark on the course: leave above you

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