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The Tea PartyDavid Villers-Child reminisces... |
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It was August. It was Oulton Broad Regatta Week, my mother was giving a tea party. Our house had a lawn that ran down to the edge of the broad, and that (the edge) was where my mother was entertaining. Apart from our Merlin Rockets we had a Broads Cruiser to race in the afternoon Cruiser series. She was “Maidiie” the prettiest boat on the broads forty five feet long with a seventy foot bermudian rig and a ten foot bowsprit. Very much an overgrown Thames “A” Rater! It was Thursday and the points situation was tense! It was also blowing old boots! We should have reefed. We did not! It was for a change a windward start, and having cleared the fleet on port tack we picked up the sort of lift that only happens in dreams, and I found the bowsprit pointing at our lawn! The lift continued and as we approached the shore showed no sign of heading us. Now fifty odd feet is a long way to judge, and the first sign we might have overdone it a bit was my mother and the other ladies running! As we tacked there was a bit of a bang. Nothing more than a new runner being set up or something like that, and it was only when we reached the windward mark and set about booming out the jib on the windward side for the run that we saw on the end of the bowsprit. My mother’s tea table! We were protested for altering the configuration of our rig whist sailing, but the committee did not take it very seriously, preferring for justice to be delivered at home! |