Gales were forecast for most of the country, but the sun was shining, so we set off hoping the wind would drop. Brian Shea with his Tideway did the same and we launched our boats down the steep concrete ramp into the little cove which was sheltered from the wind. Sailing consisted of spray flying, beats to windward well reefed down and fast runs back. Not the ideal way to start the season.

I left my boat on a mooring overnight hoping conditions would ease on Sunday. First thing Sunday morning was reasonable but by the time I had got the boat off the mooring it was blowing harder than ever. As a result the morning was spent painting the trailer and testing the boat tent with a curtain rail as a hoop. In the afternoon we had another session of beat and run. During one resting period between bouts a member whose name I unfortunately have forgotten walked by and we had a chat.

Our thanks to Brian Haskins for organising the license for the weekend.

NW Rally at Heswall May 3-4 by Antony Sluce

Brian Shea and Joan Abrams got off before high water and ran down to Thurstaston where Joan anchored and Brian ran on to the West Kirby moorings and then had a wet beat back to the hard at Thurstaston. I followed later having had a petrol pump failure and just managed to get out of the gutter at Heswall with the ebb running fast. John Huntingford was at Heswall without his boat and we had a brief chat whilst I hurried to get off.

On Sunday we managed to be afloat before the banks were covered and cruised in company up Golden Gutter until we ran out of water and anchored. When the banks were covered we sailed across to the channel near Greenfield and then had a fast close reach back to Thurstaston bumping over the sands in places.

Paul Filshie launched on Sunday and sailed down to Thurstaston. We met up after he had beached his boat.

On Monday Joan and I set off on the last of the ebb but dried out 200 yards short of the East Bar buoy, defeated by the latest change in the channels. We cooked breakfast, explored on foot and waited for the water. Paul had not been able to anchor as far out as us and we met up on the beat back to Thurstaston. I set off early up the gutter to Heswall to find out how the channel lay before the banks were covered. John Jeffs was at Heswall and helped whilst we packed up.

Only Joan had slept aboard, the rest of us using the camp site at Thurstaston run by the Wirral Country Park which was crowded and rather far from the hard. Throughout the three days the wind was fresh with strong gusts but being north-easterly meant a sea did not build up. Later in the year they would have been ideal conditions.