Cowes - Dartmouth JOG Race
Published 18:05 on 21 Aug 2026
Salcombe YC members and offshore racing newbies Steve Walter and Julian Blazeby joined Salcombe resident Richard Elliot earlier in the summer on his Sunfast 3300 Bug for the Cowes Dartmouth JOG race.
Richard, an experienced single handed and double handed sailor fancied a change to his usual set up, but with strong winds curtailing previous attempts to get some sea time together as a crew before the race itself, we headed down the Hamble with some trepidation as to what lay ahead. After some practice tacks and gybes that allowed the new crew members to figure out the running backstay system, we were satisfied that we had mastered the complexities of the boat and moored alongside the town pontoon in Cowes and to headed up to the RORC for some final strategizing. A rehydrated boil in the bag meal made us feel like proper ocean racers even if we were still firmly alongside the pontoon! It was then time to slip our lines and head out towards the start.
The weather gods were smiling on us as once out into the Solent we were greeted with a steady 10 12kts from the west, due to veer north throughout the 90nm race. Perfect! 22 boats were entered, made up of three fleets with us in the fastest rated fleet starting last at 1920.
A technical glitch 15 minutes before our start temporarily left us without the bulk of our navigation systems. Some frantic problem solving and rewiring by Richard resolved the issue although we were still without our depth gauge. We decided to press on as once out of the Solent, depth should (hopefully!) not be a concern.
A clear start saw the fleets tacking up through the Western Solent and past Hurst Castle. Once clear of the Needles we bore off onto a close reach and headed towards the sunset. This race was going to be won or lost on boat speed - constantly watching the sail trim and making adjustments when the wind shifted. Richards fast reaction to the northerly wind shift allowed us to bear away and point the boat towards Dartmouth some 15 minutes before the bulk of the fleet realised what was going on. This put us right into the leading mix of boats and we were tanking along at between 8 10kts.
As the shore team back in Devon took advantage a balmy Friday evening with some sundowners chez Blazeby, we clipped on and settled in for the night. An increase in windspeed to gusts of 18 kts and a heel angle of 20 degrees prompted Richard to venture below and open the sea water ballast tanks. We continued throughout the night happy with our improved boat speed, and were cheered by regular updates from the girls back at home.
Not long after sunrise, the wind dropped completely. We were doing well but were frustrated by losing a place by staying marginally too far off shore in the last 5 miles. Still the dolphins soon put smiles back on our faces!
The Mew Stone south cardinal buoy outside Dartmouth marked the finish and we crept over at around 0815. We managed a very pleasing 3rd in our class and 5th place overall. One or two of our rivals went on to race in the recent round Britain & Ireland race so we felt that SYC had most definitely put on a good showing.
Once ashore we celebrated with strong coffee and smashed avocado on sour dough (very South Hams…!) We even shared a car home from Dartmouth together so there is promise that we can plan for further events next year!
Watch this space!
By Steve Walter.
