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2010 Blogs
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Thursday, 26 August 2010 23:40
Blue shift were off from 0600 till 1200.
Around 1000, Nick from Red shift was heard on the HF seeking weather advice. The only response came from a bored sounding brummy from 'W100' presumably a rig. He didn't have a forecast but was kind enough to look out of his window and tell us how it was. He described exactly what we could see. W100 was clearly the huge monster of a structure on the horizon.
We were now some 60 miles east of our rumb line. This is the line from our way point off the Norfolk coast to our way point off the NE tip of Shetland. we had chosen to sail 'best to wind' on a port tack accepting we would gradually head east of this line. The gamble was when to make the required tack to the west. If the wind came round to the west or south it would bring us back on course, but most likely the tack would be needed eventually on the 500 mile leg.
At 1630 following numerous short discussions, weighing the odds, interspersed with humour, food, and general trimming stuff Gareth decided it was time, so we tacked. 60 miles to the rhum line meant the next strategic decision (wind and tides permitting) would be at least 10 hours away, and more likely 15 hours as we would need to over shoot to make Shetland on one further tack.
This tack to the west brought us between huge oil rigs, looking like something out of a science fiction nightmare.
Then came the squall with the wind picking up instantly, out smarting me on the helm, spinning the boat to port until it eased and we settled back our routine of beating as close to wind as possible whilst keeping up the boat speed. Bret was by me on the main sharing hints and tips gained from his racing experience in Australia.
Sleepless Steve once again did a marvellous job, producing hot pies at the start of the shift and cheese sandwiches at the end. Gareth slipped in a pot noodle in the middle.
Gary did more helming, and is clearly overcoming his phobia of the wheel. He is a great guy, full of jokes and really keen on the sailing. He has his own J boat on the Solent, which he clearly loves .
After lots of 'crac' the end of this shift seemed to come quickly with the arrival of the dolphins, at least four including a baby and a big male. Hopefully the photos will be good.
'The Orkneys are north of Shetland', I insisted to a bemused disbelieving Gary. He was right and I realised how tired I am. I expect we are all the same and there's another Week to go!
Going well so far, this bizarre life at 45 degrees. Wonder where the other boats are?
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2
Written by Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2 Thursday, 26 August 2010 20:20
2120
In honour of the landmark: Muckle Flugga
Men
Usually
Can't
Kiss
Ladies'
Ears
Females
Love
Ultra
Generous
Gents
Always
Many
Unicorns
Can
Kill
Large
Elephants
Funny
Leprecorns
Understand
Gay
Giraffe's
Anatomy
More
Upwind
Could
Kill
Life's
Emotions
F**king
Long
Upwind
Gives
Gall
Aches
Crew member on GBR8407R Encore
Written by Crew member on GBR8407R Encore Thursday, 26 August 2010 19:02
Encore Blog Thuirsday 25 August #3 or #1 has been the question for most of the last 24hrs but the breeze keeps holding. Can't be too bad, crew and boat still dry and everyone content going upwind as the conditions moderate and we look for more speed. Full marks to our watermaker and Jim McDonald at Mactra. We now feel we can rely on it and there is taslk of showers if we ever get the kite up! Roll on Muckle Flugga. Currently closer to Norway than Scotland and passing an astonishing number of rigs. There is a whole offshore city out here. Dolphins came to play this afternoon. Our identification skills dont tell us if they are really dolphins of porpoises or pilot whales. No matter great to have visitors playing in the bow wave. Fingers crossed that the weather follows the forecast in the next few hours and our routing works out.
Crew member on ESP1 Telefónica Azul
Written by Crew member on ESP1 Telefónica Azul Thursday, 26 August 2010 15:35
Neal McDonald for The Independent. 26th August 2010. Received at 14:57 GMT
Sorry about the delay in any reports - it has been a rather full on three days. This is really the first time I've been dry enough to use the computer!
Day three and we have already had just about every wind speed from every direction and more incredibly completed over half the race. Everyone on Telefónica Blue is exhausted and a little sore. We have had some incredible sailing although as I write this we are almost stationary in the water.
Groupama has had the better of us latterly and is some 20 miles ahead -but there is plenty of time left for things to change. The high point so far for me was leaving the Solent in a mass of spray planning like a dinghy at speeds of between 20 and 30 knots- just great sailing - all the more enjoyable as we lead the fleet not just out the Solent but basically all the way to the south of Scotland.
The low point was having a fitting break at the top of Scotland that prevented us using our heavy weather jib for 10 hours. This allowed Groupama to get from 20 miles behind to 30 miles in front - heart breaking from a racing point of view but the sort of price you pay in these type of racing boats when things break. When the failure occurred it was pitch black (as it always is when things go wrong!) and blowing 35 knots in a horrific seaway.
To get the sail down we had to go down hill for 20 minutes (rapidly giving away hard earned windward miles) with all hands on deck wrestling the thing down below. It then took about an hour to sort out the mess and get the rather under powered storm jib up and back on our way again. Very disappointing but we are still fighting hard to get back at them. First light this morning we saw them for the first time since Dover but they since crept out of sight again. For us it is really a two horse race as we are in a division of our own so I have not even heard how the other boats are going but I can only imagine they are having the same hard slog as us!
The water is flat and I'm almost dry so I'm going to see if I can get some sleep - although I guess I'll be awoken shortly for another sail change!
Neal McDonald
Watch Leader
Telefónica Blue
Crew member on GBR100 Artemis Ocean Racing
Written by Crew member on GBR100 Artemis Ocean Racing Thursday, 26 August 2010 13:23
Well I have to say that things have improved in some respects this morning. We have a flat sea, and even sun, so things are a lot better on deck. We rounded Muckle Flugga just before dark last night in 25 knots and a very lumpy sea. The tide had turned on the headland just before our arrival, and so we stood on a little to make sure that we laid the rocks. It's not so much fun short tacking the 60, especially in breeze. After the tack we got the boat organised and sailed little off the wind for a while, before coming up hard for the expected shift. Seems to have worked and the weather is playing the game, according to the forecast for the moment.
We have about 9 knots from the NW right now which is better than we had hoped, and so we are making good progress towards the next mark, Sula Sgeir.The boat seems to be going really nicely at the moment - she is very different from when I took her on the Vendee in 2008/9. There have been some big improvements across the whole boat, but the slim fast plan has been especially good, with well over 1.5 tonnes removed. She certainly feels a lot more manageable. The sail wardrobe has changed a lot - less sails makes the decision process far simpler. She is such a powerful boat, and when the conditions suit her she goes and goes. The blast out of the Solent was great and we had some epic blast reaching in the Channel, just what she was designed for.
She is still a handful for sure, and to get the most out of her you have push very hard - but the boys have done a lot of miles optimising her now, and they know when to back off as well. It's great to be back on board, and great to be sailing with the boys again. I think the last time we sailed together was for Petit Navire regatta in France last year. Most of the sailing I have done in the last 18 months has been solo, so it has been a real luxury for me so far on this trip. I have had my head in the nav for most of the trip, and been getting a lot more sleep than normal!! In fact this time last week, I was still sailing in the last leg of the Solitaire du Figaro - so this Thursday couldn't be more different! I think I have had more sleep on this race so far, than the entire month long Solitaire!! Nice!
The only problem we have on board right now, is with the watermaker. My old friend the watermaker..... On the Vendée I had similar problems and at one stage, SW of Cape Town, I had only 3 litres of drinking water left!! Less than ideal. Luckily I managed to get it working again, so I hope we can manage to do the same today!! I'll keep you posted.
Ok that's all for now, we were sorry to hear about the retirements, and hope every one has made it back to port safely.
Cheers, Jonny and the boys on Artemis Ocean Racing
Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2
Written by Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2 Thursday, 26 August 2010 11:59
1230
We are still beating upwind, the kit bags are getting lighter as we wear layer upon layer of clothes, and the Muckle Flugga lighthouse still seems so far away. So while we wait for the Jetboil to heat some sea water to soak our food in for lunch, we have started thinking where we'd rather be right now:
Tom D - Around Muckle Flugga, heading home at 150 TWA.
Ned - Pigeon Beach, Antigua, with a cocktails and some decent food
Dan - Cuddled up in bed with 3 1/2 week old baby and missus, cup of tea in hand
Tristan - Sailing the Caribbean 600 race and then getting steaming drunk in the Mad Mongoose (after an espresso martini first, of course)
Jess - At anchor off Rottnest Island, Western Australia. A book and a glass of red.
Tom G - In bed with the missus
Crew member on GBR7383R Visit Malta Puma
Written by Crew member on GBR7383R Visit Malta Puma Thursday, 26 August 2010 11:33
Day 4 - 11.00hrs
Greetings from Puma
It really is a " Beautiful Day" (courtesy of the Levellers!). Sunshine, 11 kn of wind,
8 kn boat speed and on course.
Cannot believe that I am out in the North Sea taking part in the RBI again!! After the 2006 race I promised myself that it would be the first and last time, it was a war of attrition - wind against all the way round, explain that! We sailed in a circle
(clockwise), wind on the nose all the way up, turned right at the top to come back down and the wind turned 4hrs later, a beat all the way down. To add insult to injury when we turned right at Dover the wind turned with us! So never again!
Things looked a bit different, when in Wicklow, having won our class in the Round Ireland and having it must be said a few glasses of the hard stuff, it seemed to be a perfectly plausible proposition. So here we are!
Without being too philosophical (those who know me will confirm that this is not one of my more recognizable traits), offshore racing has more than its fair share of ups and downs, which means that those who partake are either masochists or optimists - I tend to put myself in the latter category.
Tuesday was a very good example - 27hrs into the race, leading our class, strong wind, fantastic experience, life does not get much better. Sudden squall, 60kn wind and driving rain, 15mins of absolute organised chaos during we got the head sail and the main down on deck without damage (except for a broken jib halyard) and just as importantly with everyone still intact and on board! Look around thank the heavens and Philippe and hoist everything back up again - keep racing, memo to self, must remember to take the blood pressure pills.
Then the bad news, alternator problems, keep racing while they try to locate and resolve problem, 2 hrs later turn back towards Great Yarmouth. Difficult to describe how bad one feels going from first to last, adrenaline stops, retrace all the hard fought miles, feel very tired, the boats quiet, none of us actually think that there is any chance of repairing the alternator and restarting the race. We discuss the options of returning to Shamrock or sailing round Scotland and England, not much enthusiasm for either.
Arrive Gt Yarmouth, more alongside Incisor who suffered a broken boom in the same squall, apparently 2 crash jibes did the damage - eureka! the alternator starts working, don't know why, don't care why. Now the difficult bit, do we go out again knowing that by the time we reached the turn back point we will have lost 20 hrs on the leaders, or do we call it a day.
Easy decision for me - 3yrs ago during the 2007 Fasnet we had to divert to Salcombe to put Tom, complete with a broken leg, ashore. We decided not to go back out - a decision I have regretted being part of many times since. This time a short discussion was all that was needed, we go back out!
So here we again taking part in the RBI race, and believe me we are racing. Do we believe that we can catch up? Probably not, but there are still hundreds of miles to cover, plenty of time for fortune to smile. Not to wish ill on anyone but what happened to Incisor and ourselves can happen to anyone. We just have to make sure that we are there to take advantage - did I mention that I am an optimist!
So life is good!
Finally can I say a quick hello to family Maire, Anna and Oscar (all in Shanghai), David in Singapore and Siobhan in Penge and a big thank you to all those who have sent messages of support, they are much appreciated, keep them coming.
Brian
Crew member on RSA23 Phesheya-Racing
Written by Crew member on RSA23 Phesheya-Racing Thursday, 26 August 2010 11:22
Phesheya-Racing, in the North Sea
Another 24 hours of bashing upwind aboard Phesheya-Racing! According to yesterday's theory that implies that we should soon be owed some great downwind conditions. The Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race organisers have informed us that our tracker has failed and several attempts to reset it have not borne fruit. It is rather frustrating, but we will try to keep information flowing through our website. Progress has been really slow recently and Concise 2 has managed to get well ahead of us. Nonetheless we are still ahead of the record pace for a 40 footer and there is a long way to go yet! Early days. At the moment we are at the latitude of the north coast of Scotland.
These past 24 hours have been busy as we threaded our way through the oil and gas fields of the North Sea. At sunset a large tanker, the Stena Natalia, obligingly altered course to allow us to maintain our route but we were soon forced to tack due to a mass of oil rigs, support tenders, rescue vessels and supply ships dead ahead of us. As soon as we were clear of them we tacked back onto our proper course.
The night was lit up by what appeared to be a mass of Christmas trees as we worked our way around the rigs.
Midnight brought a large pod of dolphins. Judging by their behaviour they seemed to be Common Dolphins, but at sunrise we saw another sort that we were unable to identify. Bigger and heavier than the Common Dolphins, and with no obvious beak, they had dark backs and light undersides. A bit like pilot whales in shape but they were happy to play in the bow wave for a while. Any ideas?
In the early hours we were hit by a rain squall again. Nowhere near as intense as the one of the previous day but it still brought shifty, gusty winds for a while.
This morning we have been forced to tack four times already due to oilrigs.
At 10H00 we finally got to hoist the full mainsail and an hour later we changed to the solent jib. We are now under full sails for the first time on this race!
Small rain squalls cross our path from time to time, keeping things lively, and as I write another one is bearing down on us. Will we have to shorten sail again?
Crew member on GBR8308T Playing Around Logic
Written by Crew member on GBR8308T Playing Around Logic Thursday, 26 August 2010 09:56
A night of 2 halves.
As the sun set, the wind dropped to 5kts, with 90degree wind shifts! Veryintense trimming and helming, rotating every 30min to stay fresh. Still wekept moving, occasionally down to just 2kts, sometimes up to 6.
Later in the night, the wind steadied to 12kts, and speed increased as weattempted every trick we knew to extract the best speed/height from playingaround. A lovely dawn and sunrise over Banff oilfield as we passed oil ships(is that what they're called?) pulling out of the ground whatever they canfor the latest 4x4s.
Now we're steaming along at 7kts heading towards Bergen. We're waiting forthe Westerly wind shift that will take us up to Muggle Flugga, less than 250miles away!
All's well on Playing Around, oven and hob now fixed, though a few peopledid get a bit green trying to fix it. Now we can be assured of hot food atleast for the next few days. This is the last day of 'fresh'
food (ie not dried), and it has remained frozen so far. In a strange waywe're looking forward to the freeze-dried, though I'm sure that will beshort lived and we'll be wishing for Allies home cooked again.
Day 2 we averaged 170miles, so we're still overall averaging over 200miledays. Now that's quick for a 40.7 offshore, and the long range gribs areshowing some downhill conditions once we get to Ireland. Can't wait to getoff this uphill bumpy slog!
From PA crew
Crew member on GBR7383R Visit Malta Puma
Written by Crew member on GBR7383R Visit Malta Puma Thursday, 26 August 2010 09:51
I am a great believer in using various methods of visualisation in sport tohelp aid success at a high level. As many of the people who have sailedwith me on Puma will testify, it has sometimes been used to good effect.There are obviously a few cynics who just keep quiet and ignore me! I haveto be the first to admit though, this race has not quite panned out as Ivisualised it!
What an amazing start we had, power reaching out of the Solent and flyingdownwind in what can only be described as 'champagne sailing conditions.'Morale was high onboard as we screamed into the lead in IRC 1 heading aroundDover with a two mile lead, which was to be gradually increased over thenext few hours to five miles.
The race was not going without incident and there were a few jobs to beadded on a regular basis to the growing snag list! However, it is fair tosay we were not pushing Visit Malta Puma to the limits as this is a marathonand it is a big group of rocks we are sailing around. 'To finish first,first you must finish' is one of my favourite adages!
Four years ago I finished the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland race (withBrian) and was heard to mutter the immortal words 'I am never doing thatrace again.' Brian concurred! So what on Earth are we doing here now youmay ask? Well yesterday we were all asking the same. It reminded me ofSteve Redgrave's famous quote 'if you ever see me in a rowing boat again youhave permission to shoot me.' He went onto win another Olympic gold medaland a Knighthood!
This race is almost an exact mirror of that race four years ago! Back thenSara had to be medi-vaced of Puma, we were protested by the race committeefor allegedly sailing the wrong side of Eddystone Light (later to bedropped) and everything on board was breaking, all in the first 30 hours!For the rest of the race we were fighting from behind with a large deficiton the leaders.
It is fair to say that my heart sunk when the alternator stopped workingyesterday. I was utterly dejected as I knew that it probably spelt the endof our dream of racing around Britain and Ireland in our attempt to win IRC1 of the RORC championships. Power onboard is vital for both safety andsurvival, it powers our comms equipment to the outside world to obtainweather info, it powers our nav lights at night so we can be seen by otherships and most importantly it powers our water maker which provides us withfresh drinking water!
For hours whilst at sea in a rough sea we tried to find the fault and fixit. As time ticked by and the remaining battery power was dying it wasbecoming more clear that we may need to retire. I decided to proceed andget an hours sleep before making a final decision as to what to do.
Upon waking up things were no clearer, the alternator fairy had not waved amagic wand and the decision was taken to suspend racing and head back (over60 miles) to Great Yarmouth. We intended to moor the boat in flat water andtry again to repair the alternator. The word 'retire' is not in myvocabulary (I have only retired for three RORC races in 10 years). We werenot going to give up till we had exhausted every single option. However, weare allowed no 'outside assistance' for this race, which includes taking onspares or supplies if we needed help or new parts the outcome was clear, wewould have to retire.
Unbelievably the alternator was fixed! Sadly though one of our team memberswas not able to continue for personal reasons and had to leave us in GreatYarmouth. Deja-vue ! So here we are four years later, coming from behindwith a protest from the race committee hanging over us and we are one teammember down, all in the first thirty hours!
I am sat at the chart table typing this in awe of the team I am sailingwith. To embark on a race like this is a tough decision that takes guts anddetermination. To decide to continue in such adversity, not even knowingwhether the RORC intend to disqualify us, is an amazing test of everyone'scharacter on board. It takes a certain person to have the inclination andstrength to willingly leave the comfort of a sheltered harbour to continueon a race like this.
Not only have we re joined the race 150 miles behind the leaders in ourclass I am really pleased to tell you that morale on board is extremelyhigh. We have just finished dinner listening to our adopted boat song 'IGotta Feeling' ..that tonight is going to be a good night, blaring out ofthe deck speakers. The sun was setting in full glory over a gas rig a fewmiles to the East of us. How much more perfect can the world be.
As David Phillips says 'we are still on the dance floor' and David, I canassure you we are still dancing, especially your old man! We are going togive this our all, it is what ocean racing is about. It is not just aboutwinning; it is about competing, finishing, giving it 100%, overcomingadversity, camaraderie, personal endeavour and above all else fulfilment.Just finishing this race will make everyone onboard a winner and I am soproud of them all.
Four years ago we climbed our way back into 2nd place in IRC1, the protestfrom the race committee was justifiably dropped and we all made life longfriends. The sense of achievement was intense. I can not promise you anygold medals on this occasion, we are an awful long way back, and I doubt anyof us are going to receive a Knighthood (more likely some little men inwhite coats will be awaiting us in Cowes) but what I do know is that we aregoing to fight to the finish line and do everything we can to win the RORCchampionships in IRC1. We are down but not out and fighting all the wayhome.
Allie, if I ever tell you I want to do the Sevenstar Round Britain andIreland race again you have my full permission (and Brian's) to shoot me onthe spot!
Thanks to everyone for all you messages and comments. They are keeping usgoing and it is so good to know how much support we have.
Philippe Falle Skipper Visit Malta Puma
Allie Smith
Managing Director
Sailing Logic Ltd
Shamrock Quay Marina
Southampton
SO14 5QL
T 02380 330999
M 07770 560950
E This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
W www.sailinglogic.co.uk
Crew member on GBR9357T CV8 Hull & Humber
Written by Crew member on GBR9357T CV8 Hull & Humber Thursday, 26 August 2010 09:15
Day three in the big orange boat and the crew are all getting used to conditions on board, life at an angle is always interesting. This is the closest I have been to home (North east England) in nine months and some welcome it gave us yesterday, storm sail conditions and three reefs was the story of the day but the crew just took it in their stride and got on with the task in hand. After the fast downwind conditions of the first day this is something of a different challenge for everyone but to their credit everyone is getting on with racing the big orange bus as hard as possible.
Today is Wednesday and the wind seems to have abated slightly, though sea state tells us of more to come but with the way the weather is at the moment its anyones guess. Sunshine and a good breeze have helped to keep everyones spirits high and Bob Marley playing on the stereo always helps, Piers keeps threatening to put on his Shania Twain collection but I've already told him I can't stop the crew from mutinying if that happens.
Anyway must stop rambling, we have a boat to race.
Ciao for now from Pierro, Alfresco, Flavio and the rest of us on Hull & Humber
Crew member on GBR9350T CV1 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
Written by Crew member on GBR9350T CV1 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital Thursday, 26 August 2010 09:08
Everybody is settling into the routine now although strong winds havebounced us about a little. Yesterday we had a squally old day thatreduced us to two reefs and the staysail only ploughing on into tomoderate seas we were taking lots of white water over the bow and took agreen one into the cockpit. A little like having a swimming pool droppedon you! However these boats are built for this and no problem other thanone or two full wellies. Who cares if the sun is shining and there arefew problems a cup of hot tea can't solve. Making good progress northshould be in Scottish waters soon.
Calum
Crew member on 14 Groupama 70
Written by Crew member on 14 Groupama 70 Thursday, 26 August 2010 07:58
Mike Pammenter, on board Volvo Open 70, Groupama:
Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2
Written by Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2 Thursday, 26 August 2010 06:29
2100
Oil rigs break up the monotony. In an unbroken scene of blue-grey swell,oil fields liven up the leg like an obstacle course. We passed throughone earlier near Aberdeen and a big red patrol vessel came out to meetus, turned around and followed us as we went by. Perhaps they were boredtoo!
0400
The wind is teasing us - up and down, left and right - we switch to amore powerful sail configuration that gives us a bit more height as webeat towards the Shetlands.
0700
The tack blows on the Solent jib. It comes downstairs with a gush ofwater and we are back to the staysail until it is repaired. A cold andblustery morning. 90 miles to the top of the course.
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Thursday, 26 August 2010 06:23
We have just had another watch change following our 'blue watch' 0200 to 0600 stint.
This saw an early lovely sunrise turning into a grey cloudy sky promising stronger winds.
The medium heavy number 1 was used till 530 with the wind gradually increasing from below 10 knots to a better 13 knots. This was getting too much for the ,m/h1 so the number 3 was raised at 530.
The change went as follows, aiming to keep the boat speed with a head sail working at all times. We set the 3 ready on deck, tacked and raised it inside the m/h1, tacked again and dropped the m/h 1.
This sail change followed a quiet discussion about the options. With the wind building against a dark grey horizon and the number 1 approaching its upper limit, and most important,the reputation of blue watch to make the right sail calls at stake, the decision was made. All went smoothly or seemed to from my vantage point on the helm. Gary was on the bow (and managed to keep dry). Gareth on the mast and calling the shots in his clear calm no nonsense way. Greg in the cockpit. Me (Ken) on the helm trying desperately not to screw up the tacks for the guys.
Two big successes through these strange early hours were;
We've found Steve's fastnet jacket, mysteriously arranged in the form of Gareth's pillow in the aft port bunk!
And the really really good news, I found the gorilla tape in the winch pocket on deck.
The bad news, no-one believes me, they think I had it all along. Especially Gary and he's got big Nick, red watch leader, on his side!
Hence, the lynch mob (Gary's mates) are gathering at the Anchor in Cowes. They'll be well tanked up by the time we get there so I'm stuffed!
Now we have red watch on duty with Nick as watch leader, just made the drinks. John's on helm with Martin on the main.
Steven's keeping a general eye out as usual. He's co-owner and co-skipper of Cheeki Rafiki and a very experienced sailor. He's done lots of work with Skipper Gareth. I first met these two last year when we started training for the fastnet. Speaking as a novice sailor I couldn't have found a kinder and solid pair of tutor's and mentor's.
Now we are in the Forties oil field, with the huge rigs dominating a view that would otherwise be sea forever. Sad memories of a school friend who died in the Piper Alpha disaster.
All our attention has moved to getting to the Orkney s, well that and what to eat next! Nick's just checking the race instructions. Would a solicited offer of 'whipped cream for our hot chocolate' from the nearly oil rig really be a fatal infringement?
Ken Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
-----Original Message----- From: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:36:50 To: RBI RORC BLOG Reply-To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Cc: My hotmail Subject: Re: GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
It's 615 and we're off the Thames having changed watches at 6. Nick's now on helm with John on main. Steven on Nav with Martin in the cockpit. Gareths brewing up with Brett, Gary and me already off for a kip.
The night went well with the Jibtop doing its job. Wind on the beam around 15knots, building to low 20's from 430am. Gary did lots of helming, and being a tiller man, he is quickly sorting his nemesis otherwise known as 'the wheel'. Gary also handled the Nav getting us through the tricky stuff after the huge spooky windfarm.
Gareth's huge joke book came out at 5. Its a cheap one and not for sensitve types. There's a scottish section for later in the week. Like the one about........
Now for a snooze while Nick, Steve, John and Martin reach us up the Anglian coastline. The big questions for today are 'do we go to the number 3'?, 'can we be bothered to catch Encore!'. And 'will the joke book survive?'
Ken Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
-----Original Message----- From: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:36:23 To: RBI RORC BLOG; My hotmail Reply-To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Subject: GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Well we are 2 miles from Ramsgate. Now on the two watch system, 66444hrs.
Nick, Steven, Martin and John having a snooze.
Brett's on the helm with Gary on the main. Gareth getting the weather update and doing the nav(thank fully) and Ken (me) doing the blog.
Bearing 20degrees ish.
Wind has dropped to 11 knots, clear starry sky with the full moon behind us.
The run along the south coast was great with 30+ winds and some good surfing.
Were all suprised to hear leopard has retired, it's one less to beat!
Ken Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Wednesday, 25 August 2010 20:17
Blue watch are back in business, with red watch on a well earned break till 2200. Even young 'I don't sleep much' Steve is snoozing.
An excellent stitch and patch job from red watch got the JT back into use for a while but now we're up wind again we have the light nr 1 up.
Dinner was pasta, beans and meat balls, perfectly cooked by Ken who really shouldn't be allowed near an oven. Only one complaint about the beans, but we'll put that down to Gareth's poor taste. Dishwasher got left behind again so it was the salt water in the bucket solution with Ken on the fairy liquid and Steve on the towel.
Steve's lost his fastnet coat, its on the list with the gorilla tape, Ken has not got it..
Gary is back on nav. With Brett on the helm and Skipper Gareth trimming and generally trying to get the boat going faster. Ken's doing the intelligent ballast impression, looking forward to the next session on helm.
Lovely sunset with the near full moon in the east. Wind has eased too much, making helming tricky, aiming to head north. There's another racer on our east beam horizon but too far to identify.
We're east of Edinburgh, near the forties oil field in the 'f******' north sea according to navman Gary!
Hope these blogs work, they're full of bits and bollocks but if the skipper wants a blog we'll see what we can.
Still looking forward to seeing the Muckle flugger where we'll hopefully get a signal to sent this junk and pick up some weather data.
Getting dark and cooling now as the very final sunset glow slips away and the moon shadows strengthen. Beautiful evening with the gentle sounds of the sea, blending with the after effects of the beans.
Winds picking up with 9 knots and some promising clouds ahead. Makes for a magic night.
Ken
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2
Written by Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2 Wednesday, 25 August 2010 15:00
1400 25 August 2010
Ned is our very own action man and source of strength, but unusually hissuperpowers seem to come with an inbuilt kryptonite.
Every time Ned does something on deck he has thrown up. If he pulls themain on, he's next seen spewing off the back. If Ned lashes the sailafter a reef, then he's running down the deck to the aft rail to vomit.Sail change, ditto. We were concerned, then amused and now relieved. Heate some lamb curry for lunch and so far he's kept it down. Mind you, hehasn't been on deck since lunch either. Let's hope our action man canovercome the evil powers within.
Crew member on RSA23 Phesheya-Racing
Written by Crew member on RSA23 Phesheya-Racing Wednesday, 25 August 2010 14:20
For every day of fast sailing it seems there must be some payback andso after day 1 of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race day 2has been really hard work, bashing away up wind!We reached the latitude of Lowstoft after less than 24 hours but soonafterwards were hit by a violent rain squall which caused the wind toveer through 50 degrees. It soon became clear that the weather washere to stay so we dropped the staysail and footed off bareheaded fora while, until we felt it was safe to hoist the storm jib! By sunsetthe seas had become very rough, with waves sweeping over the deck andmaking life uncomfortable to say the least!We quickly passed the oil fields off the Norfolk coast and thenthreaded our way past a series of ships in the early hours of themorning.Sunrise found us in a decreasing, but still gusty wind. Not a sign ofhuman life anywhere and even very little birdlife. Occasionally awhite flash on the horizon gave away the position of a foraginggannet, and sometimes a couple of fulmars or gulls would approach theboat for a quick look,but they never remained for very long.During the night we crossed the shallow waters of Dogger Bank,littered with shipwrecks. I guess many of them are from the famousnaval battle that occured near here.As the wind continued to decrease in the morning we hoisted thestaysail with a reef in it, in place of the storm jib. Later we shookout the reef and then also shook out one reef from the mainsail.We are now making steady progress towards the north in a northwesterly breeze but life is still very uncomfortable onboard as theseas are directly from the north and very steep, causing the boat tofly off the tops and crash violently into the trough below.
Crew member on GBR100 Artemis Ocean Racing
Written by Crew member on GBR100 Artemis Ocean Racing Wednesday, 25 August 2010 13:33
Crew member on GBR100 Artemis Ocean Racing
Written by Crew member on GBR100 Artemis Ocean Racing Wednesday, 25 August 2010 13:24
Another grey morning in the north sea! We have about 145 miles to go now toMuckle Flugga and I think we are all looking forward to getting into somelighter conditions.
We are fully upwind, and the boat has been slamming really hard all night.Its pretty hard for the helmsman to pick the waves right and avoid thelarge potholes that are nicely hidden behind some of the waves.
The wind is between 22-30, so right on our crossover for the jib. Every timewe feel a bit slow, and the boat is not heeled enough, you get a massiveincrease in breeze, and if we had changed would be totally on our ear, so weare also waiting for for some more stable conditions.
We are pretty happy with our position for now with 12 or so hours to thecorner where we hope we can stretch our legs a little. The race has beenvery fast and intense up until now, and its amazing to see how muchdistance we have covered already.
Last night we sailed past the latitude of Edinburgh, which is both the homeof our sponsor Artemis and the port of registry of the boat. It had takenjust over 24 hours to get to this point, and would have been tempting to popin for a cup of tea and some friendly faces!!
We are now level with Ducansby head and the very top of Scotland, about 59north - so we are getting there. The temp is down already and more and morelayers are going on. I think everyone is pretty tired now, and we are allwaiting for a change in conditions. There is not so much water coming overthe deck (as I type that a massive wave has nailed Mikey helming - ooops)which is good.
We are struggling a bit to make water, so Gareth and I will have to have acrack at that on the next offwatch. Typical as everything was working finebefore the start! Always the way.
The boats got that lived in smell now, which is nice! I dont have asleeping bag, so have not got out of my oilskins yet, mmmmmm. Pretty sure Iam going to win the 'golden blanket' award, so I going to push for a record,no point fighting the inevitable!
ok, thats all for now,
Cheers, from Artemis Ocean Racing
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Wednesday, 25 August 2010 11:56
The 0600 till 1200 blue watch has just finished. We are 112 miles off Berwick upon Tweed and only 94miles to Warkworth castle, our nearest land.
The sun is fighting through with wind 10 to 15 knots, still on the number four head sail.
Following a heroic effort 'stitch-em-up' Gary and 'no knits on me' Ken have fixed the damaged nr 5 using a range of stitch and patch combinations yet to be included in the yacht master syllabus. It is now back in the bag and ready to go. Red watch have a tough act to follow to mend the JT to a similar standard. Nick 'the needle' has taken on the challenge.
Encore is now back in site ahead. It seems she is following the rumb line. Gareth has opted to have us chase the wind. These are two very different tactics, wonder how it will finish? Apparently Encore and Cheeki Rafiki are identical boats and the exact same age, so its rather romantic that they are head to head on the RBI.
Behind us is the mysterious yacht 'baluga'.
The cabin has recovered following Gary's exploding balti rice experience. Gary has also recovered from his bruised pride having, flown horizontally across the same cabin and 'Cantona'd' the cooker during one of Ken's clumsier helming stints.
The gorilla tape remains unfound. It seems I'm in the frame as the prime suspect being the last to see the elusive roll. Will the maxim 'innocent till proven guilty' apply on Rafiki or will Ken meet with a sticky end as the gorilla tape saga rolls on?
The joke book may also have gone missing.
Ken Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
-----Original Message----- From: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 05:36:50 To: RBI RORC BLOG Reply-To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Cc: My hotmail Subject: Re: GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
It's 615 and we're off the Thames having changed watches at 6. Nick's now on helm with John on main. Steven on Nav with Martin in the cockpit. Gareths brewing up with Brett, Gary and me already off for a kip.
The night went well with the Jibtop doing its job. Wind on the beam around 15knots, building to low 20's from 430am. Gary did lots of helming, and being a tiller man, he is quickly sorting his nemesis otherwise known as 'the wheel'. Gary also handled the Nav getting us through the tricky stuff after the huge spooky windfarm.
Gareth's huge joke book came out at 5. Its a cheap one and not for sensitve types. There's a scottish section for later in the week. Like the one about........
Now for a snooze while Nick, Steve, John and Martin reach us up the Anglian coastline. The big questions for today are 'do we go to the number 3'?, 'can we be bothered to catch Encore!'. And 'will the joke book survive?'
Ken Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
-----Original Message----- From: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:36:23 To: RBI RORC BLOG; My hotmail Reply-To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Subject: GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Well we are 2 miles from Ramsgate. Now on the two watch system, 66444hrs.
Nick, Steven, Martin and John having a snooze.
Brett's on the helm with Gary on the main. Gareth getting the weather update and doing the nav(thank fully) and Ken (me) doing the blog.
Bearing 20degrees ish.
Wind has dropped to 11 knots, clear starry sky with the full moon behind us.
The run along the south coast was great with 30+ winds and some good surfing.
Were all suprised to hear leopard has retired, it's one less to beat!
Ken Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Crew member on GBR7383R Visit Malta Puma
Written by Crew member on GBR7383R Visit Malta Puma Wednesday, 25 August 2010 09:27
Oh what a night!!
Well, what a difference a day makes! Visit Malta Puma are now back in therace after a pit-stop n Great Yarmouth during the night A phone call at 7pmyesterday alerted us that there was a problem onboard and the team had madea decision to turn back to sheltered waters to try and repair the faultyalternator. Against the odds, they managed to strip down the alternator,clean it, rebuild it, re-attach it to the engine and it worked!! Amazing..
At 4.45am this morning they left Great Yarmouth and got back to the job ofracing round the British Isles. This is no mean feat as it has left them atthe back of the fleet with everything to do. They are now fighting to getinto contention again, and remember this is only the beginning of day 3!!
Meanwhile, Playing Around Logic has lost a little ground overnight but itstill heading exactly on the race rhumb-line to the next mark. They arecurrently adjacent to Sunderland/Newcastle area and will be in Scottishwaters very shortly. All is well onboard although there has been a few boutsof seasickness amongst the team due to the stiff breeze and short, choppyseas over Dogger Bank. They found a stowaway yesterday, an electric kettle,not the most useful piece of equipment on a yacht with no domestic power!Yesterdays weather was very challenging for all the yachts with consistent35 knots of breeze with squalls recorded at 50 knots - not particularlypleasant for anyone.
News from the fleet is that Tonnerre de Breskens 3 has taken over theoverall lead from TP 52 John Merricks, and the leading yachts (the 2 Volvo70's) are just 100 miles from Muckle Flugga, the Northern most part of thecourse.
If you have any messages of support for our 2 teams, please send themthrough to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will pass them on directly to theyachts..
Allie Smith
Managing Director
Sailing Logic Ltd
Shamrock Quay Marina
Southampton
SO14 5QL
T 02380 330999
M 07770 560950
E This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
W www.sailinglogic.co.uk
Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2
Written by Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2 Wednesday, 25 August 2010 09:23
1900
An occluded front past us an hour back, so we've reefed in and out untilnow the skies are clearing again. But the wind has shifted to the NW,making our progress north slow considerably as we punch through a livelysea state. It is wet on deck. Already there are 'waterproof' socks hungup to dry and grimaces to be seen when it comes to putting on wet boots.We are just passing Tom Dawson's home town near Newcastle. He says weshould stop for some fish and chips.
0100 25 August 2010
The breeze swings left and we use it to inch West of North as best wecan. Tonnere can be seen on the AIS, just on our port quarter. Their IRCstyle boat is catching us in these upwind conditions.
0300
The wind shifts back to the right and stabilises, and our heading veerswith it. Our track on the screen resembles a drunken swagger -if onlythat meant we had some whisky onboard! It is getting very cold on deck.
0700
We have passed Edinburgh on the left and Denmark on the right. The seastate is reducing somewhat, although every few minutes there is a nastyshort one that launches us into the sky to fall down with a thunderousthud.
Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2
Written by Crew member on GBR93 Concise 2 Wednesday, 25 August 2010 09:20
0600 24 August 2010
The bright ball of a moon is setting over Lowestoft as the myriad ofship lights find competition with the rising sun. We have made goodprogress over the night, with the tidal gates turning under us andcarrying Concise2 through the Dover Straits. The breeze is still asteady 20-25 from the SW and the broach-reaching conditions are fast,the Class 40 loves it. We have pushed hard in the night, and the creware tired. Dan stops eating his porridge momentarily to take a 5 minutenap in the companionway. He wakes up and finds the energy to keepeating.
0900
No rest for the navigator just yet. North of Lowestoft is hugeintersection of shipping lanes placed within the middle of a series ofsand banks and oil platforms. The helm and trimmers are patient with thecalls to head up 10, down 20, as we dodge the various obstacles. Thankgoodness for the AIS - 3 tankers seemingly on course to hit us wereshown to be travelling at 0.0kts. Anchored. The sandbanks stretch inthin lines to the North and East. We have lost count of the number ofcardinal marks.
1200
A long dark arm of cloud stretches across the sea ahead. A huge windshift to the right, rain and a solid 30 knots. What? That wasn'tforecast to happen now. Reef, bear away, bodies on deck, turn on theFleet broadband. Satellite pictures show a mini-system, squall-like,passing across the east of England, spinning into the main low offNorway. There is an unpleasant half an hour and it is gone. The sun isback out and everyone is getting a bit more rest.
Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki
Written by Crew member on GBR9793T Cheeki Rafiki Wednesday, 25 August 2010 01:39
It's 2am on 25th August and blue watch, that's Gareth -skipper, gary, greg and ken watch leader), is off for another snooze. Back on at 6am for the 6hr early day shift.
This last shift was the first cold one, as we're getting further north.
We had an epic midnight casserole care of Gary. Would have included rice but for a misunderstanding with the pressure cooker that's left the cabin with a pleasant balti beige hue.
The wind has gradually eased over midnight with the reef shaken out at 1. Steering by the top stars on the plough. Early on the full moon was like a spotlight from behind.
Nr5 still damaged and Nick's gorilla tape has disappeared. The proper patches won't stick. So tomorrow some embroidery may be called for.
Now its red watch till 6am. That's Steven (co- skipper and owner, nick(watch leader), martin and john.
We're north of the Wash off lincolnshire. Next way point is hundreds of miles up north so this is really becoming the endurance event we expected.
Don't know where encore is, and we are assuming the other 40.7s are ahead too.
Ken Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device
Crew member on GBR100 Artemis Ocean Racing
Written by Crew member on GBR100 Artemis Ocean Racing Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:39
A fishy breakfast on board IMOCA 60, Artemis Ocean Racing
Crew member on 14 Groupama 70
Written by Crew member on 14 Groupama 70 Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:37
Video from the first day of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland from on board Team Groupama
Crewmember on GBR1R ICAP Leopard
Written by Crewmember on GBR1R ICAP Leopard Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:35
Editor's Note: ICAP Leopard were forced to retire from the race but they sent the RORC this video which shows the amazing conditions prior to their exit from the race.
Crew member on GBR9357 Hull and Humber
Written by Crew member on GBR9357 Hull and Humber Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:15
Here you go.
Crew member on GBR9357 Hull and Humber
Written by Crew member on GBR9357 Hull and Humber Tuesday, 24 August 2010 20:15
- Problem copying original
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