Racing on the Crouch

We woke up to a weather forecast of 4-6, occasionally 7, and were not sure that the race would go ahead, but it did. Several boats decided not to start in the conditions, so in the end only 7 of us idiots were on the start line. The plan was to run down from Fambridge to just before the start of the Burnham moorings, then beat up river nearly to Fambridge, run down river again, then beat all the way back to the start line.

Julian had invited a work friend to join us as extra crew since we had retired last year exhausted after the short tacking on the beat up river, and after Dave joined us we left the pontoon and picked up a mooring to get Robinetta ready to race. We reefed fully in response to the forecast, which was probably a mistake on the first leg, since we were at the back of the fleet after quarter of an hour despite getting a good start.

After we rounded the first buoy and began the beat back we got very discouraged. Robinetta did not want to tack round, and the winch we had repaired only last week went wrong again. We had to use the engine to help us tack, which made retiring from the race inevitable.

The boats looked great crashing through the waves - we were in a narrow river - really!

The evening barbecue back at North Fambridge made up for the disappointment of the race, with the Gaffers providing their usual quality of entertainment. Only two boats had entered the passage race, and Robinetta and Whisper were declared joint winners.... a first ever "win" for us!