May 23-25 River Alde Rally at Iken Cliff

4 Boats attended; 2 launched into the river at Orford whilst one other came from Felixstowe Ferry and the fourth sailed up from the Crouch. We spent the Sunday cruising in company on the river and Sunday night in the Butley. Unfortunately 2 boats had to return home, so the Sunday rally consisted of 2 boats only. However, despite some strong winds and a lot of rain on Monday morning all participants agreed that the effort was worthwhile.

June 27-28 Paglesham Rally, River Roach

A small but successful rally. 3 boats attended, all launched into the Crouch at Hullbridge and sailed in company down into the Roach, arriving on the evening flood tide. Sunday’s forecast was a little daunting: force 4-5 inland, force 6-8 on the open sea later. Undeterred, we set off on the proposed trip, viz., out through the Havengore Bridge then north with the ebb to the entrance of the Crouch, taking the flood back up to Hullbridge during the late afternoon. It did blow up for a while during the afternoon just as we were approaching the entrance to the river; fortunately we had reefed much earlier so were able to cope with the sudden increase in wind. Wellington went like a train, planing very fast and sending spray out on all sides, great once we were safely back inside the river where the wind dropped considerably.

We had expected to be honoured with the presence of our president at this rally; unfortunately due to the bad weather forecast the presidential barge, all 25’ of it (x2 as well) remained safely on her moorings. Does bigger mean better?

August 8-9 Walton Backwaters Rally

Due to a change in my own holiday dates I was unable to attend this rally. I understand that about 7 boats attended, with Eric Coleman acting as host. Some people launched into the Backwaters at Walton whilst others sailed over from the Stour, Orwell and Blackwater. I’ll try this venue again next year as it seems to be a popular one.

September 19-20 Rocks Rally, River Deben

The last rally of the season, and very well attended, especially when you consider the weather forecast. All the dinghies launched into the Deben at the Felixstowe Ferry or Ramsholt slipways. We set off in company at about 1330 hours with the intention of sailing up to Woodbridge. Just before we set off, the Commodore of the Felixstowe Sailing Club came to have a chat and to warn us of the poor forecast that he had just received from the coastguard: southerly force 6 veering SW force 8. “I hope you’re staying in the river,” he remarked; fortunately we were. Not 50 yards from the shore, Gull capsized. No harm done, except to their pride. The sail up to Woodbridge was superb, the fresh following wind providing plenty of drive. Naturally the wind moderated as we went inland. On the return trip, during the late afternoon, the wind increased, and by the time we fetched up at the Rocks it must have been force 6. An hour later a full gale was blowing from the south. In the lee of the land things were calm. A late evening walk up to the Ramsholt Arms left us with no illusions about the weather situation: the rain was almost horizontal and it was quite difficult to walk against it. We all got drenched but kept a brave face. The night was something else. Smaller boats were hauled up above high water, so they were reasonably safe, even if their tents did get blown down. The heavier craft were more exposed and floated off at about 0330 on Sunday morning, just as the veer came.

The full force of the wind came upon us now. Sleep was virtually impossible. I think without exception we all dragged our anchors. How the tents stayed on I don’t know, and the little land tents must have been held up by will power, as the holding for the pegs isn’t that good in sand. The gale continued unabated right through the night. The yachts at anchor out in the deep water were having a bad time as well. I learnt afterwards that one poor owner, a friend of a DCA member, spent the entire night sea sick. They must have been rolling from gunwale to gunwale. At first light, the wind seemed to reach a peak. If it didn’t abate soon, getting home for work on Monday was going to be difficult. We fortified ourselves with a little breakfast and a nice hot cup of tea, and decided to give it a try. I was convinced that things were getting better. With the help of some excellent boat rollers and all hands, we managed to relaunch the heavier boats at about 0830. Fully reefed, we set off, half expecting to be blown out of the water. As so often is the case, the situation was far better than was apparent from the shore. The wind had moderated considerably: in fact storm sails were quite unnecessary, and I shook out one reef to give the boat more drive. What a relief! With a mere force 3 we sailed back to Felixstowe Ferry to recover the boats. I learnt afterwards that it had been blowing force 9 most of the night with gusts of 60 knots recorded at Felixstowe. There had been a lot of damage inflicted to the craft on their moorings in the river: sails blown out of their covers and torn to shreds, dinghies torn from their lashings, and plenty more, especially in the dinghy park ashore.

Once it was all over, we were very glad we went. It certainly showed that small boats can be safe in heavy weather, provided you take shelter early enough, and of course the light ones can be hauled up above high water, the safest place to be. We suffered no damage. Even a 10 foot Mirror coped with it all. 7 boats attended, and 7 crews came home a little wiser.

1982 RALLIES

I’m intending to arrange the usual 4 rallies again; if you would like more, then by all means let me know, but I cannot guarantee to attend them all, so someone else will need to act as host.

Rallying at a launch site and cruising in company seems to be an attractive idea, so I intend to organise this again. The Felixstowe Ferry Sailing Club let us use their trailer and car park this year, which is a great help. If any east-coasters belong to sailing clubs who can offer this facility, I would like to hear from you. Rallying at the launch site also helps with launching and recovering the boats — many hands make light work.

My thanks to all those who attended this year and made the rallies so enjoyable. I was especially pleased to see some new faces. The rallies do encourage people to try out new waters, which after all is one of the objectives. See you in 1982 — I hope!