Myth of malham - our second Fastnet feeder. By Pauline Errey

28 May 2013 20:30 | Anonymous
Sometimes, despite all the preparation, plans can change – suddenly & dramatically.

With the second glorious Bank Holiday weekend of the month (what is with the UK weather – it always rains on a Bank Holiday?), Javelin & her merry crew met up on Friday night. The race was from Cowes, out through the Needles, across to Eddystone Lighthouse & back.

Eddystone Lighthouse – apparently
For some of us on-board this was our second attempt to actually get to Eddystone as we had been thwarted by unnecessary weather when 30 miles off from it last time – so near & yet so far!

However, throughout the weekend our plans changed:

1. There was an attempt to oust me as navigator by a smart phone app!!

OK – so my nav plans are done the old-fashioned way using charts & paper and don’t have any fancy pants graphics features.


Satisfaction guaranteed
That said, they don’t need to be charged up to work & more importantly they don’t plan a route that has you going inside Portland Bill & across land at Weymouth. Minor point.

2. Be careful what you wish for.

On passing Yarmouth, 2 of the crew were heard to say ‘wouldn’t it be nice to be sitting in Yarmouth on the boat in the sunshine with a glass of wine, watching the world go by……’ This was at a time when we were cracking along, close-ish into the island side to catch the favourable tide & far enough out to get some good wind in our sails. The spinnaker was up, Foggy Bottom (what we affectionately call the boat that won our class race to Le Havre earlier in the month) was still in sight. All was good until….

3. Sconce on the bonce.

A serious case of deja-vu. Past Sconce, coming up to Hurst, a series of minor errors & a gust of wind resulted in a spinnaker pole vs head altercation. It happened in a heart beat & watching from the cockpit, my heart did miss a beat as my poor hubby was the one having the altercation. Having taken a serious whallop onto the top of his head, he got back to the cockpit where he was then hustled down below & subjected to my first aid administrations – pooooor thing, just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse!

AGAIN!!!
Now those of you who have been following my blog for a while, may well remember me having to patch my hubby’s head up near Sconce late last year, when he head butted the hatch coming up the companionway steps.

While the bleeding was stemmed quite quickly, the concern was the force of the impact & the potential for internal damage. So, the battery of questions began. Impressively, he did remember the date of my birthday – no excuses now honey . However, the decision was made to retire from the race & go into Yarmouth to get him checked out. The thought of getting half way across Lyme Bay & his condition deteriorating was too much of a risk. A huge thanks goes out to everyone on the boat for their support & understanding. We were all well up for the race so to pull out, while the right decision, wasn’t easy.

So while we tootled off in a taxi to St Mary’s Hospital (thanks to Tanya for organising), the rest of the crew got to sit in the sunshine, drinking wine watching the world go by. Thankfully hubby was given the all clear. I was very relieved when he woke up the following morning & told me ‘I’m still here’. Not quite sure what I would have done if he’d said he wasn’t!

Hubby’s OK – YIPPEE!!
4. Not all first aid kits come in green bags.

It’s amazing how pre-conditioned you can be. I could not see the first aid kit for looking – when it was right in-front of me. I was completely zoned in on looking for a green first aid kit – when ours was BLUE.

Cat or sofa??
Slightly worrying – a definite case of ‘boy looking’ (the condition that happens up & down the country where men can’t find their shirts, glasses etc even when told by their better halves exactly where they are).

5. All this adrenalin makes you mighty hungry.

Given we were punching a spring tide to get down to the start line, we had had our pre-race bacon butty at silly-o-clock. With all the drama & excitement of the spinnaker pole incident followed by a trip to A&E, we were starving by the time we got back to the boat.

Soooo hungry…..
Boy oh boy how good was lunch of pre-made cheese & ham toasted sardines, reheated in the oven – AMAZING!! Now I understand how John was able to eat so many of them on the last race once he’d got over his sea sickness.

So our weekend ended up being somewhat different from planned. We had a leisurely afternoon in the marina & a great meal at the Blue Crab http://www.thebluecrab.co.uk/contact.html. I highly recommend the fish pie. Sunday saw us moored up on a buoy outside Yarmouth having an intensive session on the spinnaker pole – to remove any demons that might have been lurking from the previous day. Then a brilliant sail back & a bonus day at home on Monday enjoying the great weather. So I still haven’t got to Eddystone – maybe it’s a case of 3rd time lucky?
Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software