The WOSC annual 8 hour race took place on Sunday 27th August. For those members who have not competed in the race or have not spectated, I will attempt to give you a flavour of what you missed.
The race was due to start at 11:00 but the real drama began at 07:00 with Barry Buzzard leaving the warmth of his caravan to meet a dodgy butcher at a petrol station in Witney. He and the butcher returned with 50.6kg of piggy goodness in the shape of an entire pig, complete from snout to tail including every part between.
Butchery was largely performed by Pauline Buzzard who demonstrated an uncanny knowledge of anatomy. If any one of you wishes to dispose of a body in small parts I suggest you contact Pauline.
The format of the event is that it is a team competition. Each team consists of a crewed boat and a singlehanded boat. Each boat must have a complete crew change after completing each two laps or one hour, whichever comes first. The changeover area is directly in front of the clubhouse, so spectators get to see wonderful antics close up as teams attempt to change crews without losing too much time.
By the time of the briefing five teams had entered – which was precisely five teams more than turned up in 2016. Unfortunately our regular visiting team from Lilliput (a sailing club in Poole Harbour rather than a community in a mediocre Jonathan Swift novel) were unable to send a team this year.
The entries were:
Notsoslowloenterbox Ben Burrows
R E D Rob Hoare
Barry’s Best Barry Buzzard
Piston Broke Andy Day
Oli’s Broken Elbow Oli Burrows
Right from the very start it was clear that the team to beat was going to be Oli’s Broken Elbow made up from the ranks of our junior members. Barry’s Best started well in second place with R E D taking up third place at the end of the first hour. Notsoslowloenterbox were unexpectedly in last position at this point, due largely to the unfortunate parking of their Solo near the far bank.
The forecast was for wind which was due to be variable in both strength and direction. Indeed the wind speed varied from light to very light and then to barely a breath. In spite of this the top teams made good progress.
At the half way point Oli’s Broken Elbow had extended their lead and Notsoslowloenterbox had climbed from last place to second. Piston Broke who had been tussling with Barry’s Best were in third place. In the meantime R E D had clearly run out of steam after the first hour and were firmly at the bottom of the table. R E D’s progress was probably not helped by a slow changeover with Graham ensuring that not a drop of his brimming pint was spilled. Health & Safety Officer please note that plastic cups should be available for 2018.
During the last couple of hours there was only one change of place when Barry’s Best overtook Piston Broke to regain third place which they held to the end.
The result at the end of a fun and gruelling day was:
1. Oli’s Broken Elbow
2. Notsoslowloenterbox
3. Barry’s Best
4. Piston Broke
5. R E D
Individual positions were:
1. Solo 5461 Oli’s Broken Elbow
2. Enterprise 21932 Notsoslowloenterbox
3. Firefly 2246 Oli’s Broken Elbow
4. Solo 4927 Notsoslowloenterbox
5. Supernova 507 Barry’s Best
6. Laser 201402 Piston Broke
7. Solo 4329 R E D
8. Wayfarer 4384 Piston Broke
9. Wayfarer 3 Barry’s Best
10. Wayfarer 10586 R E D
After packing the boats away we were treated to an interactive disco provided by Jack and his mates. This was a seriously hi tech affair with the playlist (allegedly) being chosen by the audience via a web site. However I am certain that there was much censoring going on as we never heard any Leonard Cohen.
Finally at 21:00 our very good friends at Hardwick Parks started a firework display specially for us. It was a magnificent show. Congratulations to the Commodore for arranging that. The hardiest partiers gradually made their way to the tented village to bring an end to an excellent day.
My sincere thanks to the race team of Andrew Robson, Ian Scott, Roy Wilkinson, Mike Lewington, Ric Mellis and Steve Love without whom the event could not have taken place.
The final results of the race were as follows:
The fastest and slowest laps per hour were:
The team positions per hour were:
This shows how the top 3 teams performed:
