Arrow Trophy October 2025 - The Solent
Published by Stowe School on Tuesday 14th of October 2025
Unavoidable commitments by the usual loyal crew required energetic and successful social media activity at the OS office to Press Gang a full crew for skipper Charles Douglas.
Friday 3rd October saw the crew assembling in Port Hamble under the threat of the imminent arrival of Storm Amy and her 40 Knot winds. James Smith with his steady demeanour arrived first closely followed by Nick “Captain Birdseye” Metcalfe bringing his enthusiastic expertise. James “Mac” McIntrye Hudson was seen safely aboard with a good luck kiss from his partner, closely followed by the experienced Sam Wardlaw. The dynamic duo of Steven Duncan and Harrison Docherty followed, the latter with enough luggage to challenge the allowances of any Easy Jet cabin crew. We set off into the teeth of the rising conditions aiming to reach Cowes before the storm hit. A couple of bumpy hours later we moored up in Cowes.
A crew supper in the excellent Toninos in Cowes High St, led into the traditional dark n’stormy social event in the truly dark and stormy conditions. Racing was cancelled for Saturday which might go some of the way to explain that some 150 sailors of the 20 yacht fleet drank the local hosting yacht club dry of some 22 litres of Rum. The nation is clearly in safe hands!
Saturday was indeed under the cosh of Storm Amy, so devoid of yachting causing various crews variously to visit the island, indulge in team Go-Karting and in our case having gathered our remaining crew member Harry Bunting from a bumpy ferry ride to the Island, to sample other parts of the Isle of Wight before the annual dinner at the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s excellently refurbished club house.
Sunday dawned breezy but sunny so the 08;00 briefing wisely required no Spinnakers, one reef in the mainsail and a shortened race programme of three races. We slipped lines and headed out into the Solent for a glorious but robust trilogy of races. Sails hoisted and some initial practice tacking and training en route the start line prepared our largely untrained, but nonetheless Corinthian crew, for racing. A little late to the start but we were off in the sunshine.
Team Docherty and Duncan manning the port side winch, and team Smith and Wardlaw on the starboard winch driving our headsail along through many racing tacks with only a modest amount of “discussion”, Mac managed the mainsail whilst Sam tamed the mainsheet track. Harry Bunting’s enthusiasm and Nick Metcalfe’s tactical nous helped push us along. Three short races later we had evolved into an increasing efficiency and smooth sailing yacht. Whilst not the fastest yacht, a most enjoyable short afternoon of sailing was a team bonding experience before a return to Port Hamble with no injuries or damage, much to the gratitude of the organisers who had thought the whole regatta might have been cancelled by Storm Amy. We shall return next year reinvigorated.
