The Dittisham Sailing Club Open Meeting Experience

The Dittisham Sailing Club Open Meeting Experience © Caroline Loy

Set in the quintessentially English parish of Dittisham, that is in Devon for our international readers, and nestled discreetly amongst the cottage and tree lined banks of the River Dart, lies the village's sailing club.

Modest in construction and minimalist in facilities, the club feels like a throwback to the early 70's, certainly prior to any sort of lottery funding injection but abundant with the passion, enthusiasm and competitive spirit which was so prevalent back in the day. I am not casting dispersions on the modern versions of sailing establishments, but at £15 for three races, free protest committee, lunch and cream tea, grass root clubs such as Dittisham provide unrivalled bang for your buck.

The club's Solo Fleet Captain Sam Westcott had the daunting prospect of outdoing last year's event which included hand made pizza but, never one to shy away from a challenge, Sam and her team delivered a lunch and tea of some wonder and many calories.

But I am getting ahead of myself, putting aside my own priorities for a moment we should talk about the racing.

I had been monitoring various weather forecast platforms in the few days leading up to Sunday and there were some striking similarities to conditions facing the Olympians in Marseilles.

The winds would be light, the Sun high in the sky warming the land mass to hopefully provide some thermal action.

The below paragraph was taken from the Olympic site.

"The quality of the water conditions off the coast of Marseille, with relatively constant winds and a coastal configuration that is correctly oriented in relation to the dominant winds, without any currents or tides, will ensure ideal tactical and strategic conditions for the competitors."

And my own take on Dittisham:

"The quality of the water conditions at the higher end of the River Dart are dictated by the local water authority, I have complete faith in their ability to ensure the water is lovely and surprisingly warm in places. The winds are relatively constant for a few seconds and if the wind is coming from the pub, you can smell the hops. Currents and tides are subject to the position of the Moon, but generally ideal for a few minutes either side of high tide ensuring ideal tactical and strategic conditions if you got out of bed on the right side."

I arrived at the club early, only a faint ripple of hope was visible far down towards the mouth of the river, in front of me, a vista of mirror images of moored yachts, puffy clouds and blue sky, only the surfacing of a cormorant indicating that this was not in fact the largest Monet in the world.

Solos lined the river bank, tucked in close to the stone wall which maybe once provided Stone Age man with some form of land ownership or, at a stretch, was this the first sailing club in the history of man? Certainly, many relics from the Neolithic period regularly appear on the shoreline, and we have some very old members.

Ten visitors representing Torpoint Mosquito, Teign Corinthian, Chew Valley, South Cerney, Salcombe and Starcross would join the sixteen home club sailors with three races planned, punctuated by a lunch between races 2 and 3.

PRO James Dodds provided a concise and entertaining briefing, I would imagine his no-nonsense style was honed from experience in the arena of conflict, Waterloo, Hastings and that ruckus at Rourke's Drift.

The course would be a triangle-sausage with special emphasis on avoiding the start line on the downwind legs, this would ensure Sheila, who is a mainstay in the club would correctly record lap positions.

The fleet launched into a nice 6 knots with the tide creeping up the shingle and arrow head shoreline, todays orientation of the Moon at a right angle to the Sun indicating a neaps tide so in theory, less current.

Race 1

A huge pin bias stretched the 36 competitors along the line, many struggling to make the hot zone but the favourites were already on station and able to hold for the gun. Local hero Jon Clarke (Edge Sails) showed some class and no regard for his crafts safety to punch out on port to clear the fleet before tacking into a nice land induced right shift, he rounded the top mark with only Graham Cranford Smith ahead in his moody grey Winder. At this point I must add that I was racing so not paying any attention to the fight for first place, therefore further references are mostly fictional though the finishing positions are 100% accurate.

Salcombe HQ had in fact sent a three pronged offensive to try and spoil the Dittisham party, Dan Bridger, Captain Adrian Griffin and Cranford-Smith who was leading the way, two of the three prominent as the fleet bore off for the wing mark but in an act of selflessness and sacrifice, probably the world's longest serving fleet captain urged the younger members of the team forward while he looked on like a proud father from his vantage point behind most of the fleet.

Chew Valley's Chris Meredith, Teign Corinthian's Malcolm Davies and Dittisham's wind whisperer Peter Sturgess were also in pursuit and this group began to extend on the field as personal in-fights and blanket covering diminished the threat to their fragile advantage. I was in possession of a borrowed Speed/P&B powered Solo and having reacquainted my shins with the centreboard capping, rounded just outside the top ten, testament to owner Peter Edwards tuning of his ship rather than my light wind finesse.

The second beat saw Cranford Smith consolidate with Davies, Clarke, Meredith and Paul Lewis still in with a shout as the light north easterly weaved and swayed like a belly dancer's hips. Bridger was down to ninth but well ahead of his commander who was nine places deeper than his bench mark, Perkins.

The fleet gybed at the top of lap 1 and headed for the leeward mark, Cranford-Smith very sportingly mentioned to Clarke that they must avoid the start line, a noble act which is worthy of special mention but no award. I am sure Jon would have reciprocated being a man of high moral fibre. There was consternation and confusion from those deeper in the fleet as the leaders, who had rounded the leeward mark headed back through the line, I imagine those on the committee boat were being thoroughly entertained and the PRO may have commented that war is messy.

I was fortunate to gain places down the second run but my mass-management ultimately saw me slip away as competitor after competitor picked me off like a Chimpanzee de-fleeing its mate.

Cranford-Smith extended over the remaining laps to earn a well deserved bullet with Clarke, Meredith, Bridger, who had made a remarkable comeback and Davies completing the top five. Elsewhere, Rosie Lucas tore through the fleet to finish 8th, Sturgess succumbed to the start line trap while further down the fleet, Perkins, Welsh and Griffin finished 13-16-17 in their personal but ultimately futile battle for bragging rites. Shaun Welsh had finished lap 1 in 29th, just imagine how good he could be if he learnt how to start.

The Dittisham Sailing Club Open Meeting Experience - photo © Chris Tamlyn

Race 2

With the breeze holding and the tide still rising the PRO took no time to get into the start sequence, while ashore, Sheila, Jane Morris, Sam and my good lady Caroline were busy preparing a lunch, of beef brioche rolls, quiches of undefined but nevertheless tasty fillings and hand made scotch eggs. Vegetarian options were also available and just some of the delights awaiting the competitors and race teams. To say you could smell the beef would have alerted the EHO but every sailor must have had some motivation as the start was punchy, especially if you were rafted at the favoured pin end. Clarke and Charlie Nunn were up close and personal with the Edge Sails jockey getting out of the melee comparatively unscathed. To be far, his Winder 1 hull has more scratches than a sofa in a house full of cats so it mattered not but Nunn (GOAT Marine) would lodge a protest at the conclusion of the race.

PRO James had instructed the competitors that the folly of avoiding the start line on the downwind leg was no longer in operation, a relief to everyone except Sheila who would now require 20/20 vision to record lap positions.

I understand that some of the fleet were over the line but no OCS's were recorded so I guess they went back, Dittisham is such a friendly club!

Top mark and Davies, Clarke and Meredith have nailed the beat, the left shift seeing many over standing the starboard lay line. The cliche 'better to get a bad start at the right end' was never truer for Clarke while Nunn, back in ninth may have been thinking differently.

The breeze, much like a banana left in the Sun, had softened and while the triangular legs were processional there were still skins to avoid.

Ann Biglin had sailed a blinder and was holding fifth with fellow Dittisham sailor Sam Westcott in seventh, testament to the strength of the female element of the fleet here in Devon. Meanwhile, Perkins, who had attended the Charlie Cumbley training session on Friday was holding a strong twenty third with Welsh and Griffin half a dozen places behind.

The second round saw little chance at the front and some separation, much to the relief of Sheila, fingers still bleeding from the frenetic sail number recording of lap 1. Biglin dropped to ninth and Rosie Lucas moved from seventeenth to tenth, the Dittisham/HISC sailor really enjoying the marginal hiking.

Clarke moved into the lead, the lean figure and long blonde/grey hair still turns heads in Dartmouth and they are still surprised when HE turns around. The only Solo sailor I have ever seen who tacks and gybes backwards, I am convinced this is a technique purely to distract his competitors and it had worked again. Meredith, Davies, Paul Lewis, Cranford-Smith and Nunn completed the top six with the remarkable Welsh twelfth.

The fleet returned to shore, the Stone Age beach now completely submerged in the murky depths of the Dart, South West Water have been alerted. There was some excitement as it emerged that a protest form was required and after some frenzied activity, an un-opened case was located.

The catering team had indeed been busy and the feasting was, at times akin to when I put food down for my dog but with race 3 ahead, I understood the competitors eagerness to digest and set sail. Only Charlie Nunn had abstained from the eating orgy, his pen was hard at work, his concentration focusing on the World Sailing site on his phone screen.

The Dittisham Sailing Club Open Meeting Experience - photo © Chris Tamlyn

Race 3

Initially starboard biased and Clarke was feeling positive but the Dittisham 'Doctor' came back hard from the left and he was now on the outside of the lift which took the leaders into the top mark. I had now retired from the days racing, my knees a surprisingly new addition to list of body parts that fail under immense weight load. Paul Lewis, Davies, Cranford-Smith, Meredith and Nunn were the main players in this race, which I understand from various competitors post race, was the fairest? Same course but further over towards the left finger of the river so I would assume it had gone Easterly which does have a more stable demeanour.

Cranford-Smith should have won but did not, Paul Lewis could have won but did not but Malcolm Davies did, this result earned him second overall on count-back.

So, with the fleet returned to shore, packed up, showered, fed, watered and now enjoying unrivalled views of the River Dart from the clubhouse, it was just the protest decision that was pending. The protest team of PRO James, Sailing Rules of Racing expert (1975-79) Ian Wakeling and the NSCA's outgoing gossip monger Will Loy sat and listened and after hearing from both parties, agreed that Clarke's was the most entertaining.

Therefore the places remained the same which was a huge relief for Chris Carmichel who had collated the data. Most importantly, Perkins beat Welsh and Griffin 14th/15th/22nd, a vast improvement on previous efforts and a foreboding to all competitors with the Nationals just 3 weeks away.

Jon provided us with an even more entertaining speech than his protest defence and his parting words to me were gold.

"Men in old Solos are sometimes not as dumb as they look."

Special mention to Sam who excelled in organisation of the event, to Les Moores who was awarded a Lifetime Achievement for his club and fleet involvement, to the catering team of Caroline, Jane, Sheila and Jo Jo, to the members who contributed in so many ways to make this day special and of course the race team led by PRO James Dodds.

A personal account from Race 1 winner Graham Cranford Smith follows:

"If you have never been, perhaps this side of Henley SC or Aldeburgh YC, Dittisham SC is the very definition of an English bucolic pastoral dinghy sailing club. And though much in the world has changed, mercifully Dittisham on the River Dart is unaltered, unadulterated and exquisitely beautiful. Even with the tide out.

On arrival, negotiation with the Ringo parking app aside, it is easily possible to transport oneself to the early 1960's. And at this point, try to remember what one knows about river topography from long-forgotten geography lessons taught by, if memory serves, Major Mothy Metherell, (Desert Rats). There is the water, at that point flat calm, and moored yachts and a preponderance of wildlife. There is no sign of an oxbow lake as foreshadowed by Metherell, but this let down, is a mere detail. There is so much to celebrate in this scene.

This includes the diminutive Dittisham Sailing club HQ and serried ranks of mostly Solos alongside in the dinghy park.

On the day, thirty-six Soloistas awoke and selected Dittisham SC as their destination and chosen activity. Many were locals but with a smattering from far away time travel clubs like Teign Corinthian, and Salcombe YC.

Many clubs could be envious of such an enthusiastic turn out. But is not hard to discern the reasons for this loyalty. Many of these Solo sailors are hungry. For, though a lot is owed to the altruistic entry fee, much more important here, is the generous free lavish hospitality. Dittisham SC is driven by an exceptional and generous volunteer work ethic. It is a joy to witness.

James Dodd plus excellent assistants Jennie Richardson and Christine Carmichael made up our race team. We were briefed to expect a triangle sausage course with a moderate North Easterly sea breeze originating from Torbay, just over the nip. The gathering breeze even suggested toe strap deployment.

Race 1. James had foreshadowed that the conditions for him and his team would be challenging in the fluctuating breeze and so it proved. Veterans Jon Clarke and yours truly spied that a pin end start was the place to be, and which was surprisingly under populated. At the gun, Clark and I swapped on to port and handily crossed much of the fleet. Thereafter followed a battle between the two of us as we traded places up the first beat. However, by the windward mark I had edged Clark. Such being the way of things, the rich in this race became richer. We both stretched away from the balance of the fleet never to be seriously challenged.

Race 2, was similar, though more had cottoned on to the obvious benefits of a pin end start. Here there was a collision. At this point, the protagonists, Nunn and Clark traded gelcoat and cheerful messages of encouragement between each other. This is the 1960's, remember.

Post wizard prang, Clark headed out left. So did Meredith and Malcolm Davies from Teign Corinthian. This was certainly the way to go and the trio were never edged before the finish of four laps or so.

At this point, the newbies assumed that many had had enough as they headed inshore. But, of course, it was lunchtime. Quite enough sailing for the time being.

Here, we were greeted by a groaning trestle table. Indeed, no article is complete without the noun: smorgasbord. There was veritable smorgasbord of luncheon fare. All of which, was entry fee inclusive and duly consumed.

There followed a dignified reflective period of the activities which had interrupted the run up to lunch. And only when the time was right did the fleet return to their craft to attend the race 3. The Decider.

At the start, Paul Lewis from Hayling plus Malcolm Davies both in composite wooden Solos were in the leading pack. myself, Meredith and Nunn followed closely.

But by lap two I had broken through to a fragile lead but which I really should have held. By and by on the final beat, Malcolm Davies of notable Fireball provenance, had recovered much ground and went into the lead. I then duly conceded second to Davies (who being well under fifty, or possibly forty, is part of the Solo Youth Section) on the ensuing soft pressure reach, only just holding off a strong challenge from Meredith at the finish. Type 2 fun.

Enough of this sailing malarkey. Once ashore, it was soon time for tea and medals all round.

Grateful thanks to Charlie Nunn and Goat for their sponsorship. But also, thank you to the most excellent Dittisham Sailing Club: long may you continue. And of course, to everyone who sailed. You all did spiffingly well. A top-hole event."

Thank you Graham, you would make a great publicity officer.

My next report will be my last National Championship, Brightlingsea, Essex I think.

See you on the water.

Overall Results: