DOWN RIVER RACE REPORT: Richard Chitty

What a perfect day for the Down River Race last Saturday– plenty of sun, a light Northerly wind and an ebbing tide enabled all the scows to make it down the river to Needs Ore in good time.

We had invited the Royal Lymington Yacht Club and the Keyhaven Yacht Club to join us as part of the Traveller’s Trophy series of races. Lymington sent six scows and Keyhaven one, so in the end we totalled 30 on the start line, including one rogue scow belonging to a mooring holder which joined in.

The wind was fluky at the start which meant that the fleet spread out quite quickly on the short beat to ‘A’, the only mark of the course! I found myself in the first group of scows around the mark having picked up an unlikely breeze after being forced away from the far bank into the middle of the river at the start.

There then followed the usual battles within the groups of scows where the lead in each would change on a regular basis as the wind shifted or unexpectedly died on one side of the river or the other. In our lead group was Jay Devonshire, Charles Nicholson, the rogue scow and myself, and at one time we found ourselves all line abreast squeezing into the narrow gap to the east of the new pontoons at Bucklers Hard. Peter and Angela Hayward-Broomfield had stationed themselves at that point to ensure that we kept to the east side of the river. Although very thoughtful of them, it would have been amusing if some scows failed to appreciate the new layout of the marina and so found themselves at the dead end!  The other aspect of the Down River Race are the gusts of wind which move down the river, allowing the follow-on groups of scows to catch up with those in front of them – a most worrying experience if you are in front. However, the gusts always overtake the groups so allowing the group in front to re-establish its lead.

By Gins the wind was filling in nicely and the decision was which side of the pontoon to go. Staying on the river side ensured a more consistent wind, a stronger tide, but also a longer route. The bank side had the risk of the wind being blanketed by the moored yachts. Jay and I opted for the inside track, which left Charles no choice but to remain on the river side of the pontoon. Fortunately with the northerly component of the wind, the inside track paid off which gave Jay and me an increased lead over Charles and the rogue scow. The final reach down to Needs Ore made it impossible for me to attempt to take Jay’s wind without being forced into the mud bank, so I opted for the slightly longer route in the middle of the river to take advantage of the stronger tide. Unfortunately it did not pay off and Jay crossed the finishing line in 10 secs ahead of me. Charles came in 3rd and the rogue scow 4th, followed by three Lymington scows, Frank McGinn, the Bonham Carters and Lizzie Anders.

The rest of the fleet was not far behind and it must have made a wonderful sight for those waiting at Needs Ore to see us all reaching down from Gins. There was an even more wonderful sight at the club house where Gillian Devonshire, Sarah Karsten and Miranda Knowles had laid on an excellent spread of savouries and cakes for those who had either not brought a picnic or who were just greedy like myself! Our thanks also go to the Race Officer James McGill, the starting team of Ginna Gayner and Gerry Marling-Roberts, and the safety boat crews of Sam van Holthe, Peter & Angela Broomfield, Vova Karavan, Simon Gibbs, Oli & Sophie Stanley, and to Victoria Bonham Carter for organising everyone so well.

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FUTURE TRAVELLER’S TROPHY RACES:  Keyhaven 7th July 1300                                                                                                  Royal Lymington Yacht Club 28th August  1130

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