Downwind leg....
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'Velsheda' pounding across the Solent in a mass of spray!...
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another....Lionheart
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A few photos of the racing...Rainbow
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Had opportunity to go out and watch the J's race on their first day on board the Steam ship "Shieldhall"..... and just as well. It offered a safe and stable platform from which to take some photos, and have a fabulous view of the racing. The weather was so bad that had we been on 'Freedom' we wouldn't have seen a thing properly because we would have been too busy just trying to control the boat! With force 6 and gusts 7 and a particularly fierce ebbing tide, the Solent was not a friendly place to be. The J's had excellent racing, but were hard pressed at times. They abandoned going into Christchurch Bay because going through Hurst Narrows would not have been a good idea at all. The Solent was very rough, and the sea in the narrows would have been enormous. 'Rainbow', 'Lionheart', 'Ranger' and 'Velsheda' crossed the start line in what turned out to be very close and furious sailing. Photo quality isn't hot because of the weather, and I was being knocked about by the wind, even on Shieldhall! What an experience though, one I probably won't see again.
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Just making an entry on our visit to Portland yesterday. Charles was invited to attend the ex-Olympian Lunch organised by the RYA to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic Torch. I was very proud of him. It was lovely to see most of the old crews he had known when he had sailed the games in 1968 and 1972. For me it was great to put faces to the names I had heard him mention over the years. His 1968 crew and skip were all there Robin Judah, Dave Tucker and some of the older skippers who by now were in their 80's and still telling wonderful 'there I was' stories..... a real privilege to be there. Rodney Pattison was on form as usual, and he carried the torch from Portland to Weymouth via boat, sadly in awful weather by the end of the day. Met the skipper of Mariette the beautiful Classic (in some of my previous pics) we have been seeing in the Solent, such a young chap to have the responsibility! The whole day was memorable, and one I know Charles won't forget.
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