Starcross Steamer 2012

By John Donovan on 19 Jan15 January 2012 © Tom Gruitt / www.fotoboat.com

Gusty winds and steep waves for the Starcross Steamer 

© Mike Rice / www.fotoboat.com 

© Tom Gruitt / www.fotoboat.com

On the Monday before the Steamer I was concerned; the long range forecast showed a blocking high over the country for the week with no change for the weekend. By Wednesday I was worried. Visiting Plymouth I walked to the Hoe and looked out to the breakwater and there wasn’t a ripple on the water – not even one. But by Sunday when I arrived at Starcross Yacht Club for the 21st running of the annual Starcross Steamer two and a half hour pursuit race, I was greeted by wind, plenty of it perhaps too much for some. It was blowing about 20 to 25 knots, from the South East, fairly steady but already kicking up quite a chop even though the wind and tide were in the same direction.

Due to the early high water, the first start had to be brought forward to 10:00. With the strong wind, the course had to be carefully set to avoid the danger of high speed boats with dagger boards crashing into the shallows. Luckily the deep water is fairly close to the clubhouse so those who decided not to venture out could be well entertained watching the inevitable capsizes and retirements.

A new departure this year was to use the SailJuice rather that the established RYA published Portsmouth Handicap numbers. The analysis of over 8000 of our club records has shown that our results bear a very close relation to the SailJuice numbers and as we have boats sailing in the Steamer that do not regularly sail at Starcross we decided it was right to make the change.

A record number of 98 entries were received this year, although not all ventured onto the water. This was probably the windiest Steamer for many years and may have been the windiest ever. The first start this year was for a solitary Mirror helmed by juniors Midge and Harriet Watkins, who superbly handled the conditions that made many adults shy away and check that their own boats were securely tied down – a fantastic effort. The Mirror had the race course to themselves for the first ten minutes and had reached the windward mark by the time the 5 Toppers started, again all helmed by juniors. The largest classes this year were 17 Lasers, 13 Merlins, 8 RS200 and 6 Phantoms. The Mirror was able to hold their lead up until just before the start of the third lap, being overtaken by an RS200 who retired shortly afterwards. Inevitably the faster boats were making serious inroads into the slower boats that started earlier, notably the Fireballs and Merlins were really powering through the fleet.

Another first this year was the appearance of a Foiling Moth crewed (or flown) by Peter Barton. Before his start time of 11:20 (giving him only 70 minutes of racing) Pete sailed downwind past the club house in front of a vast audience lining the bank, only to pitch pole in a load of spray. Unfortunately the wind and chop proved too much for the moth retiring without completing a round. After coming ashore Peter, smiling from ear to ear, declared that he reached 25.9 knots before the splash. We look forward to Peter returning next year to complete the course.

At the end of the race the stronger winds favoured the faster boats, the winning combination of Colin and Derek Jarvis in their Fireball proved to be the masters of the windy conditions, they were closely followed by Jon Gorringe in a Merlin. Although the number of finishers was low, the change to the SailJuice numbers proved to be successful with 7 different classes in the top 10.

Thanks as always must go to the competitors who travel to Starcross every year to make the event so memorable, the galley for producing vast quantities of hot food and drink, the rescue boat crews from the home club, plus crews from Exe and Lympstone Sailing clubs and not forgetting the multihull fleet who organize and man the event. We must also thank Fotoboat for taking some cracking shots of the event this year. One camera was based on shore and another in the Exe safety boat so all the action, both good and embarrassing, has been recorded. See them at www.fotoboat.com . Next year’s Steamer will be on Sunday 20th January 2013, with the first start at 11:00. Planning has already started and we look forward to welcoming both old and new faces to the event

Overall Results:

1st Lady, Samantha Herbert (Portishead SC)
Furthest Travelled, Mark Weston (West Riding SC)
1st Starcross Boat, Richard Garry & Matt McGrath
1st Junior, Midge & Harriet Watkins (Poole YC)

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