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2010 News
Sevenstar Round Britian & Ireland Race 2014
Written by Nick Elliot Thursday, 28 July 2011 16:28
The next edition of the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race will take place in 2014. Watch this space for dates and race information.
Selene Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Monday, 06 September 2010 15:48
6th September 15:13:05
Adrian Lower's Swan 44, Selene finishes the race in an elapsed time of 14 Days 1 Hour 13 Minutes and 5 Seconds
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Monday, 06 September 2010 14:42
The Cheeki Rafiki Crew,
from Left to right,
Gary Perry, Steve Hacking, Gareth Glover (Skipper), Martyn Gates, Ken Allison, Nick Denyer, John Rutherford, Bret Wiliams.
Crew member on GBR8407R Encore
Written by Crew member on GBR8407R Encore Tuesday, 31 August 2010 16:07
Jour 9 a bord d'Encore. Devinez !? On navigue Encore babord amure, et ca fait 1400 milles que ca dure. Les oscillations et les variations de vent nous ont fait faire beaucoup de changements de voiles d'avant: grand spi, spi de capelage, asymetrique, jib top, genois lourd et enfin le fameux genois 3 ... repare par le skipper. Presque toute la garde robe a pris l'air! On passe beaucoup de temps a peaufiner les reglages pour optimiser la vitesse, l'assiette et preserver le materiel avant le dernier virage et le dernier bord de pres de 700 milles.... Encore babord. Les francais d'Encore.
For the Record
Written by RORC Thursday, 30 September 2010 08:42
The WSSR Council announces the ratification of two new World Records, both established during the recent Round Britain and Ireland Race, organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club:
Record: Around Britain and Ireland. Monohull
Yacht: "Groupama 70" Volvo Open 70
Name: Franck Cammas FRA and a crew of 9
Dates: 23/08/2010 to 29/08/2010
Start time: 1300 UTC. 23/08/10
Finish time: 10;26;55 UTC. 29/08/10
Elapsed time: 5d 21h 26m 55s
Distance: 1787 NM
Average speed: 12.63 kts
Comments: Previous record: "Aviva". Dee Caffari GBR. Jun 09. 6d 11h 30m 53s
Record: Around Britain and Ireland. 40 ft Category
Yacht: "Concise 2" 39.8 ft Monohull
Name: Ned Collier-Wakefield GBR and a crew of 5
Dates: 23/08/2010 to 02/09/2010
Start time: 1300 UTC. 23/08/10
Finish time: 02;32;20 UTC 02/09/10
Elapsed time: 9d 13h 32m 20s
Distance: 1787 NM
Average speed: 7.78 kts
Comments: Previous record: "Roaring Forty" Michel Kleinjans BEL. June 04. 11d 12h 26m 48s
Signed: John Reed
Secretary to the WSSR Council
Winsome Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Monday, 06 September 2010 15:26
6th September 11:10:26
Harry Heijst's S&S 41, Winsome finishes the race in an elapsed time of 13 Days 21 Hours 10 Minutes and 26 Seconds.
Crew member on GBR9350T CV1 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
Written by Crew member on GBR9350T CV1 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital Friday, 03 September 2010 15:10
31st Aug ~ Day 9
It's a strange and wonderful thing that adults like playing games way past their childhood; flying kites, playing make believe, hide and seek, sardines, dressing up. All of these were evident on our watch yesterday. The spinnaker was the first to elicit oohs and ahs of childish wonder as we burled along with our kite flying full in the Irish breeze, perfect harmony between wind and sail, each teasing the other into playful submission.
By the time our watch came up on deck, however, the wind had almost died and we had to content ourselves with a lingering look at the Black Rock as we inched our way past it. Frustration turned to alarm at the start of the evening watch; not only had we failed to pass it, we were now drifting helplessly towards it as tide and wind (or the lack of it) were both against us. We tried offering a 20 cent piece to Neptune, but it sent him into a windless sulk. As the moon rose yellow behind the rock, silhouetting its black outline in a menacing glow, it was time for the imagination to run riot. Pirates lived there, even the Lorelei were waiting to lure us to certain doom. so we whistled down the wind, sang sweary songs to show our contempt of the enemy, squeezed like sardines onto the guard rail to adjust the balance of the boat and played hide and seek with the host of stars in the sky as they darted behind clouds and out again.
Well, something must have worked the wind slowly came to its senses and we cleared the rock, the pirates and the Lorelei to our delight and weary relief. All good fun, though it wouldn't make us go any faster. But then neither would the sight of and eminent Australian radiologist, helming our boat to within an inch of perfection and dressed, for reasons nobody quite understood, as a Smurf with dreadlocks
Today we mean serious business once again. The wind's up; there's a race to be run and it's not over yet.
Margot Rawson
2010 Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race Winners
Written by Nick Elliot Monday, 27 September 2010 14:21
IRC SZCK and IRC Overall - Artemis Ocean Racing sailed by Jonny Malbon
IRC Super Zero - Ambersail sailed by Simonas Steponavicius
IRC Zero - Tonnerre de Breskens 3 sailed by Piet Vroon
IRC One - Encore sailed by Steven Anderson
IRC Two - Winsome sailed by Harry Heijst
Volvo 70 - Groupama 70 sailed by Franck Cammas
Class40 Division - Concise 2 sailed by Ned Collier Wakefield
Beluga Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Monday, 06 September 2010 13:07
6th September 09:20:44
Floris Housz's Baltic 45, Beluga finishes the race in an elapsed time of 13 Days 19 Hours 20 Minutes and 44 Seconds.
Crew member on GBR8308T Playing Around Logic
Written by Crew member on GBR8308T Playing Around Logic Friday, 03 September 2010 16:53
Philippe's Final Blog From Visit Malta Puma
If I am quite honest I have to admit that as I enter the approaches to the English Channel on Visit Malta Puma for the very last time it is not with the blaze of glory that I had quite envisaged. I had imaged that we would be at the front of the pack, fending off tough competition from British Soldier in one last dog fight with our arch rivals, to the bitter end.
For six glorious years I have forged a partnership with Puma and been a part of a project, meticulously managed from the shore by Allie Smith, that has achieved something that I could only have dreamed of. It is fair to say that I do have exceptionally high standards and always strive for success, which to me has been measured by results.
Along the way I have learnt many valuable lessons, often the hard way, which has helped me build exceptional teams. In 2007 the standards that I set myself, and the team, were unachievable in the format I laid out. Back then I did not have the skills set to adapt and manage the expectations in a positive way and I possibly even lacked the maturity and inclination to want to.
The result was a break down in the team that went beyond the point of return and reconciliation, it was out of control and I could do nothing except watch what on paper should have been an incredible season dissolve into disaster. That year we won the St Malo race becoming the first British boat to beat Pen Azen offshore. The achievement meant nothing to most of the team and was an inconsequential measurement of the success of the campaign.
Lesson learnt; winning is not everything, the people involved are more important than anything. I nearly gave up racing at the end of that season and some of the team did!
Sometimes we put lessons learnt to the back of our mind and only use them subconsciously when going about our every day life. Occasionally when digging deep in difficult situations we have to look harder at the overall picture and use every tool we have in the box to succeed.
Two years ago we stormed into the English Channel at the end of the Madeira Race chasing Pen Azen hard. The last 700 miles of the race were covered in just under three days as Puma surfed down waves at break neck speeds of up to 20 knots swallowing up the miles. We overhauled the French boat and won that race in style. I think in my mind that is how I envisaged the climax of my last offshore race aboard Puma to be.
Instead, we have an upwind race to the end, where the last 400 miles to the finish will take three days! We have our own private battle going on with Cheeki Rafiki and are fighting hard all the way to ensure we do not finish at the bottom of the leader board.
As I am sure you are all aware, I am passionate about the sea, live for my racing and have revelled in the success story of Visit Malta Puma. I wanted a grand finale to the story and I will now openly admit that at times I have struggled to rationalise the situation. I dug deep whilst becoming overwhelmed with a feeling I was staring failure straight in the face. Whilst having a moment to myself to reflect I remembered that valuable lesson learnt in 2007, success is not only measured by silverware, far from it there is much more to it and this race is proving that.
2005 The story of Puma Logic began with what I refer to as the pioneering years. Brian joined the team and Puma more or less picked us. The Reflex 38 was an unknown on the racing circuit, Sailing Logic was a new concept and we had several novices on board for our first Fastnet campaign.
Somehow, and to this day I have no idea how, we won our class in the Rolex Fastnet race and finished the season by winning the Emily Verger Plate for toping the leader board in IRC1 of the RORC Championships. We made our intentions clearly know; we meant business.
2006 saw Puma going from strength to strength and the season culminated in a 2nd place in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race.
2008 provided me with the best month of my life as we took Puma half way across the Atlantic and back whilst competing in the Madeira Race which secured Puma her first overall victory in a RORC race
2009 became the glory year as Puma received the Royal Ocean Racing Clubs highest accolade being named as their 'Yacht of the Year' and a place in offshore racing's hall of fame.
2010 is the year we consolidated that award by taking first blood in the Cervantes Cup, winning the Round Ireland Race and leading the RORC championship in IRC for most of the season. Brian is still with the team and has only ever missed three offshore races on Puma over the past six year!
For me the perfect end to an amazing six years would be to take home the Emily Verger Plate for a second time. It would be dedicated to all those who had been involved and instrumental to the success. Seeing that prospect slip away made me feel like I was letting everyone down and I began to remember the old adage, you are only as good as your last race and I became worried that Puma would be remembered by this result. I also felt I was letting everyone down on board who had committed so much to compete in this race with a trust in me and Puma's reputation.
I suddenly realised, after being prompted by Becki in an e-mail, that the way we are finishing this race is in fact a much more fitting and exceptional ending to the story. Below is what I wrote in an e mail to my mother last night and I think it says everything I need to say
'This is not quite the blaze of glory that I envisaged for our finale but I have come to appreciate that in fact this is a far more fitting end to an era. This race epitomises every value that I stand for and the strength of character that I have cajoled out of everyone who sails with me. The determination that is being shown on puma for this race is as a result of everything I have learnt and imparted on others over the past few years. This race is not about the silverware, this is about something far more special and fitting for the final chapter of a very special partnership.
2007 is the year you may have noticed I left out from Puma's history with me detailed above. Well that is the year I learnt my most valuable lesson; it is not just about winning, it is about the team and the people involved. It is that lesson that has helped me through this race.
We have climbed mountains together, broken down many barriers, earned immense respect and left people in awe of what has been achieved on the water. Above all else we have inspired many people and given so much to so many over six glorious years.
I therefore conclude that indeed Puma will be remembered for this race as I feared; however, she will be remembered for something far more unique and special than winning, with a place in our hearts that no trophy can buy.
Fear not though, Puma is remaining in our thoroughbred stable, it is just time for me to move on to pastures new with new challenges at Sailing Logic; watch this space.
For me now, I am going to leave you with those random thoughts of mine and go and enjoy my last day and night offshore with Puma for one last dance. I for one am going to miss her and intend to savour every last minute with the boat that has kept us all safe through thick and thin.
As for the Emily Verger Plate, well that is now in the hands of our friends on Encore and team mates on Playing Round Logic; but you know what, for the first time ever, that really does not matter to me anymore.
End of an epic
Written by Louay Habib Tuesday, 07 September 2010 11:19
The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race proved to be one of the most thrilling record-breaking races in years. There was drama, even before the start of this challenging race.
A potentially boat breaking low depression was predicted to hit the west coast of Ireland at precisely the moment when the majority of the fleet would be there and caught out with nowhere to run. To avoid the extreme weather the Royal Ocean Racing Club took the decision to reverse the course and race anti-clockwise around Britain and Ireland. The race is 1802 miles long and highly tactical with frequent changes to the weather and sea state. Racing around Britain and Ireland is a real challenge. At one time or another all of the competing yachts experienced some testing conditions and it would be over two weeks before some of the competitors would complete the course.
The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race exploded into action on the 23rd August, under grey leaden skies and big breeze.
ICAP Leopard and Telefónica Azul were a hair-raising sight as RORC Chief Executive Eddie Warden Owen reported from the racecourse:
"It was a magnificent start, 25 knots from the southwest with gusts of up to 30 knots coming out of the Medina River. Telefónica was an impressive sight, built to race at full tilt around the world, she carried her enormous spinnaker to blast past Leopard at over 25 knots. It was a really impressive sight to see these huge machines charging down the Solent leaving the rest of the 27-strong fleet in their wake."
Volvo Open 70, Groupama, were 15 minutes late to start having been damaged on their mooring. The French team made a hasty repair and although Groupama started last, it wasn't long before they were screaming through the fleet, chasing ICAP Leopard and Telefónica Azul. However, Mike Slade's record attempt was short lived. Sadly, only hours after the start, ICAP Leopard was forced to retire with a broken boom gooseneck.
Telefónica Azul was scorching along at a blistering speed. After the first 24 hours of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race the Spanish yacht had covered an astonishing 440 miles. Hurtling along behind them was Groupama, pushing hard.
Groupama were stalking their prey, waiting for any opportunity and it came by way of a rigging problem on Telefónica Azul. Groupama stormed into the lead and didn't put a foot wrong the whole race. Telefónica Azul got very close to catching their rivals but never managed to get passed them. Groupama crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron Line in under six days: smashing the course record by over 14 hours.
Cheeki Rafiki Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Monday, 06 September 2010 05:58
6th September 06:14:40
Storm Force Coaching's First 40.7, Cheeki Rafiki finshes the race with an elapsed time of 13 Days 16 Hours 14 Minutes and 40 Seconds.
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Saturday, 04 September 2010 06:19
Red watch were now back up top and it was time for Blue watch to reluctantly hand over, feeling the storm itself had more to offer. It's wierd to be so damp and cold and yet so enthralled and excited that you simply want more!
Down in the bunks, sleep was impossible as Steve, Nick, John and Martin could be heard upstairs wrestling the storm.
Steve was on the helm as the fully reefed, bare headed boat lurched shuddered and surfed through the chaos that had become this beautiful edge of the Atlantic ocean.
The bang once again shook all of us apart from the pros. Gareth in the bunk next to me mused '..kickers gone again..', a few minutes later the snoozing skipper noted in the voice he reserves for teaching, 'that rushing water noise under the boat means we're going really quick'!. I observed 'your mate Steve's got balls;. He thought this was really funny.
While he's admiring the speed of the boat and making mental notes of breakages and lost profit, and having a few good long sleepy scratches, I'm in the next bunk trying to stop thinking of the 1979 fastnet disaster!
Can I be bothered going for a slash, if in a minute the boat's going to go tits up?, was one of the other bizarre dilemmas I was wrestling with!
A few more bangs and thuds (not to mention the dent into the now long spent profit,) later and the call for Gareth came from above.
From the adjacent bunk I burst out laughing as he muttered,
'suppose a've got to urn ma muney somehow!'. My impending visit to the toilet continued to dominate my efforts to sleep.
The rest of blue watch dozed, me on the blog, Gary watching films on his 'it's not an IPOD' IPOD thing, and Bret dreaming of his Australian red dirt, or whatever the Aussie dream of.
Sleepless Steve was continuing to wrestle the storm from the helm whilst trying to remember why he and his boat were here at all! He could have been doing a nice easy charter in the solent with corporate types who'd want to get back to their hotels, giving Steve a chance to spend time with his family who he clearly loves dearly. Instead here he was, on what his mate mad Gareth had described in the marketing as one of the ultimate racing challenges.
As another wave landed on Steves head he nodded to John to take over the Helm, with Nick watching the main. Martin was trying to remember how far he could stretch the definition of fun.
Gareth and Steve had a ponder over which broken bits needed fixing now and out came the box of spares. Gareth disappeared up onto the coach roof and somehow managed to replace the shattered kicker blog yet again. The main calmed down bit.
My alarm went at 525, time to wake up blue watch ready for our 0600 till 1200 stint. Looking out of the warm wet lurching cabin at the guys above it was clear the bikini would not be enough today.
Gary, Bret and I bounced off each other around the saloon as we wrestled to dress in anything we could find that resembled a waterproof or armour plating.
A glance at the Chart on the GPS showed we should pass Sula Skeir on our shift. It's a great feeling to know the next leg of the ride is about to be over. and we'd be on the way to St kilda and then the long leg to Black rock and Ireland.
Oh, what a night ( I love that song from the 60's). Our mates on red shift had seen wind speeds consistently above 40 knots on the bow and beam. This had been the toughest watch so far and they (Steve, Nick, John and Martin) did us proud..
Now for the day. This was fantastic with the wind in the 30+knots through till around 1100hrs and seas like mountains with two separate wave patterns occasionally coming together to form massive peaks.
Gary and Steve did a brilliant job fixing the nr 3 sail again. This needlectaft workshop was becoming a routine feature of our daylight shifts whenever the boat calmed down enough to avoid stitching each other to the sails.
We passed Sula Skeir on our port(honest), a small threatening island that was soon gone as we now focussed on the leg to St Kilda.
With the wind in the high 20's - low 30's and the sea easing we handed over to Red Watch for their 1200 to 1800 shift.
As I handed over to Nick we discussed where we had each left our comfort zones behind! I thing the toilet at the Anchor in Cowes is full of dumped comfort zones!
Ken Allison,
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Visit Malta Puma Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Sunday, 05 September 2010 20:07
5th September 19:34:25
Sailing Logic's Reflex 38, Visit Malta Puma skippered by Philippe Falle finished in an elapsed time of 13 Days 16 Hours 34 Minutes and 25 Seconds.
A Game of Two Halves
Written by Louay Habib Friday, 03 September 2010 14:31
Race Update: Friday 3 September 2010
It has been over 24 hours since any yacht competing in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race finished. However a goal rush is expected for the second half, with three boats expected in the early hours of tomorrow morning and the majority accounted for by Sunday.
There are still 12 yachts racing in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race but Keith Gibbs' C&C 115, Change of Course, pulled into Dingle on the west coast of
Crew member on RSA23 Phesheya-Racing
Written by Crew member on RSA23 Phesheya-Racing Friday, 03 September 2010 08:56
Phesheya-Racing - The beat goes on.
Aboard Phesheya-Racing today has been much like yesterday - tack, tack, reef mainsail, tack, shake out reef, tack, tack. All a bit tedious. Anyway, as far as we can make out congratulations seem to be in order for Concise 2 who have sailed a great Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race and who appear to have beaten us and the course record quite squarely. Well done. At the moment we have no chance of beating our own elapased time from the Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Race and only a very slim chance at the old, pre-Concise 2, record. We are close to the old record speed at the moment
but the weather forecast does not look at all favourable or a fast finish from our pesent position.
Highlight of the day today has been getting a fish trap wrapped around the
keel as we passed the Isles of Scilly. This brought us to a grinding halt a we called all hands on deck to use the boat hook and a knife to free ourselves. The trap was marked with the letters F.Y. It somehow seemed appropriate at the time...
Other comments from onboard today: "Heavy boats like Hull & Humber and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital should be banned from the course as they are leaving potholes everywhere!" This as Phesheya-Racing flies off the top of yet another wave and crashes into the trough behind it.
At the last position report it seemed that Edinburgh Inspiring Capital is actually still behind us,so we shouldn't be too judgemental. Hull & Humber should be quite close by, though we can't see them on the AIS. Visibility
is probably not much better than 4 or 5 miles at the moment and even the Isles of Scilly are difficult to spot from quite close by.
John B is also still ahead of us and providing us with another target to aim for.
Meanwhile we continue to bash our way upwind with no respite in sight. Another 200-odd miles to go. Land's End by this evening...
Alicia Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Sunday, 05 September 2010 16:48
5th September 16:10:58
Jonas Sandberg's First 50, Alicia finishes the race in an elapsed time of 13 Days 2 Hours 10 Minutes and 58 Seconds
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Saturday, 04 September 2010 07:32
The previous blog talked about '......the north west coast of Shetland.....' what was meant was '....the north east coast of Shetland....., and no we didn't go the wrong way around..honest.
Leaving the tree-less, rugged, yet fertile landscape of Shetland for the northern atlantic feels to some of us a real adventure, as if into uncharted waters.
We are on our way to something called Sula Sgeir. It's now 80 miles (10 -12hrs) away, in the middle of nowhere between the Faroes, Scotland and Lewis. With a name that resembles 'scary' this sounds like a mark to treat with respect.
The mood on the boat is really good. This may have something to do with the rapid disappearance of any form of decorum as personal hygiene goes the way of the new year resolution. Or perhaps the emerging beards creating the appearance of a boat full of rather unsavoury Santa's, or a band of exiled trolls who recently stumbled drunkenly through a market flogging Henri Lloyd and Musto seconds .
Really sad news, our two favourite lettuce have had to 'leave the building'. Following a split vote these two extremely limp and some would say 'past their prime' examples were taken off the menu. Resembling a scene from 'castaway' the affectionately named 'leticia and lolita(she's the more attractive one according to Nick)' were last seem bobbing seductively towards an irish trawler anticipating better treatment.
As the wind has reduced through the day we have changed from the nr3 to the medium heavy number 1 and latterly at 1700hrs to the light number 1. This latest change took 12minutes, a standard set by red watch who have laid down the gauntlet. It seems the competitIon is no longer only with the other boats.
The exploding kicker (or vang to some) has been fixed. This literally went with a bang on day one when we put in an over energetic Jibe. Good fun but careless of us and bloody dangerous. Being up on the fore deck this was one of those 'underwear changing' moments in life.
Expletives from Steve (co-owner) and Gareth (skipper) in the cockpit revealed some concern that it could be expensive both in terms of cash and speed.
A semi-fix was sorted immediately. Today, Gareth produced one of several margarine tubs full of bits including a replacement pulley block and improved the fix without us interrupting our race.
The kicker 'by the way' is the combined shock absorber and pulley that runs from the base of the mast diagonally to the base of the boom. This helps steady the head sail and boom.,
That's it till tomorrow at 3am when we'll be off our 1000 till 0200hrs shift,
Ken Allison,
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Artemis Ocean Racing claim overall victory
Written by Louay Habib Thursday, 02 September 2010 10:08
This morning, RORC Racing Manager, Ian Loffhagen announced;
"Whilst there are still yachts racing in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. The unusual easterly winds are hampering their progress to the finish.
There is no real possibility of a competing yacht eclipsing the corrected time set by Artemis Ocean Racing. Therefore, Artemis Ocean Racing, can claim victory in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race overall under IRC, as well as the course record for an IMOCA 60.
Congratulations to Jonny Malbon and his crew on Artemis Ocean Racing."
Edinburgh Inspiring Capital Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Sunday, 05 September 2010 16:16
4th September 19:02:09
Clipper Ventures Clipper 68, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital finished the race in an elapsed time of 12 Days 5 Hours 2 Minutes and 9 Seconds.
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Saturday, 04 September 2010 07:32
From 1800 till 2200 red watch with Steve, Nick, John and Martin handled some interesting tactical decisions around sail changes and courses to steer with the wind repeatedly changing in speed and direction.
A brief but excited exchange between fishermen over the vhf suggests leticia and lolita our castaway limp lettuce may have found their new home.
We (blue watch) took over from 2200 - 0200 hrs. First joining the discussion about moving down from the M/H to the light nr 1. Twice the decision was postponed, then the wind started to build and build. First we went to the nr3, then a 1st reef and the wind was gusting 25- 30 knots.
The next bit is for me, best described as an amazing learning experience as our Skipper Gareth calmly took us through to the point where we were cruising through 40mile winds, two reefs in the main, waves coming from nowhere in the dark.
First Bret. then Gareth. then me on the helm beating up, the wind gusting higher and higher with a manic sea rushing at us. I would never have believed a boat could be sailed through such chaos in the calm way these professionals go about their business. This was a force 8 so what is a force 10 like?!
When enough was enough, Gareth calmly asked me, on the helm, with Gary on the main, to keep the boat flat as he and Steve went to the bow to drop the head sail. This trust astounded me. Then they were gone into the black night and gushing water that shrouded the bow, me feeling a huge responsibility as our most experienced sailors danced with fate. Soon they were back in the cockpit chatting tactics. Me, not sure if the wet legs were seawater or my own relief!
As we now surged along with only the double reefed main driving the boat, the yacht handled totally differently, lurching in an unfamiliar way. Fatigue sets in fast on the helm in these situations and after an involuntary tack sleepless steve took over and red watch started the toughest shift so far.
Ken Allison This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Short and Sweet
Written by Louay Habib Thursday, 02 September 2010 08:39
Morning Report - Thursday 2nd September
Concise 2 wins the Class 40 Division & claims the Round Britain and Ireland record for yachts of up to 40ft.
Last night at 03:32:20 BST, Tony Lawson's Class 40, Concise 2 skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield, crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron line to finish the Sevenstar Round Britain and
Playing Around Logic Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Sunday, 05 September 2010 15:51
5th September 13:00:00
At 12:59:28 Peter Robson's First 40.7 Playing Around Logic finished the race in an elapsed time of 12 Days 22 Hours 59 Minutes and 28 Seconds.
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Saturday, 04 September 2010 07:36
Red watch came on 1800 - 2200hrs
The race now feels more intense with the arrival and overtaking by Puma Logic. A brief rumour that we had been lapped was physically quashed at source. and we are trying to hold our position. A rather unlikely outcome given their recent performance relative to ours.
Blue watch returned 2200- 0200hrs
We now approach Bishops Rock and the separation zones to the west and the south.
We choose to avoid the separation zones given the poor visibility tonight. This together with some over cautious navigation by yours truly probably cost us significant time.
We approach the gap between Bishops rock and the southern separation zone on a bearing of 100deg. This will likely serve us through to the lizard on starboard tack.
Red watch returned 0200- 0600hrs
The sail change is made at 0230hrs with the nr 1 medium heavy replacing the nr 3.
A lookout is kept to spot the Bishops rock in the misty night. We pass Bishops Rock, and on to the Lizard
Ken Allison, Blue Watch Leader, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Another Race Record on the Cards
Written by Louay Habib Wednesday, 01 September 2010 16:13
Afternoon Report - Wednesday 1st September
At 1600 BST, Tony Lawson's Class 40 Concise, skippered by Ned Collier Wakefield was 62 miles from the finish of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. For Concise, the wind was still on the nose as it has been for much of the race, but an increase in wind speed to 17 knots means it will be a bumpy last few hours for the team, but spirits are high for an earlier finish time.
The First IRC Class One Boats Finish
Written by Nick Elliot Sunday, 05 September 2010 06:38
5th September 06:45:00
British Soldier, the Army Sailing Asssociation's A 40 finished at 04:19:44 an elapsed time of 12 Days 14 Hours 19 Minutes and 44 Seconds.
Encore, Steven Anderson's First 40.7 followed closely behind at 06:39:12 an elapsed time of 12 Days 16 Hours 39 Minutes and 12 Seconds.
Both boats enjoyed hoisting their kites for the sail up the Solent after five days of solid upwind work.
Encore leads IRC Class 1 on corrected time.
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Saturday, 04 September 2010 07:52
Red watch were now back up top and it was time for Blue watch to reluctantly hand over, feeling the storm itself had more to offer. It's wierd to be so damp and cold and yet so enthralled and excited that you simply want more!
Down in the bunks, sleep was impossible as Steve, Nick, John and Martin could be heard upstairs wrestling the storm.
Steve was on the helm as the fully reefed, bare headed boat lurched shuddered and surfed through the chaos that had become this beautiful edge of the Atlantic ocean.
The bang once again shook all of us apart from the pros. Gareth in the bunk next to me mused '..kickers gone again..', a few minutes later the snoozing skipper noted in the voice he reserves for teaching, 'that rushing water noise under the boat means we're going really quick'!. I observed 'your mate Steve's got balls;. He thought this was really funny.
While he's admiring the speed of the boat and making mental notes of breakages and lost profit, and having a few good long sleepy scratches, I'm in the next bunk trying to stop thinking of the 1979 fastnet disaster!
Can I be bothered going for a slash, if in a minute the boat's going to go tits up?, was one of the other bizarre dilemmas I was wrestling with!
A few more bangs and thuds (not to mention the dent into the now long spent profit,) later and the call for Gareth came from above.
From the adjacent bunk I burst out laughing as he muttered,
'suppose a've got to urn ma muney somehow!'. My impending visit to the toilet continued to dominate my efforts to sleep.
The rest of blue watch dozed, me on the blog, Gary watching films on his 'it's not an IPOD' IPOD thing, and Bret dreaming of his Australian red dirt, or whatever the Aussie dream of.
Sleepless Steve was continuing to wrestle the storm from the helm whilst trying to remember why he and his boat were here at all! He could have been doing a nice easy charter in the solent with corporate types who'd want to get back to their hotels, giving Steve a chance to spend time with his family who he clearly loves dearly. Instead here he was, on what his mate mad Gareth had described in the marketing as one of the ultimate racing challenges.
As another wave landed on Steves head he nodded to John to take over the Helm, with Nick watching the main. Martin was trying to remember how far he could stretch the definition of fun.
Gareth and Steve had a ponder over which broken bits needed fixing now and out came the box of spares. Gareth disappeared up onto the coach roof and somehow managed to replace the shattered kicker blog yet again. The main calmed down bit.
My alarm went at 525, time to wake up blue watch ready for our 0600 till 1200 stint. Looking out of the warm wet lurching cabin at the guys above it was clear the bikini would not be enough today.
Gary, Bret and I bounced off each other around the saloon as we wrestled to dress in anything we could find that resembled a waterproof or armour plating.
A glance at the Chart on the GPS showed we should pass Sula Skeir on our shift. It's a great feeling to know the next leg of the ride is about to be over. and we'd be on the way to St kilda and then the long leg to Black rock and Ireland.
Oh, what a night ( I love that song from the 60's). Our mates on red shift had seen wind speeds consistently above 40 knots on the bow and beam. This had been the toughest watch so far and they (Steve, Nick, John and Martin) did us proud..
Now for the day. This was fantastic with the wind in the 30+knots through till around 1100hrs and seas like mountains with two separate wave patterns occasionally coming together to form massive peaks.
Gary and Steve did a brilliant job fixing the nr 3 sail again. This needlectaft workshop was becoming a routine feature of our daylight shifts whenever the boat calmed down enough to avoid stitching each other to the sails.
We passed Sula Skeir on our port(honest), a small threatening island that was soon gone as we now focussed on the leg to St Kilda.
With the wind in the high 20's - low 30's and the sea easing we handed over to Red Watch for their 1200 to 1800 shift.
As I handed over to Nick we discussed where we had each left our comfort zones behind! I thing the toilet at the Anchor in Cowes is full of dumped comfort zones!
Ken Allison,
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Tonnerre run out of gas
Written by Louay Habib Wednesday, 01 September 2010 10:58
Morning Report - Wednesday 1st September
At just before 2 a.m. this morning, The British Keelboat Academy's TP52, John Merricks II crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron Line to finish the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. The 14 young crew on board should have taken a bow, but instead they were organising packing up the boat and plan to be back competing in the RORC offshore race to Cherbourg on Friday. Completing this tough and challenging yacht race in a boat that was not constructed for that purpose is some achievement and the John Merricks II crew should be highly regarded for their impeccable boat handling.
Hull and Humber Finishes
Written by Nick Elliot Saturday, 04 September 2010 12:45
4th September 10:08:19
Clipper Ventures Clipper 68, Hull and Humber finishes in an elapsed time of 11 Days 20 Hours 8 Minutes and 19 Seconds.
Crew member on GBR9357T CV8 Hull & Humber
Written by Crew member on GBR9357T CV8 Hull & Humber Friday, 03 September 2010 13:05
Half way across the Celtic Sea and the thoughts are starting to turn to the first beer when we get in and a warm shower. While I think wed all like to be in soon, we all want to savour the last few days on board.
Weve got beautiful sailing conditions today; not a cloud in the sky and dolphins accompanying us from time to time.
Its been an incredible race; seeing parts of the UK and Ireland from the sea, a vantage point that people are rarely privileged to gain. I think of Muckle Flugga at the top of Shetland with its white light house and bird colonies and St Kildas black cliffs against the stark moon as we rushed headlong south.
However I dont want to reminisce too much, there still a lot of sailing to do and a lot of laughs to be had aboard the big orange boat. I certainly dont want to wish it over until were good and ready and seen a few more sights.
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