Bevington Downriver, Sunday 21st August - Rob's report

 

Sunday 21st August 2022.

The last downriver race of the 2022 Bevington Trophy series promised to be a tactical affair with the forecast of 6 gusting 10 looking optimistic.  At least it was South Westerly wind giving the best chance of making use of what wind we did have.  With a small field of very capable sailors Race Officer Jane S-H decided we only needed one safety boat and planned to allow plenty of time by starting the race an hour before low tide at Battersea. 

Setting off a little late Henry C led the field out in a Laser, closely followed by Allan in his Solo.  Initially Ellie and James C in the 420, Karin A and Ben R in the Enterprise, and Mike and Ang in the GP stayed in touch by edging down the Southern bank and negotiating paddle boarders, and moored boats to take advantage of any  width of the river they could find.  At Putney Bridge a seal snacking on an eel, looked on approvingly at the skill on display.

As the wind became patchier the challenge became one of maintaining momentum between gusts, and the difference between the lighter single-handers quickly became obvious, Henry and Allan started to stretch out a big lead.  Karin and Ben in the Enterprise were rather hampered by a leak when carrying extra weight was really not what they needed in these light winds.  Meanwhile Ellie and James put out their spinnaker to maximise every breath of wind they could find.  It looked quite glorious for the few minutes that the wind deigned to fill it and did enable them to start to close the gap.  Henry crossed the first leg finish at Chelsea harbour a minute ahead of Allen, with Ellie and James 5 minutes behind and Karin and Ben behind them.  Mike and Ang perhaps won the tactical decision-making by opting to detour to the Waterfront pub to enjoy a refreshing drink in the glorious sunshine - Ang’s return helming seemed none the worse for it. 

Despite almost losing Jane in the shale mud as we waited for the tide to turn, the boats managed to get back up the river with little fuss.  The story continued as before with the double handers especially making slow progress in the light wind.  A glorious day and mirror-like waters made for some beautiful sights as the boats headed back up-river, the blue sails of the enterprise particularly striking reflected in the Thames surface, but the sailing was hot work. 

Henry knew he would have to open up a gap over Allan to overcome the handicap difference and tried everything he could, but in the end Allan managed to find ways to eke out a bit more wind and crossed the finish ahead of Henry winning the combined legs by just 2 seconds.  Ellie and James in the 420 took third place ahead of Karin and Ben in the Enterprise.  Applying the handicaps emphasised the result with no change in the order. 

                                                                Total time                           Corrected time                Position

Allan                                                       2:23:30                                   2:05:00                                  1

Henry                                                      2:23:32                                   2:13:09                                  2

Elie & James                                          2:32:38                                    2:18:45                                  3

Karin and Ben                                        2:40:26                                    2:24:24                                  4

Ang & Mike                                        ... well-refreshed and very happily enjoying the sunshine.

 

Rob Moncreiff