Moving Reedham Regatta to Rockland has proved so successful that even the closure of the New Inn didn’t stop us returning there this year: we simply brought our own pop-up bar. This was promptly erected on Friday evening using the club gazebo, more usually seen on a start line (I’ll say nothing about the missing canvas and the dory dash to Cantley to fetch it) and supplied with a table, Swallowtail bitter (thanks, Julia) and even some lights spelling out BAR, courtesy of David Radley. He always knew they would come in useful.
This proved a popular and convivial establishment, receiving a rave review online from one customer. Anthony Knights took it upon himself to be mine host, handling the serving of beer, payments and his own beer with aplomb, as well as supplying his own unique banter. The fact that he was mathematically challenged at times was of little consequence.
In the morning it was breezy and dry, but we had all seen the forecast and nearly everyone turned up to the briefing in full waterproofs. Lisa and Tracy had taken on the running of this event and produced an interesting course with no less than four buoys out and different loops to remember. We all wandered off muttering “pink to port and red to starboard,” hoping the course had been memorised correctly.
With the slower half of the fleet setting off first, Vixen led the way upriver, then down to a buoy well downstream, before returning to a mark above Beauchamp, back downriver (but not quite as far), up to the Beauchamp mark and then finishing outside the pub, where we all moored up for revitalising beers after a rather windy race. Having sailed a solitary course, Vixen took line honours and first place, with Morning Calm and Sabrina 2 in second and third respectively.
Midway through the lunch break it started to rain and a retreat into the pub was felt necessary, but by the time Lisa briefed the competitors for the afternoon race it was dry again and the wind had fallen right out. Pete Dion, however, was muttering all lunchtime about the forecast thunderstorms and, oh boy, was he ever right!
As the fleet hoisted sail, the skies were darkening and about ten minutes before the first start (slower boats leading again) the heavens opened and it began to rain. And rain. And rain. The first start set off in torrential conditions (those that didn’t retire) and as they ran downriver the wind built, lightning flashed, thunder crashed, the water turned grey, with white horses; boiling with the heavy rain and then we got added hailstones. Epic, dramatic and memorable! Happily, it was a gybe-free course and despite no-one having reefs in, all survived the prolonged thunderstorm. Eventually, about three quarters of the way through the race, the storm passed and it became merely windy. Vixen took both line honours and first place again – seems she loves romping in gale force reaching winds (her owner is not so sure about this). Sabrina 2 and Wandering Rose placed second and third behind her.
The fleet then high-tailed it back to Rockland, with the drenched sailors changing into dry clothes and hoping to dry out their boats in the now warm sunshine. Mother Nature had other ideas though and soon another threatening grey sky prompted a rush to put covers on before we were hit with another thunderstorm and more hail. As soon as this stopped, though, there was a rush back to the bar, again ably manned by Mr Knights and, as we proved, just about big enough to squeeze everyone in during one last shower. Julia brought sausage rolls and other delightful savoury nibbles and the bar became even more highly rated by its customers.
Although the rest of the evening proved to be dry, only the Commodore was brave enough to barbecue as planned and everyone else retreated to their boats to eat. We had just about done for the real ale by then, but there was a little convivial gathering on the bankside before everyone retired once the biting insects emerged.
Sunday dawned dry and warmer, with less wind. Despite this, waterproofs were still much in evidence at the briefing (more loops, but ending up at Cantley) and these proved necessary pre-start when there was an isolated shower. After that, however, the sun came out and with less wind than the previous day, the sailing was more enjoyable. Happily, there was still enough to make against the tide, however, especially as one mark involved a tack through the narrows at Beauchamp against the ebb. Even with the faster fleet being set off first, all arrived at Cantley around noon, giving plenty of time to patronise the pub before the prize-giving. With the conditions being merely windy, Morning Calm came out on top for the race that day, beating Vixen by three minutes on corrected time. Wandering Rose was third. With her two firsts from the previous day, Vixen was, of course, unbeatable when it came to the weekend overall trophy and also took the Beauchamp Arms Cup for best overall result on Saturday.
Spot the Buoy returned and, despite many people correctly pointing to where the buoy was, everyone put their spots elsewhere and no-one was actually on it. The closest and therefore the winner, was Mark Cassidy. Another excellent weekend, despite the lack of pub at Rockland and the dramatic weather. As one person commented: the Yare Sailing Club at its inventive best.
