Queen Mary

Jim Saltonstall looks at the home of the Bloody Mary and a top inland race track

Queen Mary Sailing Club has long been one of the most popular inland venues in Great Britain, famous for its winter pursuit race, the Bloody Mary, as well as hosting numerous major dinghy and small keelboat events. The club is situated alongside the A308 in Ashford, Surrey, between both the M3 and the M25, so it is easy to locate and access.

The clubhouse offers a spacious upper lounge and bar area, with excellent catering facilities and a grandstand view of the sailing area. The changing rooms are large and adequate, with good hot showers if required. Launching facilities are not too bad, there are various ramps down to the water - but they are fairly steep. So take care whilst launching and recovering, more hands make light work, especially when the tide is out! The club also has two mechanical ramps for launching and recovering small keelboats, these are perfect for the job, enabling the club to host small keelboat events. Car parking is not a problem with a large car park on the lower level - this must be used, since parking is not allowed on the upper level. Once you have unloaded your ship and kit, you must remove your car to the ground floor so as not to create the grid lock scenario!

The club itself is run by a professional team, and they do an excellent job in a very friendly atmosphere. We have always been well looked after at the club, with great hospitality from the members. The club has a wealth of talent on the race management side of operations, running big events with great efficiency, and you can always look forward to some good racing with good courses. Local accommodation is spread over quite a large area, mainly in the northern sector away from the club and towards London, details of which are available from the club secretariat.

Race Areas

There are two racing areas at the club. The reservoir is divided almost in two by a wall, and one race area is to the west of it and the other to the east. The main one for the big events is to the west and that’s the one we’ll look at in detail, though manay of the same rules can be applied to the eastern area should you be racing there. The reservoir itself sits quite high relative to the land around it, and there are few obstructions to disturb the wind.

One important point is that there is a dredger which operates around the reservoir. It’s normally well clear of the main race area and is surrounded by small yellow buoys. It’s classed as an obstruction with regards to the racing rules, as you are not allowed to go into the area formed by these yellow marks.

Wind Direction

340-020 degrees: When the north wind does blow, we shall have snow - and we have in the past, so be ready for it during the winter events! The wind is now coming from the direction of Heathrow Airport, so you can hear the planes taking off more clearly. As the wind approaches the reservoir from the north, it has to climb the steep sides before then dropping onto the water. That creates a bouncing effect as it lands. So at the windward end it is gusty and blustery, and it doesn’t begin to settle down until about half-way down the pond.

Once in the starting area, begin taking wind readings. It’s important to be aware of the timing and the extent of the maximum left and right shifts, both off the line and up the beats. Similarly, on rounding the leeward mark you must identify straight away whether or not you are on a lift or a header, and get in sync with the shifts as fast as the fleet around you will allow. And remember not to get to either layline too soon, with the wind being unstable in both direction and velocity, you could easily find yourself overstanding the mark. It’s much better to use the windshifts within the laylines as you approach the apex of the beat.

I have seen people in the past get to one side of the beat, and come out of it smelling of roses, then do exactly the same on the next beat - only to go down the tube and round the 'S' bend! Eyes out of the boat, look for the wind on the water.

020-065 degrees: As soon as the wind gets more round to the north-east, it pays to get out to the top right-hand side of the course, on or near the starboard layline. The reason for this is that as you get near the breakwater on port tack, you will get headed and then lifted on starboard tack along it. This is because of the wind being deflected by the breakwater itself.

065-110 degrees: With the wind now in the east, it tends to be more stable as it has more water surface to travel over before getting to the western race area. But the wind still has the breakwater to cross, and it is this that continues to create the wind shifts - more so as you get closer to it. If they race you in the northern part of the western area, there is a slight wind convergence along the northern shoreline - with slightly more pressure and possible lifts on port tack along the shore. But you may not be able to get to it though, if the Yeoman mooring area is out of bounds and an obstruction area, check the sailing instructions carefully or ask at the briefing.

110-155 degrees: It normally pays to go left up the beat when the wind is in the south-east. The reason for this is that as you approach the breakwater on starboard tack, you are usually headed as you get closer to it, with lifts on port tack along it.

155-200 degrees: One of the most stable directions for Queen Mary. The left-hand side of the course has been known to pay, once again because of the breakwater creating a slight wind convergence area, with a little more pressure as well as small headers on starboard as you go in to the breakwater, and lifts on port along it.

200-245 degrees: Another stable wind direction with more shifts over a wider arc as you get closer to the windward mark. There are some trees on the south-west shore which disturb the wind when you get near them. So use the shifts, more so as you get closer to the windward mark and don’t get to the laylines too soon.

245-290 degrees: Once again, as with the south-west wind, it is more about using the shifts up the middle of the beat, watching for increasing frequency and arc of the shifts as you get closer to the windward mark.

290-340 degrees: This is the blustery direction, lots of gusts, with plenty of wind shifts within those gusts - watch for them on the water as they approach. If you see a gust broad on your weather bow, expect to be lifted. If dead ahead or slightly on your weather bow, expect to be headed and be ready to tack. If you see a gust approaching under your leebow, be ready to capsize to windward! Speed of reaction is required to take advantage of those! Keeping all this in mind for the overall big picture, it normally pays to work the gusts and shifts on the port side of the course. This is especially true if you can get close to the western shore line. Here there is more pressure with the convergence area of wind, as well as lifts on port tack near the shore.

Sea Breeze

The locals will tell you that the chances of a ‘sea breeze’ or thermal effect at Queen Mary are pretty slim. But it has been possible to sail all the way around the reservoir on the same tack - as the wind is sucked on to the land. But I’ve also seen all the concrete and tarmac at Heathrow Airport get hot enough to create a local thermal. That will drag in a southerly wind, and a good sign for this developing is lots of towering cumulus cloud over the airport.

Other Sources of Information

Tourist Information Office

Surrey, phone: 020 8541 8092

Club website

Map