Kate Chernyshov (SH 1984-86) describes an eventful weekend with the OKS Arrow Trophy crew.

Led by skipper Andrew Dean, the crew assembled on an unseasonably warm Friday morning in October ready to defend the OKS place in the A Fleet.

Picking up the Sunsail 41’ "British Virgin Islands”, we headed down the channel into the Solent for a practice day. If the course was short, a slow spinnaker hoist would risk slowing us down, so we agreed to focus on downwind sailing with the jib. If only we had known...

The next day, fortified by full English breakfasts, bacon rolls and tiffin, the crews assembled. We made good progress making use of Andy's local knowledge. Approaching the first marker the tide pushed us off course and a few sharp tacks in the vicinity of Marlow Ropes (later identified as Norwich School) raised a protest; we responded in a gentlemanly fashion with a yellow flag and faced up to the reality of our "no spinnaker" tactics. Falling away to the back of the pack, we realised the error of our decision. Round the cans, things were looking good, but another slow evolution was disappointing and we drew further back. Race 1 was not a triumph for the OKS crew.

Race 2 gave us a chance to improve things but our beleaguered spinnaker hoisting was still not up to scratch. Race 3 was going to be our big chance. Heading downwind, the spinnaker shot up the mast until it stopped midway. The halyard was tangled in the radar and no amount of waggling would free it. The spinnaker meanwhile started to fill so we lowered it but not before a small tear appeared in the sail. Our chances of success were looking slim. We agreed to repair the spinnaker in time for Sunday's races. 

The Saturday night dinner was remarkable only in that the apostrophe was missing on our table name. This was resolved by a judicious dab of chutney. The Race Committee duly announced that there would be no racing on Sunday because of the absence of wind in the forecast and, deflated, we concluded that our spinnaker repair would not help in any way. 

The Sunday morning briefing confirmed race positions and we headed out to Osborne Bay on the sparkling and flat Solent. Half the crew dived in, showing some impressive techniques. Other crew members, who had not come prepared for a dip in the Solent in October, watched with envy. We headed back to Port Solent and reflected on the competition, remarkable for chutney and swimming trunks, as well as sunshine and good company. 

If you want to join the thrills of the Arrow Trophy, please pencil into your diaries 5/6th October 2024 and watch this space.