The Medway Regatta is a major event on the dinghy racing calendar, hosted by the Wilsonian Sailing Club, and 85 boats in 6 classes took part.   The Wanderers had their own results, starting within the Slow Handicap fleet.   Eight Wanderers braved the challenging conditions with sluicing tides and gusty shifting winds.   Looking out across the Medway as we rigged the boats we saw the replica 18th century frigate "Grand Turk", used as the "Indefatigable" in the Hornblower TV series, coming down the river under all plain sail.   A reminder of the Medway's naval past.

 

In race 1 with an ebbing tide and a downwind start, Adam Wickenden and Jack Mann were (just) over the line at the start and had to go back.   The rest of the fleet got away cleanly and headed down river in a group.   Once round the first mark (a 15 ft. high red port hand channel marker) Gavin Barr and Mark Skipper hoisted their spinnaker and powered away from the bunch, followed by Adam and Jack who also went for the spinnaker and forged through into second place.   They proved to have better downwind speed and overtook Gavin and Mark at the leeward mark.   Gavin and Mark hung on however and re-took the lead on the beat, short-tacking against the tide up the North shore, to win the race.   Meanwhile a battle was going on among the non-spinnaker brigade between Mike Hamilton crewed by David Oates, and Vicky King with son Martin at the front end.   Mike decided to keep close to the Southern shore to cheat the tide on the final leg, but Vicky went straight for the mark and got there first.   David Lavender, taking part in his first Wanderer racing event with son Thomas as crew, took 5th place.   Colin Gilbert and Alan Way had been doing well but got into trouble with debris round the centreboard and had to accept assistance.   Jon Redshaw with Andy Hines-Lindo, and John Talbot and Jean Whittaker retired.

 

In race 2 Adam and Jack timed their running start to perfection  and took the lead never to be seriously challenged, again showing impressive speed on the spinnaker reaches.   Gavin and Mark took 2nd.   Jon Redshaw had to leave at lunch time, so handed his boat over to Andy Hines-Lindo, who with a local volunteer crew Paul came 3rd.   Mike and David were 4th, Vicky and Martin 5th and Colin and Alan 6th.

 

On Sunday the Medway showed its most challenging face, with the south-westerly wind reaching force 6, shifting left and right through forty degrees and slowly rising throughout the day reaching survival conditions.   Added to this the swirling tide continually threatened to push the boats into the giant navigation buoys marking the main channel, and commercial and recreational craft ploughed up and down through the race area.   It was greatly to the credit of the Wanderer fleet that there were no capsizes.   Among the other fleets, especially the Fast Handicap and the Miracles, the rescue crews were stretched to the limit.   In race 4 Adam and Jack again got the start right and led throughout, with Gavin and Mark hanging on for 2nd, and Andy and Paul again 3rd.   Every boat struggled as vicious gusts tore through the fleet, and after lunch the wind rose still further.   Spinnakers were not deployed!   In race 4 Adam and Jack had problems at the start.   A stop watch stopped, and the Race Officer's signals were inaudible in the wind.   Gavin and Mark managed to get it right this time, just holding the boat above the line and bearing away for a perfect start, although threatened by Adam and Jack who recovered from their start line problems to briefly gain the lead.   The race was a white knuckle roller-coaster ride throughout, with vicious gusts followed by sudden headers, and the Medway whipped up into white horses.   Gavin and Mark proved faster on the very tight homeward reach to win the final race, and the event (on equal points, but the last race counting as the tie breaker).    Andy and Paul maintained their form to come third with Mike and David 4th and Vicky and Martin 5th.   Everyone knew they had been in a race!

 

Overall results:   1st, W1282 Gavin Barr and Mark Skipper; 2nd W1087 Adam Wickenden and Jack Mann; 3rd W1526 Jon Redshaw (Sat), Andy Hines-Lindo and Paul; 4th, W992 Mike Hamilton and David Oates; 5th,W940 Vicky King and Martin King; 6th, W1292 David and Thomas Lavender; 7th, W1163 Colin Gilbert and Alan Way; 8th W602 John Talbot and Jean Whittaker. 

Report by Gavin Barr - Photos by Vicky King July 11th 2006