Edith May Blogs

As the season presses on into August, the Edith May returned to the Swale, along with around a hundred other boats of different shapes and sizes, for the 39th Swale Match.

Last year the barge attended, but was unable to race due to a technicality. This year there was no such problem. The Swale is always an interesting match to attend, with smacks and barges racing alongside Dutch barges, classic bermudans and steam ships, to name but a few!

Once again, the barge turn-out was fairly low – a recurring theme this year. The Bowpsrit Class was contested between Cambria, Edme, Lady of the Lea and Marjorie, with the Staysail Class between Edith May and Repertor and the Restricted Staysail seeing only Orinoco enter.

The Edith May enjoyed the benefit of a new staysail which Geoff Ingle (Frog) of the Orinoco kindly provided the night before the match. The sail had previously belonged to the Edith May and was the only one to have survived from her previous suit. The age is shown by the telephone number stitched into the sail!

Typical Swale match conditions are for a gentle start, followed by it blowing up in the afternoon. This year however, there was a steady SW breeze which ensured all the barges were able to make it around the course (Spaniard (S), Herne Bay Mark (S), Sewer Outfall Buoy (S), Whitstable Street (P) and home).

Skipper Geoff Gransden made a good start, losing out to Orinoco on the line but ahead of the Repertor. Sailing in close quarters with the Orinoco allowed the Repertor to slip into the lead and she seemed to be pulling away, but on hoisting the Edith May’s new (old) running sail, the barge picked up her heels, caught and passed the Repertor before the Spaniard.

It was a close run thing and David Pollock on the Repertor showed good tactical nous to block Edith May’s wind as she approached the bouy, preventing her from pulling away. As the barges rounded the mark and headed to Herne Bay, staysails were quickly changed and Repertor slipped up the inside and into the lead, steadily pulling away as the day wore on.

Edme by this point was dominating proceedings, building a lead at the front of the pack. Behind her though was a grand tussle between Cambria and Marjorie, with the latter leading initially, before the former passed her off Herne Bay.

There was a desperate hunt with the binoculars to find the Sewer Outfall mark, which could not be seen anywhere (we later discovered it did not exist anymore!) before the long beat up the Swale began. It is a deceptive stretch of water, seeming to be quite wide but the channel is actually very narrow, resulting in lots of tacking – a good time to avoid the leeboard winches!

The barges maintained their order through to the finish. Whilst slightly disappointed to have not beaten the Repertor, the mood was soon lifted by passenger Stephen Skey (of ‘Swinging the Lead’ fame) leading the crew in a sea shanty, before battle commenced with water balloons and catapults between the Edith May’s crew and the Edme – revenge for a surprise attack by the latter at the Medway!

All the crews returned to land for the prizegiving at Hollowshore, enjoying a hog roast and live music before the tide ebbed away. The Seamanship prize was awarded to the Cambria for her good performance, with the Lady of the Lea given a special mention for completing the full course, despite her small size compared to the other barges.

The next match is at Southend on Sunday 28th August, before the season finale on the Colne, Saturday 3rd September. Places available at £125p.p.

Full results:

Bowsprit:

1st Edme
2nd Cambria
3rd Marjorie
4th Lady of the Lea

Staysail:

1st Repertor
2nd Edith May

Restricted Staysail

1st Orinoco

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 13th, 2011 at 10:33 pm and is filed under Barge Matches, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.