I started sailing a Tideway last year and originally wrote this article for the current issue of the Tideway Owners’ Association’s newsletter – it was suggested that it might also be of interest to DCA members……I hope it will prove to be so.

First a little background. When I sold my last boat – a Westray 16 - in March 2001, I had virtually decided that the next one was going to be a Tideway - largely thanks to the encouragement of Richard Crockatt - and because funds were a bit limited, she was going to have be a used one; no problem with that, but I felt that a trip to The Boatyard (where they build new ones) in Essex would be a worthwhile means of getting some good advice first. And so it was, that after a number of cups of coffee in their kitchen at Maylandsea, Paul Gray and Mike Head suggested a compromise – they would take Paul’s plywood “plug” that he had constructed some 10 years ago when he first started building GRP boats, turn it into a nice “new” Tideway and sell it to me … just like that! Not quite that simple of course, and it would not be unique, because Lew Walker – the original builder of Tideways - had done the same thing with his plywood “plug” quite a few years before, and that boat, Gentle Jane, is still going strong; Martin Vincent – its owner at that time - later said to me that “if yours turns out to be as good as Gentle Jane you won't be disappointed” …… I most certainly was not.

To cut a long story short, I finally took delivery of TW 383 on April 19th. 2002 and was instantly smitten – what a beautiful boat she was; Paul and Mike had been as good as their word and had turned the plywood “shell”, that I had first seen leaning up against their workshop wall, into a magnificent Tideway … they were, quite justifiably, very pleased with the end result and for me, the wait had been more than worthwhile. When it came to deciding on a name, I had originally intended to name her after my wife, but then I remembered that the Tideway belonging to Bob Moon (a fellow TOA member) was also called Jenny and decided that it would be more diplomatic to think of an alternative – especially as he lives just up the road from me! And so, Jenny Wren was christened …. but it was to be a few weeks before she finally got wet; persistent health problems put paid to an early launch.

The great day finally arrived however and I was able to launch her at Itchenor in Chichester Harbour – selected primarily because it is an easy place to get a boat into the water and, in the middle of the week, there was unlikely to be an audience; a most important consideration. I decided to head down towards the harbour entrance, away from all the moorings off Itchenor, and had not gone very far when I spotted two more Tideways coming out of the Bosham channel. My first thought was to turn about and head the other way, fearful of making an idiot of myself, but common sense – and curiosity – prevailed and I headed off after them. Their sail numbers were meaningless to me, but when I got a bit closer I could read the name on the transom of one of them and realised that it was Bob - in Jenny; he duly made signs for me to follow, which I did.

I finally caught up with him and, as I later found out, Danny Lindsey (another TOA member) as we approached East Head – where, it seems, everybody in Chichester Harbour goes to eat their sandwiches … or to drink their gin and tonics in some cases. It was the first time I had actually met any other TOA members, and Bob and Danny immediately made me feel “at home” in their company – no gin and tonics, but Bob rustled up a very welcome cup of tea to help wash down the sandwiches. Lots of interest in my boat of course, but it was also a good opportunity for me to see other Tideways at close quarters … and to pick up some very useful tips from two far more experienced Tideway owners. Finally it was time to head back home … the trip back was perhaps a bit “bumpier” than I would have liked for my first outing in any boat for well over a year, but once back on solid ground at Itchenor, I was more than pleased with the way that Jenny Wren had “taken care of me” on our first voyage together. In short, she didn’t just look good and I felt that my new boat was going to be every bit as seaworthy as everybody had said she would be - and quite a bit faster than I had expected. An excellent day.

Two weeks holiday in Salcombe followed in the second half of June and, needless to say, Jenny Wren came too – I had never sailed in that particular harbour, so was very much looking forward to continuing my Tideway “education” in another beautiful sailing area. I was able to take her out on several occasions – the weather was, on the whole, good and the harbour was still reasonably quiet; I was told that if I had come a few weeks later however, it would have been a very different story! The only thing that marred several pleasant explorations of the creeks around Salcombe, was an event that occurred on my first trip out – I lost my mast over the side when the small split ring holding the pin in on the port shroud worked its way out; I later realised that the jib sheet must have caught on it and straightened it out. But what seemed like a major disaster at the time was soon resolved, and I spent a pleasant couple of hours on a nearby bit of beach in the sun effecting a temporary repair to enable me to sail back, quite safely, to Salcombe. The pin was replaced the next day, and some strong tape around the base of the shroud ensured that it would not happen again. No damage to Jenny Wren, but the learning curve had suddenly got a lot steeper……..I was just grateful that it had happened on a nice day!

The next major event was the TOA camping weekend at Cobnor – south coast members of the DCA will know the site well. Again, I had felt somewhat apprehensive about the prospect of making a fool of myself in front of more experienced Tideway sailors, but I need not have worried – I was made to feel extremely welcome from the outset and I was actually beginning to enjoy the interest being shown in my new boat. Having met Bob and Danny earlier in the summer was a great advantage, but it was also nice to put faces to those who had, until then, just been voices on the telephone or names in the newsletter – including Martin Vincent, a fellow member of the DCA. We had a great weekend – the weather was perfect, the sailing was superb and the company was just right …..and Jenny Wren behaved herself impeccably!

A number of “day” sails followed during the summer – all in Chichester Harbour; though one, I must admit, only lasted 40 minutes! I had debated about launching in the first place but from my more sheltered starting point, it didn’t look too bad … it was quite a different story when I finally got out into the main channel; once again, just downstream from Itchenor. I quickly realised that I was going to have a very uncomfortable journey – whichever direction I went in - and although Jenny Wren appeared to be coping with it quite well, I wasn’t; I turned back for home. There were a couple of nervous moments when I thought that I had lost control, but she took care of me and I was soon back on dry land. Certainly, that was the only trip which I wished I hadn’t started – all the other days spent with my new boat have been quite different; one in particular, at the beginning of October, springs to mind. A light south-easterly around force 2 to 3, lots of sunshine, and only a dozen or so boats out on the water….. lunch on the beach at East Head – where else? – and a leisurely sail back home at the end of a perfect day; Chichester harbour really can be a delightful place to sail – especially when the holidays are over……

I still have a long way to go before I can begin to feel more certain of myself so far as Tideways are concerned, but the boat has certainly exceeded all my expectations … and Mike Head always thought she’d be fast! In more expert hands she’d be a lot faster, but for myself, I am content to take it gently at first. Whilst I have not been able to take her out as much as I would have liked last summer, I enjoyed (nearly!) every moment of it; at the moment she is safe in the garage, but I hope that this year I will be able to take Jenny Wren further afield and sail her in places new to both of us. Thanks to the skill of Paul and the others at The Boatyard I have a beautiful boat, I have made a number of new friends from whom I have learned a great deal, and have begun to experience the real pleasure of sailing a Tideway …. I hope to enjoy many more such summers over the years to come.