Up River Ice Breaker - Simon pulls the full monty

A light shifty north wind trembled its way across a soft flooding tide as a hardy bunch of older sailing warriors sized up the competition which gathered at the Up River Yacht Club’s annual running of the Chrimbo Ice Breaker.

It is a sad fact that the norm is that the local sailing clubs that are left sailing at this time of the year have no worries about loosing competitors and scheduling big races on the same day as others, but hayho someone slipped up this year and we found ourselves with the opportunity to take part in a race with a fine pedigree and years of history.

With the grey skies and muddy brown water it all looked a bit glum. The wind now NW-NE, 0.5 to 3 knots with little umph in it set the pace.

Ben Harris ‘Phantom’ won the start, sadly for Ben having only sailed a Phantom 4 times had not perfected the boat-rocking twitch that usually worked so well with the wobble lower lip, and lost the lead to Ian and Tina ‘N12’. Ian, a sailing wardrobe of technique and wizardry, having folded himself into the Nat. 12 looked mean and ready to take on Gerry and Liz also sailing a Nat.12. It must be said that the years of sailing experience on the Crouch in the first six boats was truly awesome and not a smile between them. Somewhere behind the river sounds you could just hear that slight raw of untapped encouragement that Andy Biddle would have rung out, terrifying in it limitless supply and crushing any idea of a sharp sailing tactical manoeuvre or even a maybe I could tack. And as Ian and Tina travelled up to the first turning mark in the lead on the flooding tide, Jacko and Simon once more tried to unfathom the ridiculous mess that Jacko had made of rigging the spinnaker, involving the downhaul, jib sheets and pole snodger. Simon, having enjoyed the quick reversal of crewing roles that Jacko throws out with no warning whatsoever, failed to move into the helming position and now finding twenty fingers around one small three mill Dyneema knot in a string attached to the spinnaker downhaul patch/jib sheets and snodger, asked if the wind that now was on the wrong side of the jib meant that a tack was required. Jacko remembered that maybe Andy’s cry of “stuff off” did not quite hit the pitch that Lorna could render “JACKO” in a Jacko senior moment and that Jacko (we feel) is warming to the quiet calm that comes from Simon not being too familiar with sailboat racing and a helm total cockup.

Ian and Tina gently slipped around the now parked support boat as the first mark to be rounded had been hived off by the icepacks in the previous weeks freeze-up conditions with Jacko and Simon close behind. History between Jacko and Ian would indicate that Jacko was about to get taken all over the river and more likely halfway up the sea wall in an attempt to pass down wind against the tide.  It could be that Ian has mellowed with the passing of time and Pico sailing.  There was no tactical jibe to starboard to test Simon’s spinnaker work and a crash jibe and Jacko passed to leeward in an uncommonly gentlemanly fashion.

Bastard Point

At this point the wind died to1 or less knots as the fleet bunched up off of Fen creek. Ian was the first to set the pace and cross to the south side before the club slipway (a move frowned on by club elders) Gerry and Liz leading the pack toughed it out, hugging to the north bank also to eventually cross. Jacko and Simon with a small lead hugged on the north side (for far too long, according to the watching club elders) but in a shift of the wind, jibed and headed hard to the south bank to re-jibe and prey for a bit more wind. There follow some gamey windward protection work in the leaders of the pack giving Jacko just a chance to coolly put in some space as they passed Brandy Hole.

As the fleet eventually rounded Stow Post to return to the club line to finish it was still race on with Gerry and Liz comfortable in second place, a good space to Ian and Tina in third and Ben fourth, as Jacko headed up and rounded the last corner the tide was ebbing with the wind still horribly light and bang on the nose, but slowly the race went Jacko’s way as he squeezed the leeward south bank putting in the occasional tack to avoid the walking seagulls, to take the bullet.

Ian and Tina taking advantage of a lift passed Gerry and Liz to be second with Gerry and Liz third.
This was a disappointingly light, grey day only lit by the smile in Simon’s face as had pulled the full monty with some excellent mastery of the spinnaker in light airs and Jacko’s odd rigging of the boat.

The full results, when posted
Next race day 9th Jan.