May Bank Holiday Race to St Vaast

It was just like the old days, when Cougar were still Xploiter and Team Whistler's pre-race routine was soaking up the sun outside The Castle in Gosport, over a leisurely lunch and a few pints, before departing for Cowes to complete the crew and enjoy a pre-start pizza supper…

It looked like a bun-fight at the pin end of the line, so we opted to start over towards the shore in clear air to leeward of the fleet, a position we stuck with down the Solent as it seemed to pay off and we ended up at the front with Aviva and Heaven's Above V. At the Forts we delayed our hoist as Aviva seemed to be sailing quite low under theirs but, as the wind backed a little we popped ours and headed out round Bembridge Ledge.

Aviva and Tai-Pan headed off below us, sailing down the rhumb line but we were tracking quite well, just ahead of Electron and Annokia, sailing on the high side of the fleet as the light went and we settled down for the Channel. As the tide turned the rolling sea eased somewhat, but the residual swell was rocking us about, especially as the wind dropped, making it difficult to keep the kite flying and allowing Xara to creep up and past us…

As the light grew the next morning, the guessing game of trying to identify boats from their lights was resolved, with Tai-Pan just below us, Electron further inshore, Aviva inshore and well ahead and Annokia coming up behind.

Once again it seemed that our passage planning was about an hour out (poor navigation, an overly optimistic Skipper - or perhaps just because the wind had eased…) and we ended up making a couple of gybes across the building tide towards the line, which we crossed with Tai-Pan and Annokia chasing.

Sitting at anchor we were trying to work out where we had finished, checking who was in and scanning the horizon for those still racing. With remarkable eyesight for someone of his habits, the Skipper spotted a smudge appearing out of the haze "do you think that could be a boat?" he enquired. "Well, it's not likely to be a lorry or a car out there" responded Velcro, who should save that one up for his wedding speech!