Some might regard it as beginner's luck, but for Bill Woodhouse, of Harlow Blackwater Sailing Club, his introduction into cruiser racing produced one of the most dramatic results in the history of the Blackwater Joint Clubs Committee (BJRC) series.
Woodhouse, sailing with wife Annie, sons Daniel, 21, and 19-year-old Andrew, and family friend Mark Batt, won the BJRC Brown Cup in what was their first-ever race.
The novice family left reigning champion Dave Onyons and as well as Derek Gardner and Ken Rolland in their wake as they guided Wild Cherry, a 30ft German-built Hanse 301, to victory by over a minute on corrected time.
What made their success even more remarkable was the fact that Bill and Annie had never before handled a spinnaker.
"We'd only bought the spinnaker and our genoa the week before and we had no time to even try them out," Woodhouse said.
The family, who live near Clacton, have been members of Harlow Blackwater for six years, but in the past have only sailed for pleasure, cruising around the East Coast rivers.
"We've never even raced dinghies before," added Woodhouse, who is thought to be the first member of HBSC to have won a BJRC event.
Malcolm Holland, who won the BJRC's previous day's Smith Cup, was also a surprise winner in that it was his first race for more than 20 years, having just rejoined Maldon Little Ship Club.
Published Wednesday, May 21, 2003
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