Friday

 Friday night saw 9 of the 14 crew members assembled in the Castle Tavern, Gosport, for a civilised slap up meal before we headed over to Cowes on Saturday morning.  We were lucky to have a core crew of 8 who were on the boat for the whole week, filled in by other members who had taken between 1 and 4 days each!  In total, we had 26 club members involved in this event, which is some turnover!!

 Saturday

 After removing some unneeded goodies from the boat, we motored over to Cowes – the plan was to meet the other crew members there, register, get through the mounds of paperwork, get ourselves measured then potter out for a sail.

 But the paperwork took longer than planned, it was pretty breezy (gusting 35 knots) and we had a beautiful 55’, restored 1972 build alongside us who had just arrived from Holland called ‘Ellinor’.  Well – there’s always Sunday to head out for practice….

 A BBQ at the ‘crew quarters’ saw that we were full of food and beer that evening.

 Sunday

Best laid plans……well, sometimes things just don’t work out.  Still a low pressure sitting over the top of us, and loads of wind:  we only had the new sails (main and #2 head sail) on board – with 18 knots true wind speed the maximum for the headsail, we realised that we needed the #4 (as we’re currently missing a #3 from our wardrobe!)

 There were only 2 boats in the marina that were heading out – this made our life very difficult to escape to collect the sail from Gosport.  Fortunately one of the crews’ families had a large motor boat over in Cowes for the weekend so he kindly offered to drive 2 of us back across the water.  I will say that heading across the Solent at 35 knots at a height of the second story of a house was somewhat impressive!

 So – back at Haslar in about 30 minutes.  We trundled to the shed to collect the sail, when another calamity – one of the engines on the boat was not working and therefore we had to leave the boat in Haslar.  The thought of dragging a sail into a cab, then onto a ferry was really not appealing at this point.  Then, as luck would have it, John, the Haslar harbour master came alongside in his rib, kindly offered to look after the motorboat until repairs could be effected, then offered to rib myself,  AJ and the sail back across to Cowes.

 The ride back was a fair amount lumpier and wetter than the ride there, but we arrived (although I was absolutely soaked!), with sail, all intact!

 Now, with no time to head out for practice, we all disappeared for showers to prepare for the opening reception at the Squadron.  After a few drinks, photos (well, we’ll all look wrecked by the end of the week!), we scattered in different directions as some of the crew required finer foodstuffs than some of the others!

 Monday

Race day at last!  The nerves and anticipation were beginning to show on some of the more experienced crew….after the morning briefing, we all headed to the boat to prepare for our first race of the day (2 were on the cards).

 With 14 knots of SW breeze, we hoisted the #2 and the main.  An upwind committee boat start saw us at the back of the fleet at the start – it being the first race, we considered taking it easy to see how the starting antagonism would fare – these are very large and expensive yachts:  we really didn’t want to break anything!

 As we rounded the committee boat, the first thing that we noticed was that we were pointing at about the same height as the rest of the fleet – a total miracle!  We were also travelling a lot faster than normal – and soon began to catch and take the fleet.  Tracking directly towards the first mark, and 25 minutes into the race, it seemed that our luck ran out once again:  the headboard on our new main came away from the shackle and concertinaed back onto the boom.  Although it was quite an impressive sight, my initial thought was that the shackle had broken, so dashed up to the mast just as the head came to rest.

 But no, the shackle had been pulled straight through the metal headboard and there was ripped metal exposed. 

 Sails down, and telephone calls into North, we motored back to our berth in Cowes.  For the next few hours, there was a hive of activity around Lutine.  We had to remove the main so that it could be taken back to the North Sails loft on the Island – the boys came to collect it and the grimace on their face said it all – that shouldn’t have happened.  We hoisted our bowman up the mast to see if he could retrieve the halyard, but no, it was severely jammed behind the pulley at the top of the mast, so the Spencers riggers were called in.

 It became apparent that our racing for Monday was over, but, thanks to the hard efforts of all involved, within 5 hours of the accident happening, the halyard was recovered, the sail repaired and back on board, ready for the following days racing.

 A few beers and more food back at the house, the crew were ready and prepared for the next day.

 Position on the water, Elapsed – Race 1:  DNF   Race 2:  DNS,  Position for the day, Corrected: Race 14:  DNF   Race 4:  14,  Position for the week: 14

 Tuesday

Right – time to try again!  With our current Commodore, Darren Powell on board, we headed out to the first race, which was again a committee boat start at the eastern end of the Solent.

 An average wind speed of 17 knots true and gusts up to 22 knots at the start of this race saw us use the #4 headsail and one reef in the main – no point in being over-pressed, but we were really between sails and could dearly have done with a #3 head.

 The first course was a 17 mile course in the Solent and took us 2 hours and 28 minutes.

 The second course took us to the westerly Solent, and was slightly shorter:  the wind had dropped slightly so we shook the reef out but kept the #4 up.  The squadron finish was a close one, and everyone on board was delighted that we had finally completed a day’s racing!

 Again, the crew scattered in different directions, with a few of us heading back to the house again – and were joined by the girls from SLAM who had been invited to join us!

 Position on the water, Elapsed – Race 3:  11   Race 4:  11,  Position for the day, Corrected: Race 3:  11   Race 4:  11,  Position for the week: 13

 Wednesday

The wind had built significantly over-night, and we were now seeing an average of 22 knots (true) and gusts up to 30 knots.  Ex-Commodore Don Moreton joined us for the day, and we had a great days sailing!

 An easterly start again, but this time from the squadron line, led us round a 17 mile course, which was very wet!  One wave took the bowman and bow2 back along the deck and into the mastman, who did not move and was heard to say ‘ humph – plainly I weight too much!’

 The very wet and wild course took us 2 hours and 28 minutes

 Race 6 was equally as wet and wild, with pressure building in the Solent for its regular afternoon appearance!  The course took us to the west and many short tacks along the mainland shore before a long run back. 

 Position on the water, Elapsed – Race 5:  7    Race 6:  7,  Position for the day, Corrected: Race 5:  10   Race 6:  9,  Position for the week:   11

 Thursday

Well – today was always going to be different:  JB from North Sails was coming out to play for the day to help us with trimming the new sails.  A much steadier south easterly breeze meant that we could hoist both of the new sails.

 Due to the Swan crew party on Wednesday night, we had a late start: 1240 – how civilised!  But this did mean only one race – which was going to be slightly longer than the previous days.  Our course took us down as far as the Warner mark, 2 miles past the forts, then back up crossing the Solent.

 We sailed very well, using the Solent to it’s maximum – one crew member from another boat later commented ‘you played an absolute blinder in Osbourne Bay – fantastic’.

 It was an amazing race, and to be among the fleet and passing boats was a great feeling - we took a second place gun at the Squadron line – only pipped by seconds!

 A few more beers later, we all crashed out, looking forward to the following day.

 Position on the water, Elapsed – Race 7:     2,  Position for the day, Corrected: Race 7:      10,  Position for the week:  11

 
Friday

With winds of over 35 knots threatening the Solent for the afternoon, the Race Committee took the option of only having one race, which brought the total races to 8 instead of 9 for the week – or 7 for us.

 Heading off for a squadron start again, and with a clear line, and excellent start on Lutine, we headed east under the new Lloyd’s spinnaker.  Throughout the week, we had many people mention to us how fantastic the kite looked – and Squadron members commented on how beautiful Lutine looked on the water!

 We rounded the first mark in ‘pole’ position, with a call to change the course as the wind was building a little slower than originally expected, but still to fill later in the afternoon.  Later we found that the Committee boat had commented: ‘my goodness – I do believe Lutine is in the lead at the windward mark – excellent!’

 And that is where we stayed for the rest of the race – again, pushing the limits of the Solent, and navigating to the shallowest that we could to gain time and angles to the next mark.  We took Lutine to her racing limit and watching the depth constantly, navigated through the mooring buoys, now laid up ready for Cowes week.  We made the finish line, and subsequently a squadron gun, line honours, approximately 3 minutes before Elan, the following yacht.

 There was a massive cheer from Lutine, and secretly, I think a cheer from the Castle!

 Amazing.  Everyone on board was elated.  A few crew members had joined us just for that day and what an amazing day to join!

 We headed home and were moored up a long time before other yachts in our class started to arrive – so we were going to be beaten hard on our handicap, but who cares?  Lutine and her crew had behaved impeccably all week and were very happy.

 The prize giving at the Squadron was a fun affair, especially watching the weather draw in across the Solent until we could no longer see Southampton water.  After the amazing prizes were awarded (unfortunately none for Lutine), we hunted down our neighbours for the week from ‘Ellinor’ and invited them to join us for a beer at the Island Sailing Club.  After a catch up and general discussion on chartering Swans, the week in general, and their best route home, we parted ways, and caught up with our next crew, ready for the JOG race to Weymouth….but that’s another adventure!

 Position on the water, Elapsed – Race 8:     1,  Position for the day, Corrected: Race 8       2

Position for the week: 11

 Picture of Lutine in Yachts and Yachting at the Squadron finish:

Final Results:  

2009 Swan Europeans information from the Royal Yacht Squadron: 

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