Osprey Southern Area Championship at Shoreham Sailing Club

Osprey Southern Area Championships at Shoreham © Warwick Baker / www.warwickpics.com

Osprey Southern Area Championships at Shoreham © Warwick Baker / www.warwickpics.com

'Mods and Rockers on the Beach at Shoreham'

Just when you thought it couldn’t get much wilder than last weekend at Poole along comes Shoreham! Take a south westerly force 5, add big waves, sunshine and 10 Ospreys and you’ve pretty much died and gone to heaven! This was the real thing, what Ian Proctor had in mind when he designed this brilliant boat. I’m absolutely certain you can’t have this much fun anywhere else with your trousers on!

Once again windguru took pole position on my workstation all week. Mike Pickering was still exhausted from last weekend pacing around his digs, but true to form he managed a full night awake on Friday in front of his ipad, laptop, iphone and TV, which meant he could look at windguru, XC Weather, Met Office and “One flew over the cuckoo nest” on the TV at the same time. The problem was he was so tired by the time I turned up for breakfast he thought he was Jack Nicholson in the film and was trying to break out of the B&B!! Thankfully after a bowl of Alpen, a banana and a cup of coffee he came back down to earth and it was off to the club to rig.

The club was a hive of activity with the Fireballs having a meeting at the same time as the Ospreys. It was like a scene from Quadrophenia, Mobs and Rockers clashing on the beach. Imagine the Osprey fleets (Rockers) surprise when they spotted the leader of their gang, Matt Burge (2011 Osprey National Champion) dressed in the proverbial Fireball (Mods) fishtail Parka jacket and a Fred Perry shirt sporting the Fireball logo. Pickering, still slightly delirious from lack of sleep, ask me to take Burge round the back and have a word, but when I pointed out that he was a jolly nice chap and he had kindly had one of the Watkins girls doing work experience at his veterinary surgery, he thankfully let the matter drop.

Boats rigged and ready to rock, just to continue the theme! Both fleets headed out of the relatively benign harbour into the white tops with full rake, max cunningham and strut right off (if you’re reading this and you were set up any other way, then you’ll be one of the swimming team!).

Race 1 got away first time, spray everywhere and helms not really being able to see a thing. Mike Pickering (still tired) and Mike Priddle arrived at the windward mark first, kite not deployed so the rest followed suit to the jibe mark which felt a bit wimpy so Lewis and Greig went for it down the next leg... jet fighter to the leeward mark only to be taken by Andy Barker and Mike Atkinson conservatively two sailing it on the waves but going just as fast.

Lewis and Greig, with adrenalin out of the system, dropped and rounded up in third. Pickering and Priddle, still leading at the top mark next time round, followed by Lewis and Greig, went for the kite down the run as did the rest of the fleet. Sadly, half way down the run they got a wave just at the wrong time and in they went, breaking their pole in the process. A thicker pole was suggested in the bar afterwards but Pickers said he was very happy with Mike Priddle for now!

Lewis and Greig took the lead only to throw it away on the last reach when they were clear ahead by being greedy and going for the kite and neglecting to let the kicker off enough as they hoisted. They flapped about in a state of half capsize trying to get the kite down as Barker & Atkinson passed them. Adrenalin still pumping they hoisted and set again in an attempt to catch up, jibed well and got back to within 30 yards at the finish, exciting stuff with the immortal words of Del BoyTrotter running round their heads “You plonker Rodney”.

Race 2 was just as exciting; Lewis and Greig lead at the windward mark, hoisted and shot away from the rest of the fleet with Barker and Atkinson going for their kite as well. At the jibe mark Lewis and Greig got their spinnaker sheet round the end of the boom letting three boats through, “here’s another fine mess you’ve got me into” springs to mind! Poor Pete, what’s he let himself in for!

Mark Weston and Simon Hawkes in 1349, back in form after a break since their successful winter Sail Juice series, came into the running and took up the lead half way through the race and held on well, particularly uphill, till the end just ahead of Lewis and Greig who splashed and crashed down the reach again to try in vain to catch them. Weston and Hawkes will be ones to watch at the Nationals.

Day 2 was windy! Tide going out, wind coming the other way... big waves! Half the fleet sensibly decided to stay on shore and watch the mad men and woman go out into the mountainous waves, including Alex Willis, a seriously gung ho young lady, completely unfazed, brilliant!

Needless to say the wind picked up as the course was set, some elected to return to base to avoid breaking anything with the Nationals just around the corner. Eventually the race officer abandoned racing before the start and sent everyone home. This was much to the relief of Russ Wheeler who was trying to remember, as he was doing 20 knots down a big old wave, if he had altered his insurance policy from his old wooden boat to his nice new Mark IV, which is really owned by his bank manager! All in all a brilliant weekend at a fantastic venue, with the best BBQ for a long time all beautifully laid on by the wonderful members of Shoreham Sailing Club.

Rock on Tommy!!

Overall Results: