Sonata Worlds II – Race 11 or was it 12? 2^nd July 2009

There was trepidation in the Sonata camp for this event, since warnings from diverse sources suggested both Tornados and the presence of the dreaded “Fat Controller”. Few people involved in the upper echelons of the SWS II organisation appreciate that at least one co-owner of a leading boat is in fact a closet “spotter”of the worst sort, but also one who fully appreciates the significance such dire warnings.

On the night in question, with mist and rain descending in equal measures, tornados seemed to be distant memory, certainly to the gods of Torbay breezes who seemed to have forgotten the notion of wind speed. However the more astute were reminded of a possible calm before the storm tornado presence, when the radios crackled into staccato life as the clock ticked on to the 5 minute warning, and boats were still to be seen drifting far on the wrong side of the start line. This feature of windless Sonatas championships was alleviated by the kindly crew of Blues Breaker with their massive 5hp engine, who towed the reluctant Simply Alto out of the cover of the yacht club BBQ shelter, onto their boat and up to the start line. The main reason for this was the continued absence of their skipper, the dreaded “Chevalier Sauvage”, who is still terrorising distant shores and bar occupants with his tales of Sonata victories against mighty opposition such as Trichord and Sigmania.

Crews thanked their fates for drifting them onto at least the correct “behind” the start line position as the fateful voice of the “Fat Controller” counted down the inexorable seconds to the drifting start. As befits a World Series, the Sonata fleet led off the line, albeit in widely varying positions along it as determined by their luck in drifting to any position prior to the start. Le Homme avec trois nommes and his all male crew made the best of the tidal drift inshore, whilst Mr Le Oiseau (with an “e” please) and the proxy crew of Chevalier Sauvage chose the offshore route. This latter proved by far the best for the ensueing Dolphinarium show, but proved rather slow in drifting to the “F” mark as required by the Fat Controller. Eventually however all was equalized, including the larger and faster IRC “Henry” express brigade who despite starting 5 minutes later, all joined in to park up at “F” for a friendly chat.

Techniques now varied, some beat to windward, others hoisted spinnakers, some went below for a sleep, some shipped an oar and skulled. Eventually the real hard cases pleaded with the Fat Controller for release from water torture, but were told to come home via the instructed marks. Simply Alto dropped sails and enjoyed an almost too close encounter with the dolphins and their charming but very boisterous teenage offspring. Eventually the shelter of the BBQ was regained in similarly dripping conditions. The Tornado warning was eventually revealed as coming on Saturday 5^th July at Churston railway station only, and we have photographs to prove it now, so the Fat Controller was right, and both SWS II and train buffs were equally satisfied with the results which saw A’piano in the lead, runner up Blues Breaker and Simply Alto retired hurt with over exposure to baby aquatic mammals.