Parade of Sail

The parade of sail started at 1440, and we went across the line with all the other yachts, getting a much better start than the first race. I had done a temporary fix on the stay sail sheet, so we had the use of the sail and within half an hour of the start we had shaken out our reef too as the wind dropped.

As normal we were soon at the back of the fleet, and had lost sight of everyone as we beat up Collier's reach. We checked the time, and decided to put the engine on and retire since the tide was about to turn against us and we might miss the free beer and cider at the Sail Lofts...

It began pouring with rain almost as soon as we made our decision, and the sails were soaked before we could get them down. There had not been enough time to get the roller furling back in operation, so I had to lower the jib onto the foredeck instead of rolling it away first, and somehow the halyard purchase got jammed in the shrouds. It would not come all the way down, so I tied it in as best I could. Julian got the main sail down without problem while I helmed.

Yvonne from Kajan called on the radio, and said to watch out for her waving when we reached Maldon as she would be on the hammerhead of the pontoon where we had booked our mooring. She stayed there in the pooring rain and helped us moor alongside Cormorant on the outside of the hammerhead. There were berths inside, but taking one would have restricted when we could leave much more.

The beer and cider went down very well, and we had a good natter with the other racers about the horrible conditions in the morning. Then we went to the prize giving on the Hythe, before retiring to the Little Ships Club for the traditional Old Gaffer's Dinner. It was as great as ever, but we left quite early; Cormorant wanted to be away on the early high tide, so that meant being up at 0410....