Page 48 - QARANC Vol 14 No 9 2014

46 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Service Offshore Regatta 2014
The Service Offshore Regatta (SOR) is the annual Inter- Service offshore sailing competition. This year the event took place on 2-8 Jun and was to include participation in the Normandy Landings 70 commemorations.
I was selected as one of the crew represent the Army. A total of 21 Regular Army personnel were split over three yachts for the event. The crews of the British Army would take on the best of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to see who would become inter-service champion of 2014.
Arrival on the Monday was fast and furious. Straight into the mandatory safety brief, followed by preparing the yacht for racing prior to the arrival of HRH the Princess Royal. The Princess Royal was visiting to become the official patron of the Hornet Yacht Club, which is the home of the Joint Services Adventure Training Centre. HRH walked along the pontoon and met crews form all three services; as soon as she left the pontoon for the Yacht Club it was time for the crews to slip from the pontoon to get to the start line for the first race.
The race was to be Round the Island (RTI, the Isle of Wight), keeping the island to port; a distance of approximately 50- 60 nautical miles. With very little wind and a tide that would soon be against it was a battle of the tacticians to choose the best route. Unfortunately several hours into the race just of the needles we got stuck in a hole with no wind and the tide going against us. It was the early hours of the morning when we finally crossed the finish line.
After a short sleep it was time to be up and prep the yacht for the days racing, this was to be a number of windward/ leeward races. Although we had bonded as a crew during RTI race it is a much quicker and sleeker technique that is required for the inshore races. Four races were held that afternoon, which saved the final inshore race for the following morning.
The Wednesday morning we were up bright and early for the final inshore race. Following this we went back to prep the boat ready for the offshore race which was to start that afternoon.
The route for this race was from Gosport to Ouistreham. In total contrast to the RTI race the weather was forecast for heavy winds and storms; the forecast was not wrong. Even on the start line we were changing foresail and reefing (making smaller) the main sail. For the majority of the race the wind stayed strong (accompanied with heavy rain), with only
short periods when it would drop enough to shake out one of the reefs. It seemed that no time at all after shaking out the reef the wind would pick up again and we would have to put it back in. It was about 0430hrs when the wind dropped and settled, so out came the reefs and there was a change of foresail. The wind settled to the perfect spinnaker sailing weather. On arrival at the Ouistreham Canal at approximately 0900hrs it showed that all the sail tweaks were worth it as we came second overall in the race.
There was no sailing on the Friday, the day was for crew to go off and join in the Normandy Landings 70 year commemorations. Our crew was lucky enough to get passes to the international ceremony on Sword Beach, which was attended by Her Majesty The Queen and many other Heads of State.
On the Saturday morning we exited the Ouistreham Canal ready to start the race back to Gosport. Unfortunately the weather was the total opposite of the race there and there was no wind, with none forecast neither. The decision was then made by the race committee that the race was cancelled. All yachts were to make their way back to Gosport and the overall results from previous races would dictate the overall results.
On the Sunday afternoon the prize giving took place at Hornet Yacht Club which revealed that the overall winners were the Royal Navy, with the Army team coming second. WO2 C A Olive - DMRC Headley Court
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