8am on a crisp Saturday morning as 13 skippers gathered at the SRA clubhouse for the per-race briefing. The weather briefing showed SW medium breeze, fading to not much from any direction and eventually light NE for Saturday night into Sunday. Boats loaded with warm clothes, fleece hats, more layers, and enough food to cater to a fair sized wedding breakfast were onboard in amongst the mandatory offshore safety equipment, and we were ready for the off.
Tactical decision for the start – be at the committee boat end as they had photographers on board – Pete resplendent in all white sailing kit was clearly ready for the paps.
The crew of Ella, Jean-Louis, and Pete were off after a good start and settled down to racing – first leg was past Nice to Villefranche and round the big yellow bouy there, then turn west and head along the coast to St. Tropez. A jib peel on the leg provided work for the crew, and then after the rounding up went the big red spinnaker. By now the wind had increased to a wonderful 15kts and hour after hour we sailed in glorious conditions past Antibes, Cannes, the Esterel hills, with a dolphin visit along the way. As any day with dolphins is a good day, this was turning out to be a race to remember. By now we were in the top bunch of 5 boats which kept us focused on trimming and driving to make gains and avoid losses. Snacks and meals flowed throughout the day – Jean-Louis cannot concentrate when not eating, so a steady stream of pastries, chocolate and fruit was needed.
Sunset off St. Raphael and the temperature dipped, but even with snow still on the mountains, it wasn’t too bad. Gybing at night went well and we soon approached the turning mark – a lit tower off St. Tropez called La Moutte. In the dark it looked enormous as we slowly crept round it, then settled into a long trip back to Antibes. Adding to interest many of the yachts sailing were displaying interesting light combinations – few of them correct. Trying to see if the boat approaching was a sailing yacht or the stern of an aircraft carrier kept the two pedantic instructors on board entertained for hours. We now had a good duel with Furtif and Walili for the next few hours to the finish – this kept us all concentrating. after what seemed, and was, like an age, we rounded Cap d’Antibes and started the search for the almost invisible finish mark, lit by retired disco lighting. Crossing the finish line at 4am, the boat was quickly put to bed in her berth, and we all made our way home to warm showers, and comfy beds.
So we finished 4th, behind Furtif and ahead of Walili – a great result to start the season.
Dolphins, snowed capped mountains, clear starry night, victoria sponge cake and tea in the afternoon, and good breeze with gentle waves – doesn’t get much better than this…
