22nd-25th
August 2008
WOW! What
a great weekend!!!! It really reminded me why we had joined PYRA, good sailing,
excellent company, great social event, lots of laughs and even the weather
wasn’t bad! (well compared to the rest of August!)
Changing
the start time was always going to be a contentious issue and not going to suit
everybody, but I feel that the committee took the view of the majority and it
paid off with around a dozen boats on the start line plus several who either
made the trip over early or arrived on the Saturday, so St. Vaast was knee deep
in PYRA flags.
All those
who made the 10:00 start (and those who were late due to finding the in-coming
tide up Poole Harbour rather stronger than their engines could cope with!)
enjoyed the run down to Poole Head and then came the spinnaker run we hoped
for, all the way to France we thought! But no! Two hours in and we are still
sat in Poole Bay with our kite barely filling and our ETA looking something
like a week next Wednesday before we would make St. Vaast. As boats started to
retire and the crew on Quadrophenia started to panic that we wouldn’t make it
in through the gate and would end up anchoring off (obviously in a horrible
swell with the wind blowing from the east at gale force 8! It’s amazing how
your imagination can run riot !!) we to decided that enough was enough and
radioed Ken and switched on the engine. Of course as soon as the engine had
been on ½ an hour the wind came up and we were kicking ourselves, but that’s
life in the PYRA fleet!
The trip
over was uneventful, though Clive says we had to duck a large tanker
mid-channel, I was having a little siesta so unable to confirm (I can sleep
through anything!!) Our only problem was our low battery power which meant that
the yeoman kept cutting out and forcing me to plot our course from the GPS
(slow and laborious in those seas off Barfleur!) Getting into St. Vaast for the
first time, in the dark, with no chart plotter, and a hysterical wife is no
mean feat either (ask Clive!) We did however make it at 01:00 or there about to
find most of the fleet already in and settled for the night. All I wanted to do
was go to bed!!
Saturday
was dry and the market was in full flow by the time we got up. We didn’t
actually see much of the market as by the time we had breakfast, showered and
wandered over it was packing up! But those who did experience it said it was
wonderful. Clive is always pleased to go into town in France once the shops are shut for
the afternoon! Whilst ashore we met some of Ken’s “Shore Team” wife’s of the
crew who had come over on the Ferry and were staying in hotel rooms in St. Vaast
(I would love to experience sailing this way!)
After a
light lunch on board and a rest after all our hard work the day before, we
joined all the crews on the green area beside the marina for the traditional
round of “Morgan-Carey Boules”! As tradition dictates Quadrophenia was out in
the first round, but we felt vindicated by the fact that our opponents Solent
Dream went onto the final against Zorra. Mark Carey and his Zorra crew
eventually took the honours (does this strike of nepotism!) the Boules competition
ran virtually seamlessly into our evening entertainment, drinks (supplied by
Morgan-Carey) and a lovely meal at a local restaurant organized by Ken and Co.
There was
much toasting of our Olympic sailors and prizes were awarded to those who had
actually completed the race over. For some reason known only to himself Ken was
determined to re christen Vertigo “Verity” despite them all wearing crew shirts
with the name emblazoned on them! There was much shouting and thrusting of
breasts (to display their name of course) but Ken was having none of it
and went on to call them “Verity” for the rest of the evening. We can only
assume it was a combination of Vertigo, Deity, excitement (at beating Zorra by
an Nth of a second, more nepotism!) and several bottles of wine!! Vertigo will
of course be getting new shirts made! Ken’s organizational skills even extended
to arranging a firework display in the harbour after the meal!
Sunday
broke rather damp and drizzly but gave us the excuse to remain in bed for a bit
longer without feeling guilty. A French Car Boot sale was in progress by the
time we got up and we had a wander through the town running into a number of
different crews all with their own agendas, some to buy wine, others such as
Parallel Universes Crew to take in the sites. They hired bikes and set off in
the rain to Barfleur Light house where The 2 Johns fought off their fear of
heights to join Matt at the top and watch the yachts head off across the
Chanel. Most of us spent it quietly and after an afternoon resting in the sun
either ate on board or went ashore and turned in for an early night.
With a
06:00 start time we had to be up before 05:00 and even then seemed to be one of
the last out of the gate! How do we do that? Ken once again took the role of
committee boat and gave us a detailed start with wonderful sound signals
on count down until the actual start, when his horn failed!! (it happens to
every one at some time in their lives I am lead to believe!!) The crossing back
was unbelievably fast with our finish time being under 10 hours (obviously some
did it faster!) However some casualties occurred along the way with Resume
losing their mast AGAIN!! Juno stood by and the lifeboat assisted them into the
Haven. Never a dull moment in PYRA!!
The
upshot was a thoroughly well organized, enjoyable weekend for which I am sure
we all thank Ken and his “Shore Team” for organizing. All I can say to round it
off is “Parp Parp” hope you get your horn fixed Ken!!
Results
