The Bognor Raid 2008 - 12th and 13th July 2008
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GPS tracks from the Bognor Raid 2008 (Toby's Hobie 16)
Arriving at BSC around 9'o clock Saturday morning the conditions looked almost perfect,
| Inshore waters 24 hour forecast: 0700 Sat 12 Jul 0700 Sun 13 Jul | |
| Wind | West or southwest 5 or 6, veering northwest 4 later. |
| Sea state | Slight or moderate. |
| Weather | Showers. |
| Visibility | Mainly good. |
| Outlook: | 0700 Sun 13 Jul 0700 Mon 14 Jul |
| Wind | Northwest backing southwest 3 or 4, occasionally 5. |
| Sea state | Slight. |
| Weather | Showers. |
| Visibility | Good. |
The rescue boat was ready and most of the 10 boats were rigged. After the briefing preparations continued with the expectation of leaving at ten. When I saw Graham scratching his head, standing next to his borrowed and unrigged, Topaz 16CX catamaran with the instruction manual, I sensed 10'o clock might be ambitious. With everyone chomping at the bit we decided to get launched and at around 10:30 the fleet started to head west, well, most of it anyway. Leaving the beach for the 13th Bognor Raid we had 2 Hobie 18s, a Bimmare 2000 A class, the Topaz 16CX, a RS400 and 5 H16s.
The sail to Bognor started in sunshine with a F4 WNW. It soon clouded over and we watched in envy as Brighton continued to bask in sunshine. As the sail progressed the wind freshened and the sky darkened.
It would not be a Bognor Raid without some drama. This came in the form of a Hobie 16 capsize somewhere off Shoreham beach. Not really a problem unless one hull is full of water and the boat looks to be sinking ! The rescue boat spent considerable time helping right the boat and helping it to shore. Righting the boat involved Grove standing on the bottom hull and hanging from the righting line while being towed. Not sure that's been done before - water skiing on an upturned H16?? On shore the hull was emptied and a roll of Gaff tape purchased to seal the hole. The boat then made it safely back to BSC.
The Hobie 18F of James and Gordana was also experiencing problems. The dagger board would not go down due to stones being jammed in the slots. After a capsize and another gear problem the 18F was too far behind and decided to return to the beach.
Superstition of "trouble arriving in 3's" held true. The brand new Topaz was also experiencing problems. As with any new boat it takes some "tinkering time" to get them set-up and this was no exception. With the jaws of the main sheet cleat set too low Graham was struggling to dump the main during the increasingly strong gusts. After an hours sailing and still only at Shoreham, Graham decided "This was not fun" and headed back to BSC.
After a tack inshore to asses our progress I was extremely heartened to find we had already passed Worthing. It seems our progress had been assisted by the wind shift coming down the Adur valley. By Littlehampton the wind was pretty much back on the nose and frustratingly gusty as one expects with an offshore wind. Most of the time the wind was not quite enough to hold us both on the trapeze but the gusts were occasionally over 20Knts. Once spotted the white roof of Butlins seemed to take an interminable time to reach. Tacking our way west Toby remarked on a peculiar cloud formation in front of us: "Can you see that bit of cloud hanging down, do you think it's a twister ??". My response was curt, "Ready about, lee ho". The wind by now was sufficient to twin wire. Picking our way through the lobster pots we landed on BRYC beach at around 15:30. The Bim 2000 was already there and the last boat landed around 16:20. A tough upwind sail but very gratifying. Standing on the beach catching our breath our welcome was complete when I saw the smiling face of Ken Green offering us assistance to lift our boat up the beach. By the time the boats were put away and we had showered and changed the BRYC Galley had prepared a very welcome meal. As ever the hospitality was very warm and BSC made to feel very welcome. As we sat down to dinner we were joined by the 3 crews who didn't make it by sea and wives and children completed our group. As the beer was consumed the aches and pains were eased and we swapped experiences and chatted with our fellow sailors from BRYC.
Sunday morning at BRYC is now legendary at BSC. A full English breakfast with your choice of tomatoes, beans or mushrooms washed down by tea or coffee, is the only way to start the day. While my breakfast was cooking I took my tent down and packed my bag and enjoyed the morning sunshine as we watched the wind fill in.
After saying our goodbyes to the folks at BRYC we once more sailed out of the sunshine into cloud. The F3 SW was taking us home with considerable ease compared to the previous day's slog. The light winds forced the H16s to sail a little higher than desired but by Worthing the wind was starting to fill a little and my GPS was now showing 13-14Knts. As Brighton came into view, about 3hrs after leaving Bognor, the wind was a good F4 and the final reaches into the beach were the perfect way to end a perfect weekend.
I would like to thank all those that helped make this happen:-
- Joe Elwood, Ken Green, Gary, the Galley staff and all the other members at BRYC for whom, it seems, nothing is too much trouble.
- The BSC rescue boat crew, Barry, Grove and Pierre. Thank you all very much for being just where you were needed.
- And to the participants for enjoying it: Matt (Bimmare 2000), Mike and Ryan (RS400), Paul and Karen (H16), Ed and Roddy (H16), Nick and Aimi(H16), John and Ali (H16), Simeon and Keith(H18), James and Gordana (H18F), Graham and Jane(Topaz16CX), Toby and myself ( H16).