The 2012 JMC started reasonably enough. The crew of Creme de la Creme skipper 'little' Les, first mate Richard T, crew of John, Rich and Denis and adjudicator 'Big' Les all seemed relaxed even when the engine caught fire during dinner. Being tasked finding a follicly challenged buoy seemed to resonate with certain crew members. The furling drum jammed but the jib came down like a scarf in the Immac scarf test. Unfortunately it went back up like a Brillo pad being dragged over Les's 5 o'clock shadow. Centimetre by painful centimetre.
Sat 20/10/2012 Up bright and early and off to Power Station Creek where the flotilla watched each other grind to a halt in the mud just feet from the mooring buoys. Lessons were learned and the fleet took off to do exactly the same at Wooton Creek an anagram of Crew Took Note, or nearly in our case, Newtown Creek due to some minor literacy problems. The most valuable lesson learnt so far was that spaghetti should be cooked al dente to tie knots in it. An exercise to find buried treasure near the Bramble Bank went better than expected thanks to having three hand bearing compasses on board while off Beaulieu the fog came down just as we set off for Newtown Creek. luckily it lifted just as we arrived on top of the destination. The next challenge was to create and file this post while enjoying a super dinner in the Royal Solent Yacht Club in yarmouth. Unfortunately despite questioning everyone in the YC bar and searching the (minimalist) library of magazines nobody seemed able to help answer the olympic sailing quiz so we handed in our best efforts and after marking and some story swapping all retired to bed/pub/party boat etc.
Sunday morning saw us climbing the mast with black cardboard and string (carrying, not using - that would have been a challenge too far) followed by a single handed slipping of lines and exit out of Yarmouth. Sails up and two reefs in (breezy) only to get the next envelope which told us to put two reefs in - so out they came and then back in one at a time - deep sigh. There followed assorted reefing and unreefing manoeuvres (there's probably a tune there somewhere "you put the green reef in, the green reef out, you unjam the reefing block and you shake it all about") interspersed with assorted sailing skills demonstrations from all crew members.
Then the man overboard fender and bucket went over the back, followed by the instruction that the engine was dead. What followed is best described as a learning experience. I learnt that I shouldn't put the jib away too soon when the main is reefed as you can't get back to the MOB but on the second attempt made it nicely there, jib away and stopped to perfection. Next lesson is that you shouldnt tie fender to bucket with a long length of line as the fender went nicely down the port side while the bucket proceeded, stealthily submerged, down the starboard. Having hooked the fender first go, the (alternative) Hennebry manoeuvre took effect as he heaved on the fender and the bucket hit the hull and ripped the boathook from his grasp! Now we had a bucket, a fender and a boathook in the water. Quick bit of reverse sailing saw the bucket untangled from the keel (phew). Sails away and motor round to get the bucket and fender using a deck scrubbing brush - except - the head of the brush came off. By this time some of the crew were in hysterics (or crying - wasn't too sure) while other, less experienced ones, were wondering why they hadn't seen some of these manoeuvres (or heard the language) demonstrated before.
With 3 MOB's in the water now, and people starting to look at us, we next tried circling the lot with the throwing line but it just floated over them on the waves. Then decided that John should sit on the shower platform, hooked on with two lifelines (with 3 MOB's in the water already and our record to date it was best not to take chances!) while we reversed up to each object in turn. Eventually, we retrieved all except the brush head which sank on it's maiden voyage before we could get it - there went the kitty surplus.
Off to Cowes via the "alternative entrance to the Medina" which was unfortunately not mentioned in either almanac or chart so that took a bit of finding. At E.Cowes we did a quick bit of down tide mooring (not too quick to the relief of the boat in front) followed by a moment of puzzlement when the last envelope was read by the adjudicator who told the skipper he had to demonstrate how to release the pressure on a riding turn using a clove hitch. Having clarified that a rolling hitch was actually required we completed that before a well deserved spot of lunch, finishing off the last of the pasties, cheese and ham rolls and two quiches which had looked dangerously like being left over. You'd never have thought we had a cooked breakfast both days!
After presentations and congratulations on the pontoon we all headed back to Port Hamble and home. It was a great weekend, really enjoyed it, did better than I expected (runner up best skipper!), learnt lots and looking forward to doing it again sometime! Thanks to all the crew and to (big) Les for a memorable JM2012.
Scribed by John (slippery fingers) Hennebry, Rich (to infinity and beyond) Walker and Skipper (little) Les.
