KYC Youth Members Thread the Needles
Published 13:02 on 25 Jul 2022
Saturday was a day which will live in the memories of many of our youth sailors, for all the right reasons.
It was the day of the 'Thread the Needles' event, where they sailed out of the confines of Keyhaven and Hurst Castle, into the Solent, out through the Hurst Narrows, across to the Isle of Wight side, tacking up through Colwell Bay, Totland Bay and Alum Bay, then around the Needles lighthouse and back through the gap in the Needles, with an epic downwind sail home.
Conditions need to be just right to make this happen, using the ebb tide to get there and the first of the flood tide to get home. There needs to be enough wind, but not too much, so it's hugely exciting when the forecast plays ball and the decision is made to go ahead with the adventure.
It's no small undertaking shepherding 27 kids and 15 boats on a sail like this, and I take my hat off to Alastair Craig for organising it. Any problems with the boats are going to get found when out in the open sea, and for the young sailors the size of the waves, combined with a decent breeze, is a real challenge. They all sailed incredibly well, and while there were a few rescues necessary, it all happened just about as smoothly as could reasonably be expected.
The 'gap' in the Needles isn't a completely clear stretch of water, as there are a couple of rocks lurking just beneath the waterline, so we had to create a transit for the boats to pass through using the RIBs, then guiding the sailors with hand signals to make sure they were central in the safe corridor. Once through the gap, the smiles were wide and the exhilaration obvious. This was an adventure they weren't going to forget in a hurry.
The return trip was much faster, planing downwind with a brief stop on the Island shore in Totland Bay for lunch. Then a fast reach across the Hurst Narrows, as the wind built to a peak of 23 knots, and back into the sheltered water behind Hurst Castle.
Once ashore they were understandably tired, but elated. They had so many stories to tell each other; how they surfed down a wave, sorted a capsize when the daggerboard came out, the wind shadows behind the cliffs, the views of Alum Bay, and the chairlift which runs from the top to the beach; the list goes on... as will the chat.
Over time the stories of the day may well get taller: the waves will have been ten feet high, the winds up to gale force, the tide causing whirlpools that could swallow a supertanker... It was a sail that will turn into legend for them.
Last updated 15:30 on 4 April 2024