A select group of Dragons gathered over the Whitsun weekend to race for the annual British Dragon Association East Coast Championships. This year the regatta included the Vintage & Classic Championships.
Unhelpfully, the tides in Burnham on Crouch were unfriendly for the weekend. This necessitated lifting boats into the water early on Saturday morning and a first warning signal at 1325 hours. For some reason, and rather unlike the Almighty, who usually smiles on us here, the weather also decided to play hard to get over Burnham. The wind forecast indicated a strong west south westerly with stronger gusts.
By the time the fleet had sailed to the race area the tide had turned and allowed the water to flatten. PRO, the evergreen Edwin Buckley, set a course in the area of the Pinto buoy, just west of the mouth of the Roach river. With an ebbing tide this left precious little room around the port hand leeward mark, something that made life rather interesting at times!
Race one got away on time and it was clear that the first boat to windward across the start line was going to have all the advantage of the course. Suicide corner became very busy! A quick tack onto port once clear of committee boat Phoebe’s anchor chain gave that windward boat the chance to short tack along the north shore and, in effect, to control the chasing fleet. It was local legend Mark Wade aboard his Avalanche GBR 722, ably crewed by wife Mandy and ‘How Does He Do It At His Age’ Nigel Cole, that lead the way for this race. He was chased hard by local leg end Ian Gray, crewed by Rene Nel and ‘Ladder Man’ Heath Puxley on Still Crazy GBR 827. The remainder of the fleet had their work cut out, with all the crews working hard in the windy conditions, never conducive to the effort required on an almost continuous basis to keep the boat speed going through rapid short tacks. This was amply demonstrated by the weary, stiff limbed and generally knackered condition of the crews coming ashore at the end of racing. Meanwhile, the helms retained their usual spritely sense of quiet superiority, burnished by many hours sat behind the mainsheet traveller.
One person who was unable to enjoy that first race was new octogenarian Patrick Gifford, a welcome visitor from the Aldeburgh fleet. Minus a depth gauge he was unfortunate enough to go hard aground after his first tack on Basilisk GBR 515, and despite the Herculean efforts of crew Martin Spall and Drew James, they had to get a tow off the mud from the hard-working mark layers in their RIB. Meanwhile, it was tight around the first windward mark as the remainder of the fleet fought their way around and past the spreader mark.
Oddly enough, one or two raised voices were heard! The run back with the ebb tide under the boats was rapid, necessitating some equally rapid work from the crews to drop the spinnaker, get the genoa out and round up to almost immediately tack away to clear their way through the committee boat gate on the return windward beat. Behind Avalanche and Still Crazy the fleet were having some valiant tacking duals, notably between welcome visitors from the Medway, Howard Paterson, Bill Baker and Jeff Mendzil on Taniwha GBR 823 and local boy racer Andy Moss aboard Hands Off GBR 760, aided by wife-and-husband team Teresa and Tim Wilkes.
With the aim of getting in a series of three races, each was timed to forty-five minutes duration. At the line for Race one it was Avalanche that pipped Still Crazy into first position, with Hands Off in third slot, a position they seem to be making their own at Burnham this season.
Race two was got away quickly in the increasingly gusty conditions, with Still Crazy this time executing the perfect getaway as windward boat across the start line. More close tacking was to follow, the crews’ limbs creaking and groaning against the increased loads on all the sheets, sweating away in the humid weather. Battle was continued between leader Still Crazy and Avalanche, whilst further down the fleet the two Medway boats were battling it out. Gandalf GBR 726, steered by welcome visitor Edwin Hannant with crew son James and Alistair Macdonald, was making long starboard tacks out into the tide in the middle of the river. Tactically this appeared rather radical, yet the willy Eddy seemed to get the tide to magically disappear from under him.
Competing crews could do nothing more than gaze enviously at the underworked gentlemen aboard his yacht. With wind gusts steadily increasing spinnaker drops became more difficult, with more than one boat having to make lengthy tracks away from the course to sort out the errant fishing sail. But shining through came Still Crazy over the line, well ahead of Avalanche and the chasing Hands Off. Once the remainder of the fleet had finished Team Phoebe had to execute a fast relocation as they were running out of water, not for their tea and coffee, but under their keel. The course was quickly relaid, the stage set for the final race of the day. Which of the two leading contenders would win through? Or could there be a surprise in store from one of the improving boats behind them?
Well, dear reader, it was Gandalf that bested the fleet with a favourable and well manoeuvred start to Race three as the windward boat. It allowed them to take a commanding lead during the first beat, though they were being hounded by all the boats behind them. Now on the runs all the boats were carefully watching the wind behind them, some of the gusts being most powerful. Again, the short tacking led to many duals and it was Avalanche that got through to lead around the windward mark at the second rounding, with Still Crazy getting through to take up the second slot, positions they retained until the finishing line, with a delighted Gandalf on the third step of the podium.
Once ashore almost all competitors were able to drag their weary limbs up to the bar, order a drink and then flop into a chair to relive the racing. But more was to follow, for it was the regatta hosts, the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club Saturday Curry Night and having freshened up (a relative term), the competitors returned to sit at a long table in the club’s Trophy Room and to celebrate the magnificent milestone of his 80th birthday, that very day, of Patrick Gifford. Joined for the evening by his son Michael John, Patrick was excellently regaled in doggerel by long-standing crew Drew, a large birthday cake was produced, Happy Birthday was sung and candles were blown out by the birthday boy. The occasion was slightly tinged by the sadness of this regatta being Patrick’s last away from his home fleet, as he is to retire from Dragon sailing at the end of this season, after many decades of participation at all levels in the class, including stints as BDA Chairman and involvement with the IDA, too. He has been and remains a staunch enthusiast for the classic Dragon. We have much to thanks Patrick for, not the least these many years of dedication to our wonderful yachts.
Sunday dawned bright and sunny, but again the Almighty was not benevolent to His subjects ashore in Burnham. The wind had remained strong all night. There were white horses on the river. Gusts of up to 30 knots were being recorded on the club anemometer. Other classes participating in the Royal Burnham Yacht Club Whitsun Regatta went down the river to race, only to return almost immediately, many under foresail alone. With the visitors opting not to race, the two leading contenders for the championship agreed they would not compete and so the abandonment flag was raised. In turn, this led to a blessing unforeseen by the regatta organisers, who had predicted that there would be no window for lifting boats out until the Bank Holiday Monday. Fortune now dictated that boats could be lifted out on the noon high tide and in an operation as efficient as it was rapid, all the Dragons were lifted out and onto their trailers. The visitors had the luxury of the entire afternoon in which to pack away their boats, with the ever-helpful local sailors assisting them along.
Sunday evening saw the Championship Regatta Prizegiving Dinner. As had been the case all weekend, the RCYC kitchen, chef and staff ensured we were very well fed and watered. Joined by guests the group of competitors enjoyed an excellent evening and then celebrated the champions. Race winners received their silver and glassware, the guests received their stoneware. The Vintage Champion was crowned, appropriately won by Patrick Gifford. No classic Dragons raced, so the championship lies dormant for this season. Mark Wade won the overall and Corinthian championships, a worthy winner to add his name to the silverware again.
RESULTS
1 GBR722 Avalanche Mark Wade, Mandy Wade, Nigel Cole
2 GBR827 Still Crazy Ian Gray, Rene Nel, Heath Puxley
3 GBR760 Hands Off Andy Moss, Tim Wilkes, Teresa Wilkes
4 GBR726 Gandalf Edwin Hannant, James Hannant, Alisdair Macdonald
5 GBR823 Taniwha Howard Paterson, Bill Baker, Jeff Mendzil
6 GBR515 Basilisk Patrick Gifford, Martin Spall, Andrew James
Images: Petru Balau, Sports Photojournalist and Gery Gray, RCYC