Redsands Tower Race 28th July 2012

In contrast to last years race. This years race featured light winds. There were four Hoo Ness and two Segas boats competing.

The forecast was for the winds to start light and then to reduce, not good news for a long race. Aurai was a touch too prompt at the start and had to return and restart. Ali Baba from Segas had scrubbed off in preparation for the race and as a result was immediately leaving us well behind.

We all made good progress down to S Kent and took our times there in case the wind should totally die and the race would need to be shortened. Just as well, as we immediately found the wind to diminish. Good tidings was becalmed at S Kent, Sputnik and Aurai just made it out of Garrison Point and Chica got as far as Minster before the tide turned and prevented any further progess to the towers. The reason was that the weather wind was a SW and a sea breeze from the E had arrived. so those boats furthest East managed to keep going. Ali Baba and Woodstock Hi both managed to complete the course. Aurai, Good Tidings, Chica and Woodstock Hi returned to Stangate and rafted up overnight and returned to Hoo on the morning high tide as Sunday was expected to be wet and windy.

During the race I kept receiving securite messages from Thames Coastguard advising that there was a 100 Metre exclusion zone in place around Sheerness Docks. This was unusual, there was a gas ship unloading at Grain and therefore there was an exclusion zone around that as per the Medway VTS byelaws, however I had never heard of an exclusion zone around Sheerness docks before. There were three large cable laying vessels there. All was explained by Tony Lavelle when he returned. He had been listening to CH 74 and had heard an exchange between Medway VTS and these boats. Medway VTS had ascertained from them that a couple of them had pulled up unexploded bombs whilst dredging cable channels and that they were on board. This explained the exclusion zones. We heard no loud bangs during the night and the gas ship was gone in the morning.

Date Published 1st Aug 2012