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FASTNET 2003 RACE
Northern Child is a regular participant in the RORC offshore racing programme
and has competed successfully in many races, like Cowes-Dinard race. In 2003,
Northern Child took part in the Fastnet race and 2 qualification races
incl. the Morgan Cup to Brixham and Cowes-Dinard. Below is a
resume of their races.
Morgan Cup - RORC race 9 -
From 13th of June 2003
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The
start of the race was on Friday, 13th of June from the Royal Yacht
Squadron in
Cowes
, to the East. The
race is approximately 115 miles and the course is Snowden Buoy - No man's
Land Fort - Horse Sand Fort - Nab Tower -
Isle of Wight
- Brixham and finish. Northern Child took part
in this race as a qualifier for the Fastnet race. The Fastnet crew
met on the Friday for the first offshore training race. The day was
beautiful but there was a certain lackof wind and the tone was set for the
whole weekend - a drift around
the Channel. |
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Our
RORC race start off the Squadron line went fine with an intricate
spinnaker drill in the gun and away we went to the East. We first had a
fair tide and se wet out with loads of enthusiasm, drifting East in great
style! As darkness fell the tide started to set against us and the fleet
slowed down in the
Eastern Solent
. The night was
going quite well apart maybe from another boat who decided to tack right
under our bow. At something awful o'clock in the morning Craig got out the
kedge anchor for what was to become a regular event in Northern Child's
Fastnet campaign. As the night progressed the wind picked up to give us a
fantastic sail East and South of the
Isle of Wight
and across
Poole
Bay
. Saturday was a
beautiful day, but ...light. We slowly worked our way West during the day
and reached 5 miles from the finish line by
midnight
, when the wind
died completely and the tide set against us. Northern Child spent six
hours off Berry Head going nowhere... we finally reached the finish line
at 05.50 and gave ourselves a resounding cheer - we may have been 12 hours
late, but we had not given up! As we had to be back in the Hamble on
Sunday evening, we turned straight round and motored back to the Hamble .
It had been a great if frustrating weekend sailing. |
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Cowes-Dinard
- RORC race 11 - From Friday, 4th of July 2003
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The
start of the race was off the Royal Yacht Squadron in
Cowes
, to the West. The
race is approximately 165 miles and the course is
Cowes
- Casquets - Les
Hanois - St Malo. The first warning signal was at 14.50.
The
Fastnet crew met again with high hopes this time of some wind. A nice
start with a N. 2 Genoa and full mainsail at 15.20 on Friday the 4th of
July saw us beating out through the Needles Channel in 15 to 20 knots of
breeze. On reaching the fairway buoy we were able to fast off 10º and set
a fair course for the Casquets. Overnight we worked our way South around
the Casquets and out to the West of Les Hanois lighthouse in a dying wind.
Once past Hanois and some 34 miles from Dinard, we again completely lost
the wind. We took an unanimous vote and decided at 10.30 in the morning to
retire from the race and to motor against the foul tide towards St Malo
and a good evening out. In little breeze and some 10 nautical miles from
Dinard, we came across a red flare. Although there was no obvious sign of
trouble we altered course to offer help and found a 20ft motor cruiser
with three persons on board broken down and out of fuel. Northern Child
towed the boat all the way to Dinard where we released some grateful
Frenchman! We picked up a mooring buoy outside the lock as it was low
tide. The crew managed to paddle ashore in our blue bath tub of a dinghy
for some refreshments ashore! A restaurant had been booked and everyone
enjoyed the French specialities (apart from Julian who arrived too late
after having moored the boat into the lock.) The evening out was continued
in Bar L'Universe and various assorted dives. The return journey was
idyllic in little wind but a beautiful sail/motor to to
Sark
, where we waited
out a foul tide by anchoring in
Dixcart
Bay
and taking the
path up to la Coupee. Dinner was very much enjoyed in Dixcart bay Hotel
with typical pub food. We raised anchor and sailed off at
10pm
into a lovely
sunset in very little breeze and soon had to start motorsailing. A fair
tide saw us easily through the
Alderney
race, but by
5am
in the morning we
were very short of fuel - Jim did a fuel transfer from the auxiliary tanks
to the main engine tank. Luckily this gave us enough fuel to motor back to
the Hamble in the afternoon. This was the second qualifying race for the
Fastnet race - and it was another weekend of little wind!
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Fastnet
Race - RORC race
15 - From Sunday, 10th of August 2003
The Fastnet Race is
the most famous and most challenging of the Royal Ocean Racing Club Races and
since the first Fastnet race in 1925, it has provided sailors with the ultimate
challenge of rounding the Fastnet rock. The Fastnet Race is a biennial event.
The race is
approximately 610 miles. The start of the race is from the Royal Yacht Squadron
in
Cowes
and the course is
Cowes
- Fastnet Rock -
Plymouth
. The fleet pass the
South coast of
England
, out past Lands End and
the Scilly Isles into the
Irish sea
. The finish line is at
Plymouth
breakwater.
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For
this race, the skipper and all the crew had completed 300 miles of RORC
offshore racing. Most of Northern Child crew had completed the First Aid
course and the sea survival course.
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A little resume of
the Fastnet 2003:
After the two
qualifying races, it was now time for the Big One! By now the crew had settled
down into positions around the boat. Julian and Craig alternated and two watches
of five were formed. Unfortunately at the last minute, two of our crew were
unable to join us - Andrew Denham due to personal problems and
Simon Arber
due to Business
reasons. Their company was missed and we thought of them often.
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We
started the Fastnet off the Squadron line at the far end, away from the
melee inshore and in better wind. By 15 minutes into the race we were
ahead of most of our class. The South West wind came in by
hurst
and we had a fine
tussle with
Disco Inferno
coming out past
the Needles. The reach across
Poole
Bay
was great with
10-15 knots and bright sunshine. The first parking lot was at St Albans
Head where we kedged with Tony Bullimore's 100ft catamaran 'Legato'. Three
hours later, the wind filled in as the sun went down and we had a fine
breeze from the North East.
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This
wind increased as we rounded Portland Ball. The next parking lot was the
next morning at Start Point, which we renamed the Re-Start Point as all
the boats we had overtaken in the dark caught us up again! We managed to
go back inshore into the wind and were on our way again. The next morning
we rounded the
Liz
ard and then
Land's End
where we were
bowling along at 8-9knots under the Number 3 Genoa. The sea was quite
choppy here, but inevitably the wind died again and progress was slow to
the Fastnet rock. |
We rounded the next
morning to everyone's delight and after clearing the spreader mark, we hoisted
the 0.5oz spinnaker and settled into a lovely drift downwind. The stereo was put
on and the Stella came out and everyone enjoyed a superb afternoon. That evening
saw the wind go forward and increase and we passed many yachts that night. The
next morning we rounded Bishop Rock and headed for
Plymouth
. That evening as we
approached the
Liz
ard for the second time
we were greeted by a raft of becalmed boats. Not wanted to park again, we headed
hard inshore for the new breeze. The tactic paid off and we overtook some 30
boats! It was a beat to the finish and Northern Child did a lovely job arriving
ahead of many of the Prima 38s. Altogether a challenging if sometimes
frustrating race. Northern Child arrived in
Plymouth
on Friday morning at
07.18.
At their arrival in
Plymouth
, the crew sighted of a
24hour bar and had breakfast on 5 pints 'just to get things going'. After a well
earned sleep in the afternoon, the evening started at a slow pace with people
looking very tired. After a 'Fish and Chips' meal, our strength returned and a
local bar was sorted. Most crew moved on to a nightclub which to our surprise
let us in and the boys soon became the centre of attention. After trying to
explain to a couple of young ladies that yachting was not an elitist sport, Neil
turned up with 2 bottles of Moet et Chandon! Peewee described the end of the
evening as a 'bit of a blur but visions of Neil running down the road in a
rather large bra, the troops departing a lady's flat via the window and the fact
that Phil never did return concur that a great evening finished off what was a
great week'. All the crew looks forward to '
Plymouth
revisited' next year...
A special thanks goes
to John Haddow, who has convinced us to take part in the Fastnet and who came on
board with 5 friends of his. Thanks to all our guest who all contributed
massively to the success of the Fastnet 2003 campaign. Thanks also to Julian,
Craig and Peewee for their contribution in writing this page.
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