Cowes week is the longest running regatta in the world and an event not to be missed if you own a boat, like Pam & Craig!
Pam & Craig assembled a motley crew to sail Beserker down to the Isle of Wight, motley because it included Scottie and Blazey!
We couldn’t wait to catch up with everyone after hearing the stories….
- the leg from Margate to Brighton was 18 hours and they didn’t arrive until 3am. Blazey didn’t much like sailing in the dark, especially when they tacked away from the lights on the shore. Since the navigation lights weren’t working, Scottie shined his head torch on the mainsail! Blazey likened the experience to Volvo ocean night racing!
- on the way down the kiwi flag was proudly waving off the back of the back, after a last place in the first race it was discreetly folded away
- once they got sailing they discovered that Beserker was a buoy magnet. One yellow buoy in particular left a permanent tattoo on the starboard bow after they slammed into it!
- competing in races is easier if sail to the mark where the start line is
- before we arrived, Blazey confessed that he was scared at some point every day on the yacht
- Scottie had to leave early. Blazey offered Scottie £100 if he would say in his place. Scottie didn’t have to think long before he declined
We arrived on Thursday but couldn’t sail on Friday because the motor had broken down. With much anticipation we headed out on Saturday. I was almost disappointed that the race was incident free. We got near some buoys but never managed to hit one. The crew were well drilled by now and the tourist inflating his life jacket did nothing to put them off.
It was great to see Pam & Craig’s dream (to sail back to New Zealand) starting to become a reality.
