Chris Rashley - balls of steel

Battling survival conditions for the Moths at Thorpe Bay YCs annual regatta

Being just three weeks ahead of the National Championships at Stokes Bay, the aim of racing on the tidal waters of the Thames estuary, as part of  as part of Thorpe Bay YCs annual regatta, was to allow sailors the chance to test and dial in their settings for sailing fast in a short chop sea state ahead of the upcoming championships.

However, on the Saturday, while the fleet began rigging and waiting patiently for the water to come in over the long sand flats, no-one had planned for the Greek gods Aeolus, Poseidon and Zeus to suddenly appear and randomly thrash about wildly like they were bulldogs chewing wasps.

Race 1 started in a rising 22 knots breeze, which freshened to 28 knots by arrival at the windward mark, and as the fleet began the bear away so the battled commenced. Jason Russell (Tere), Chris Rashley (Royal London Yacht Club), Phil Oligario (Atomik), and Mike Lennon (Hyde Sails), were first round, and the first to savour the short, steep, rolling chop that had kicked up in an increasingly gusting wind. Even with ride heights and wands being adjusted down, the whole fleet were cannon-balled out of their boats as one-by-one they all went down the mine at speed. With some boats recording 25 knot boat speeds on their Speedpucks, some sailors were at times landing 8 ft ahead of their boats.

With the wind building against an incoming tide, and massive squalls under heavy rain showers, racing turned to survival, and the fleet switched from able high performance racers into the cast of the ‘Poseidon Adventure’, as far ages everyone remained inverted wondering which way was up, as well as how to get downwind to the safety of the beach.

Impervious of the peril, Chris Rashley with dogged determination, fought professionally to finish the now one lap race. Richie Lovering (Musto /Hyde) was first to get back to shore, well over an hour after the start, and had a smile on face like he’d won the lottery, and very nearly kissed the beach had he not remembered it was in fact Essex!

Some notable sailors were less fortunate, as a 45 knot rain squall with hail and lightning struck. Mike Lennon and Mike Cooke (Aardvark Technologies) came off worse with broken rigs, whilst Ben Paton eventually landed half a mile down the coast. Yet the attentiveness and camaraderie of the Thorpe Bay rescue crews, and many of the regatta sailors standing in the shore break, did a stirling job of reminding us all that regardless of the conditions everyone digs deep to help everyone else safely ashore.

Despite being battered and wounded many gently eased into the evening social and barbecue before turning in, wondering what the weather gods would serve up on Sunday.

To everyones relief Sunday dawned clear with a fresh yet sailable breeze, although once again as the dark clouds began to gather, a fair bit of trepdation seemed to creep in. For the first race only Chris Rashley got to the start line on time in a breeze that had eased to 18 knots. Yet for the second race he was joined by an eager although now depleted fleet. By the windward mark the breeze had risen to 22 knots, with gusts of 25-28 knots at times. Mike Lennon, Chris, and Jason were all charging hard, with Mark Dell, Simon Reynolds and Phil Oligario in the next pack. Chris took the win ahead of Jason, after Mike uncharacteristically got sucked towards Davey Jones locker a couple of times.

Starting later in the afternoon, the final race of the day kicked off with less starters, yet in the most relaxing of breeze and sea state of the whole weekend, which saw the Moths screaming around in more familiar style. Having already secured 3 bullets, Chris simply chose to sit it out. Jason Russell went on to win, with Phil Oligario stealing second from Mark Dell.

To say the event was memorable is an understatement, and with the extreme conditions could be cited as the most insane the Moths have endured for some time. Chris Rashley showed he had the mental balls of steel to take the event overall, showing his determination and skill, and putting a notable marker down that he will be chasing down the Nationals title hard at Stokes. Jason Russell took away a deserved second overall, followed by Phil Oligario who finished in third on countback having tied on points with Mark Dell.

The generous hospitality of Thorpe Bay YC, who gave free entry, parking, and camping to competitors, was really appreciated by the fleet, who whilst getting some decent racing in at times, drove away questioning if The Only Way Is Essex!

Grand Prix podium:

1 Chris Rashley, Stokes Bay (Ninja / KA10c)
2 Jason Russell, Hayling Island SC (Mach2 / KA10b)
3 Phil Oligario, Stokes Bay (Ninjario / KA10b)

The event was topped out with some great and well deserved prizes courtesy of SLAM.