Page 34 - QARANC Vol 14 No 11 2015

32 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Service Offshore Regatta 2015
The Service Offshore Regatta (SOR) is an annual event which sees the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force go into battle against each other on the water. The aim of the SOR is to encourage Inter-Service competition using offshore yachts with representative service teams and individual entries.
This year the event took place in the final week of June. Crews paraded at Joint Service Adventure Sailing Training Centre (JSASTC) on the Monday morning. A brief was given by the Chairman of the race committee, and then it was time for the mandatory safety briefs before getting the yacht ready for the first races that afternoon.
Unfortunately you can never plan for the weather and on setting sailing for the start line that afternoon there was minimal wind. However you have to make the most of what you have got so the committee set up a course that would allow for the light conditions. There were two races that day, which was a good experience for crews that have never sailed or raced together before.
The Tuesday morning saw the third inshore race, which was followed by the first offshore passage race. The course was from Gilkicker Point to Guernsey, with no other instructions, this left the skippers to analyse the winds and tides to plan the best route for their yacht. Our skipper chose to stay on the North of the Isle of Wight exiting the Solent via the Needles. This meant that it was a downwind start for us, with the spinnaker up from the start line. Two other yachts (there were 9 in class) also chose this route, with the others opting for going around the other side of the Isle of Wight. The wind was kind to us and we managed to get all the way past the needles still under spinnaker. As the day was turning to night the wind was picking up and unfortunately got too strong for us to hold the spinnaker, therefore the headsail went up. We continued to make good progress until 0530hrs when the wind died and the tide was against us. We were 7 miles from our destination and could see the end point on the horizon. We could see other yachts from our fleet around us in the distance having the same problems as us but we were not close enough to work out who they were. It was a slow race to the finish but after over 24 hours of racing we crossed the finish line.
As you do when you finish a race you put your engine on and take your sails down ready to motor into the harbour. However it was at this point that the Mate casually mentioned to the Skipper that the engine would not start. So we had to remain switched on and focused while the skipper had the unenviable task of sailing the yacht into the unfamiliar harbour.
That night there was a BBQ at the Guernsey Sailing Club which gave crews from all 3 services a chance to socialise.
The Thursday morning we were up bright and early to get the yacht ready for the passage to Jersey, however on the Skippers return from his morning briefing, racing was postponed until after lunch due to the lack of wind. For the same reason, the passage race to Jersey was cancelled and we would complete the final inshore racing, in local water outside of Guernsey. That gave the Skipper the opportunity to get somebody to look at the engine, however nobody was available. That afternoon we sailed out to the start line ready to start racing. With minimal wind it took the race committee longer than planned to set the course. This was not an issue to other yachts as they could motor around under engine, for us with no engine it meant trying to fight the tide taking us away from the starting area with only the sails or anchor to assist us. Racing started and consisted of two windward leeward races, the first of which was shortened to only one lap due to the lack of wind. With the days racing completed we sailed back into the marina for the evening and prepped the yacht ready for the offshore race back to Gosport the following day.
Friday morning came and the forecast although still not great in relation to wind, had improved enough to get started on time. The Skippers were briefed of the route which included marks to the West of Guernsey, Weymouth, Lulworth and then finishing on Gilkicker line. It was to be another downwind start so we would be using the spinnaker. We got off to a really good start and were at the front of the fleet for majority of the spinnaker leg; it was good to look out the back of the yacht and see all the other yachts behind us. As we got away from the Guernsey coast line the wind picked up which meant white sails up and spinnaker down. In addition to the increased wind there was some rain which later that evening lead to a storm; being in a yacht crossing the English