A’assifa crew meet up at RORC

We all met up (except Grahame who sadly got stuck on a train in Cambridge) last evening at the RORC (Royal Ocean Racing Club) clubhouse in St James Place, London, (Just behind the Ritz). It is a lovely Georgian town house and has been the RORC London clubhouse since 1941. It is just as nice inside with a members bar, restaurant and en suite guest rooms.

Over an excellent Christmas roast dinner we agreed to again enter next years Kings Cup Regatta in Palma and the Loro Piana Giraglia in St Tropez and Genova Italy.

(The Kings Cup is a the 43rd edition of the Copa Del Rey Regatta held in Palma Bay with over 130 teams, 1700 sailors from 24 counties. And again, King Felipe VI of Spain will be racing at the helm of his yacht “Aifos”). I recall in 2024 it was so hot but great fun. It was the first time I had joined A’assifa and its crew, some of which I had already met racing Scarlet Oyster in Antiqua in 2019 and 2022 and who now have now become good friends.

(The Loro Piana Giraglia is a 4 day regatta in The Bay of St Tropez ending with a 241nm offshore race to Giraglia Island and finishing in Genoa in Italy. This will be its 73rd edition and last year, there were 139 yachts on the start line. This year the sponsor Loro Piana laid on truly amazing hospitality from champagne to breakfast from start to finish. I would say it was the best I have ever experienced at a regatta). We raced the regatta earlier this year, but in the offshore section along with much of the fleet, we became becalmed in the Gulf of Genoa for so long there was not enough time to complete the race, so we had to concede and motor into Genoa. On the plus side we were blessed with a couple of visits from pods of dolphins surfing A’assifa’s bow and saw a swordfish jump from the water. (See gallery)

This year, Steve and I delivered his boat A’assifa from its home port in Spain to the regatta in St Tropez and had a great time doing so, stopping in many bays and Marinas on passage. After the regatta we also, with Grahame, delivered A’assifa back across the Gulf of Genoa to France, unexpectantly experiencing the Mistral wind. (This is a strong, cold northwesterly wind that originates in the mountains of southern France and funnels through valleys into the Mediterranean. It often reaches speeds of up to 60 mph and can last for several days). I recall, before flying out to Spain, Steve said don’t bring your foulies (wet and cold weather clothing) as he had a spare set on the boat, only to find he had left them in his marina store in Spain. During the Mistral, I remember being very cold on deck in the early hours wearing Steve’s old and very worn out, fraying dingy spray top and salopettes with a broken zip until after some time, I donned Grahame’s foulies, as he was off watch. The lesson learned… “never ever leave your own foulies at home”. The Mistral winds reached almost 40 Knots and A’assifa’s auto pilot struggled to cope, so poor old Steve was at the helm non stop for over 10 hours. Nevertheless, it was a great experience.

RORC London clubhouse.

Steve, John, Ian, Clive and myself at dinner