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Traditionally, the Regatta is a day of two halves; first a race to Osea island from the Nass beacon off West Mersea, via a few racing marks in the Blackwater; and then, after lunch at anchor off Osea, a Parade of Sail up to Maldon town. This is also a race, with prizes for the first to finish, but it is a no handicap free for all and usually quite entertaining for the crowds thronging the Maldon river frontage, especially if there is a decent breeze, with all manner of boats vying for position in the narrow river.  The Race But back to the beginning; the start at the Nass was at 0900 for smacks and bawleys, the first of 7 classes. There was just enough westerly breeze to allow the smacks to make against the last of the ebb and round the first mark off the Tollesbury shore, before reaching across towards St Peter’s, but it began to falter as other classes came up to their starts and soon there was a raft of virtually immobile boats stretching from the Nass, as skippers struggled to find the odd zephyr which could waft them around the turning mark and bear away for the south shore. But worse was to come; as the flood gathered strength, boats crossing the deep water channel found themselves being carried inexorably upstream of the mark. The early starters managed to get around in the final breath of wind and had the flood to take them up towards the next mark, but then would be faced with another impossible ‘reach’ back across the river towards Bradwell, in nil wind and a strengthening tide. The textbook solution would have been for everyone to kedge and wait for the wind, but even race officer Peter Maynard could not predict when/if that would arrive and with an expectant crowd of spectators already gathering at Maldon, instructed competitors to ignore all the race marks and have the fleet head straight for the finish at Osea. This courageous decision drew some predictable criticism from the those boats who had struggled around the first two marks, but on the whole it was felt to be a sensible move as otherwise more than half of the fleet would have retired and not had a race. As it was, the fastest boats and skippers finished up at the front anyway and everyone had a good time, especially the tail enders when a faint easterly came in and compressed the fleet into a straggling heap across the finish line, providing the race officer and his team with another headache, trying to identify each finisher. The Parade of Sail For the competitors, it was lunch, cold beer and a snooze before the start of the Parade of Sail at 1430, by which time the easterly was a pleasant F2/3 and everyone was propelled by tide and wind up to Maldon, where the commentator on the Hythe was driven hoarse trying to keep pace with the stream of finishers pouring by.  Soon everyone was moored up and crews were enjoying the free beer in Taylor’s Yard and exchanging ‘what-might-have-beens’, before the prize giving. With seven classes plus dinghies and a rubber duck race, there seemed to be prizes for all. The OGA Dinner The Maldon Town Regatta is also a commemoration of the formation of the east coast OGA 45 years ago at Maldon and this year Mike McCarthy had organised a dinner in the Maldon Little Ship Club to celebrate the anniversary. A capacity crowd sat down to a superb meal – well done Mike, Janice and their team and thank you MLSC for the use of the facilities. That wasn’t the end of the Regatta of course; a rock band played on into the night, competing with more traditional shanty music in the Club, the many bars did a brisk trade and in next to no time the morning tide was creeping in and it was time to leave. High water was about 0500 and from 0430 muttered curses could be heard through the darkness as sleepy crews tried to extricate boats from unfamiliar mud berths and thread their way through the moorings and down to the open river. A lovely sunrise a couple of hours later promised another gorgeous day and provided appropriate closing credits to a memorable weekend. Thank you Gerry Courtney and your team for organising an immensely enjoyable event. Bernard Patrick |