The weather forecast was for winds of about 20 knots, lessening as the day progressed. And sure enough there was wind, though a little more than most expected. A number of boats turned back in the first 3 hours. But the majority carried on and were rewarded by the promised lessening of the wind.
46 Boats entered the 2015 Dieppe Dash, 21 in the rally (cruising) fleet and 25 in the racing fleets. Of these 40 actually departed for Dieppe.
Except that the wind died late in the day, on the French side, more than expected. The bigger faster boats managed to get to Dieppe with out stopping. But a number other boats encountered a near calm. For the rally boats that did not prove a problem. They just put on their engines and motored through to find more wind – or the harbour. But the majority of the racing boats were seeking a proper finish and sat it out, even when stationary within sight of the French coast. Eventually a little more wind arrived and they were able to limp across.
But the area of the finish was peppered with fishing buoys. To limit the risk of boats being caught up, the skippers had to keep a good look out. Also the buoy at the outer end of the finish line had to be brought nearer the west arm. In trying to cross the finish quicker, Kereru strayed too near the arm and entered a sheltered area, being overtaken by three boats just 100 metres from the line.
In the end, 10 cruising boats arrived safely in Dieppe, with Saga, the last to arrive, berthing up after a long day, near midnight. 18 racing boats completed the race, though a number of other racing boats did arrive after retiring from the race and putting their engines on. The line honors were claimed by Hurricane who completed in a creditable 8 hours, 32 minutes and 50 seconds. As in last year 3 French boats joined us in the Dash home.
On the Saturday night there was party with a live band, though a number of boats decided not to stay for it with a forecast for strong winds on the Sunday. But those who did stay had a great time.
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