UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge

The 29th April 2008 saw the start of the 2008 UK Firefighters Sailing Challenge, the fifth running of this increasingly popular annual three day regatta, organised by serving and ex members of the Fire and Rescue Service.

The weather was less kind this year with strong winds and rain greeting the competitors, some of whom had travelled from as far away as West Yorkshire. The number of entries once again showed an increase on previous years with 23 boats leaving the pontoons for the race area, including 2 yachts from our ‘Gold’ sponsors telent and four more yachts crewed by representatives of the Police and Ambulance services, making this probably the only ‘999 Emergency Services’ sailing event in the country. Sadly one boat forgot to turn left in the Portchester channel and spent several hours aground on a sand bank. To allow the more inexperienced crews to compete, skippers were given the option to race with white sails only (no spinnaker) and 6 boats went for this option.

Day 1: The first race started at 1100 with the wind up to force 6, occasionally gusting to force 7 and a rough sea. With the expectation of a decrease in the wind strength most boats decided on a full main but with lots of twist to stop the boat becoming overpowered, crews and helms certainly found the conditions testing and as it turned out they would do so for the whole of the regatta, with only one race on the second day being in light winds.

The racing format has always been a passage race to start the event, to give crews a chance to get to know their boat and indeed each other as many crew members are trying sailing for the first time. The UKFSC organising committee actively encourage skippers to enter crews of mixed ability so that newcomers to sailing are provided with a safe but exhilarating introduction to sailing. For the first time the passage race was won by Hampshire(1) (Mick Stead) and not by a West Sussex boat who have been so dominant in the past four years.

A shorter second race completed the first day off Cowes, with Hampshire (1) and West Sussex (2) swapping the first and second places, followed by a gala dinner in the Cowes Haven Event Centre. Mike Golding, who has a fire service background, opened the gala evening by providing a televised interview to wish all 184 competitors good luck and fair sailing. One crew had to return their boat, for replacement, to Port Solent following a crash that left a large hole in their side – the offending crew said that they did not have any damage to their boat and yet their anchor roller was found still embedded in the hole! Using the results of the day’s racing the fleet was separated into one of three classes to facilitate a secondary competition on day two of the event. The Haven Events Centre prepared a delicious steak meal for the crews which was enjoyed by all but the rigours of the day certainly told on the crews as many retired to their bunks before 11 pm ready for the next days racing.

Day 2: The day commenced with very light winds, much favoured by Peter Crowther on West Yorkshire (1) who dominated the first race of the day. The wind returned to the boisterous conditions of the previous day for the second race however with several crew struggling with the strong winds and some very large shipping in the main channel, who loudly proclaimed their presence on their horn. The main event contenders of Murphy, Stead and Crowther all finished in the top four yachts home and tightened their grip on UKFSC trophy positions.

Frustratingly the third race of the day was cancelled due to several yachts being coated in fuel oil from a large slick that appeared close to one of our racing marks on the second race. With decks and crews slippery from the oil it was felt to be too dangerous for them to race so all crews returned to Cowes for a clean-up and more fun and games in the evening.

The telent Gala Evening was particularly busy and following a first class chicken dinner, where the wine was kindly provided by telent guest Oliver Youldon from EADS Defence and Security, Mick Stead rose to provide the commentary for the prize giving, raffle and charity auction. Steve Harris, Managing Director - Enterprise of telent Technology Services Ltd, kindly agreed to present UKFSC mid-event Class Awards to West Sussex (2) (Adrian Murphy), Isle of Wight (John Stannett) and London 3 (Chris Knight).

The raffle that followed the prize giving raised just over £900 and a further £610 was added with the auction of significant donations which included a day’s sailing on the Solent for four people, courtesy of Mick Norman from the yacht London (2). Mick Stead was also pleased to announce that the four crews from West Yorkshire had managed to raise in excess of £6,000 in the build up to UKFSC 2008 and had presented this to charities in their local area. Mick was joined by everyone at the evening in congratulating them on their superb fund raising efforts.

Day 3: The last day of the event presented the strong wind conditions that we were coming to expect and as the crews were becoming more proficient with the conditions some very close racing took place in the final two races. In the first race Peter Crowther, aboard the West Yorkshire (1) yacht, gave another superb performance to take first place with Adrian Murphy in West Sussex (2) beating Mick Stead’s Hampshire (1) boat into 3rd place by the smallest of margins on the finish buoy. After five races these three yachts entered race two of the day with everything to gain from a good result. Race two turned out to be the last race of the day and was shortened due to a lack of time which left several crews frustrated as had problems with locating the buoy, despite repeated advice from the committee boat. This did prove to be very useful for Mick Stead’s Hampshire (1), who suffered from a ‘gear problem’ at mark two leaving them a poor last position by the time it was sorted, then eventually finishing in seventh – the benefit of knowing the marks and listening to the radio.

Returning to Port Solent the crews gathered in readiness for the UKFSC prize giving event. Prizes were presented by Deputy Chief Officer Dave Curry of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service and Trish Thresh, widow of our former fire service and sailing colleague Ian Thresh. The trophies presented were:

1st - UKFSC Rosebowl, Adrian Murphy (West Sussex 2)
2nd – UKFSC Silver Yacht, Mick Stead (Hampshire 1)
3rd – UKFSC Silver Yacht Manikin, Peter Crowther (West Yorkshire 1)
White Sail Cup, Chris Knight (London 3)
Ian Thresh Trophy (1st Hampshire boat), Mick Stead (Hampshire 1)
UKFSC Decanter (1st non fire service boat), Mason King (Met Police)
Sponsor's Cup, Dave Redman (telent)

Despite the lack of sunshine, the strong winds and three boats losing their security deposits all competitors thoroughly enjoyed themselves and have said that they will be back next year. With the great help of our ‘Gold’ sponsors telent and the generosity of crews several thousand pounds has been raised for our two deserving charities of this year – The Fire Fighters Charity and the Ellen MacArthur Trust.