I
felt a bit of explanation for two of the items in the
summer sailing programme might be of help to some of
the newer members, as well as some of old lags who have
forgotten all about the Shipwash Race and the art of
the time-trials.
Once upon a time when
men were men and boats were made of wood the intrepid heroes
of the PMSC used to go out and do some serious racing offshore.
Those who have read Renee Waite’s
club history ”Pin Mill Sailing Club Sixty Years”(a
snip at all good Pin Mill Sailing Clubs) will have learnt
that in 1949 a youthful Brian Humby who was then sailing
secretary organized the first Shipwash Galloper Race. Rennee’s
book says that it was arranged under the auspices of the
East Anglian Offshore Racing Association although the information
I have about the EAORA says that the association was founded
in 1950. Perhaps I ought to buy a copy of Jan Wise’s “50
Years of East Anglian Offshore Racing”
as this might throw some more light on the subject. Anyway
for those who are not aware the EAORA is not a club but is
an association of clubs who join together to run races off
the East Coast. In the early days the PMSC was an active
participant but in more recent years although still an affiliated
club the club has had little to do with the organization.
One or two club members are still active participants.
As the name suggests the original course was basically round
the Galloper and Shipwash sands. i.e. half way to Holland,
north a bit and then back again. I do not have the exact information
but I would guess it was somewhere in the region of 80 miles.
When you consider the boats they were sailing did not go particularly
well to windward, they had no GPS and that the weather forecast
were fairly dubious you have to respect the early competitors
even though this may not be your idea of a good time.
In the 1949 Race the then PMSC Commodore Martin Salter presented
a silver cup for the overall winner in all classes. In 1951
The Offshore cup was presented, possibly for the slower Class
II boats and was won in the first year by John Howard who became
Commodore the following year.
By 1960 the number of boats entering the race was dropping
and in 1961 the course was changed to a 50 mile race off Mersea
and the original cup was renamed the Slater Cup. The PMSC continued
administering the trophies until about 1980 but after that
trace of them disappears. If anyone knows where either of them
are please let me know.
In 2004 the EAORA decided to resurrect a Shipwash Race and
this will be held on Saturday 15th May. The race is being run
by EAORA but is being jointly sponsored by the RHYC and the
PMSC. Full details can be obtained from the EAORA web site
at www.eaora.org.uk The
first start is off Harwich breakwater at 09:00 and the boats
will race out round the South Cork, Sunk LV, the Shipwash,
then a quick detour round the cans of Orfordness and then back
home. It is hoped to finish the boats at the RHYC line so you
may see some go-faster boats racing up the river some time
in the afternoon or evening. The prizegiving is being held
at the RHYC on Saturday evening. It would be nice if a PMSC
boat entered but any boat would have to comply with all the
EAORA Regulations details of which can be found on their Web
site.
Time Trials
Around this time of year I always think that I would like
to have a go at a time trial but every October for the last
ten years my wish has been unfulfilled. (Too lazy!)
I am uncertain as to when the Time Trials started but the
basic principle is that a circular course is set (the current
courses can be found on Page 4 of the Almanac.) It is up to
the entrant to decide when to start, between May 3 and October
9th and which way round to sail the course. You are racing
against the clock although there is nothing to stop boats racing
together. The times are then submitted to the Sailing Sec and
corrected for handicap. The person with the fastest corrected
time at the end of the season wins the trophy. It is an interesting
exercise in seamanship and navigation as you have to work the
winds and tides to best effect as well as getting the boat
to go as fast as possible. I had a go in 1994 and thought I
had done reasonably well but my time was easily beaten a few
days later probably due to the more experienced judgement of
Brian Humby about when to start.
When I first joined the club in 1991 the A class course was
around the old Shipwash Galloper course. The instructions were
quite alarming in that they said that if there was a Force
6 wind or more in the forecast prior to your start then so
many minutes an hour would be deducted from your time. If it
was me I would stay at home with that forecast although I seem
to remember someone telling me that Joe Dunnet with his smack
Dorothy put in a very good time one year in near gale conditions.
In 1994 the course was reduced to about 50nm to go round the
Shipwash and Sunk LV and as far as I can make out Max Pennington
with Genoa was the last person to enter a winning time in 1995.
By 1999 the course had been reduced in size still further to
take you round the Medusa, Sunk Head Tower, Long Sand Head
and Cork Sand Beacon thus keeping you south of the shipping
channel all the time. So far as I am aware nobody has yet made
an entry. B Class yachts also have a smaller course round the
Cork Sand and again so far as I am aware there have been no
entries for several years. As an ex-member of the sailing committee
I would be very pleased if the club members once again took
part in the Time Trials. If you would like to enter, for either
course, please send your entry to the sailing secretary sailing_secretary@pmsc.org.uk. I
can give no guarantee about trophies but in any event this
is not really about pot hunting it is about testing your skill
and navigational judgment. On
the right day it can be a very pleasant day’s sailing.
So why not have a go?
John Sparks (01473 788186) e
mail: jndsparks@ricsonline.org
(Note: In the best journalistic traditions I have not had
the time or inclination to check the exact dates etc of some
of the information above and it should not be relied upon as
historical fact.) |
