Earlier this year, after my Olympic Campaign came to an end, I decided to take a break from Lasers and dingy sailing in general and get back into sailing bigger boats. Late March marks the beginning of spring in England (although the first weekend of April we had six inches of snow!) and the start of the Warsash Spring Series, a sailing competition which stretches over the weekends of March and April. A variety of boats participate in this event, from the hugely popular Laser SB3 to a selection of IRC-rated yachts. It is the first chance many people get to dust off the cobwebs after a long (cold) winter. The racing in the Spring Series takes place on the Solent, the body of water which separates the Isle of Wight from the English mainland, stretching (more or less) from Lymington in the West to Portsmouth in the East. The Solent is one of the most challenging places in the world to race. It is like no other sailing venue that I have ever been to, and is about as different as you can get from the waters of Carlisle Bay. For one, the presence of large commercial ports in Southampton and Portsmouth means that it is a busy shipping lane, and we are constantly dodging container ships and oil tankers.
A bigger challenge is the tides, which in April vary in height by around three metres. This large change in water levels in such a narrow body of water creates a minefield of currents, which vary in direction in different locations and can reach speeds of up to 10km/h (in my experience). This is not only a huge tactical consideration while racing; it can also cause serious problems when the wind is light. Many times I have seen a fleet of boats round a leeward mark and park, unable to sail faster than the opposing current. A boat is actually allowed, within the rules, to drop anchor in order to prevent being swept backwards (an action that I have personally witnessed, during a previous Cowes Week).The other aspect of racing in the Solent which makes it challenging is navigation. There are dozens of navigational buoys scattered around the water way and these are used to mark the race course. This means that you need to know where they are and be able to tell them apart. Every boat has a navigator, armed with a chart and a GPS, who does nothing else. His job is made more difficult by the fact that the Race Committee does not give out details of the course until 10 minutes before the race.
To top all of that off is Bramble Bank, a sandbar located in the middle of the Solent which, at low water spring tides, is actually uncovered (and the crazy English play cricket on it). The rest of the time it presents a navigational hazard, as the shallow waters are not enough for the deep keels of the bigger yachts. In spite of all of this, or perhaps because of it, the Solent is a very popular place for yacht racing...perhaps the busiest in all of Britain. Cowes Week, which is held here once a year, is one of the largest and oldest sailing events in the world.
This year the Spring Series attracted well over three hundred entries and I was lucky enough to find a place on an IMX 40 named “Cajou”. We were entered in the IRC 1 class, albeit with one of the lowest ratings, which meant we were racing against a variety of bigger boats, including Farr 45s, Swan 45s and TP52s. This was the first time that I had seen a TP52 up close and they are amazing machines, with sleek lines, wide open cockpits and a big bowsprit which carries a massive asymmetrical spinnaker.The racing is hot; most of the sailors in the bigger boats are pro or semi-pro and there are loads of people who have spent a lifetime sailing in these waters. Us mere mortals are quite pleased when we get a good result, such as one light wind day when we managed a third place. The crew on Cajou is still relatively new, but everyone knows what they are doing. On the first day of racing we were greeted by winds of up to 35 knots, which certainly makes for some exciting gybes with the spinnaker. The waves don’t get that big in the Solent, but downwind legs are still fun in such conditions.
The most interesting racing comes when the wind drops and the tides picks up pace. One of the most bizarre experiences I have had in all of my time sailing occurred on such a day, when our boat was lifted up and around a windward mark, sideways, by the current, despite having started out well below the starboard layline! I was sure that we would have to tack, but all the skipper did was luff up a bit to further reduce any forward motion that the boat had. When we got to the mark, we called for Room on another boat, which had just completed the same manoeuvre and was trying to get forward motion again. That’s one situation you don’t see in the rule books!
Sunny days in the Solent are always pleasant, despite the lack of wind. The cruising boats are out in their numbers and there are sails as far as the eye can see. However, beware of a falling tide, especially when your boat is modern and has a deep keel. We finished racing one day at low tide and within minutes there were a few boats stuck in the mud, including an unlucky TP52. This boat is used by the Royal Yachting Association as a training boat. Now, how can I get on that programme...?!
