Sunday 9^th August

14:00 (Gordon)    And away we go…

A great start with a spinnaker run to the line and we were off at 1.00pm.  Light winds but enough to push us at 6 knots including the tide – everyone very excited except those just getting their bearings after too much of the Cowes hospitality. 

15:50 (Drew)     Casualties of War

It is with great regret that I note the sad demise of some lasagne – last seen flying across the galley having been ejected from the oven during a particularly aggressive tack.

Crew in mourning but holding up well as we leave the Solent, sails gleaming in the sun. Dehydration a risk, for those on the Rum last night, in the glorious sunshine.

Brew time so off to put the kettle on!! 

16:30 (Gordon)     Digestive Systems working well

Interesting what curry, lager, half a bottle of Mount Gay rum and tequila drink fines can do to ones digestive system.  Part toxic waste and part Velcro…!

Having a cuppa and everyone topping up their tans.  Looking good in our new crew shirts and the absorbency of cotton twill in the sun is great – tested well by Ian who is a little moist to say the least – mind you the sweat is the fear of helming in light winds and not being at home to Mr Cockup at the same time.

16.40 (Ian)  Bushmills Weatherfront

The new bushmills stabilisation system installed in cowes, has’nt been effective! The imminent arrival of the “black poos” weather front is eagerly anticipated, after which a more stable front should appear!

17:20 (Chris S)

Just woken from a quick hour power nap, much needed after being encouraged last night to enjoy the full Fastnet experience (vast amounts of alcohol on top of a superb jalfrezi!). Awoken to calm on the boat, a couple reading, two sleeping and some sitting on the side enjoying the view and trying to spot Destination Anywhere out to sea. Getting slightly cooler now after a glorious day. Good to be off. Am on the watch that keeps me up until 3am!!

19:00 (Chris D)

Now nip in air, swopped shorts for base layer and trousers all still high sprits

Eagerly awaiting evening dinner or what’s left after its trip across galley

Looks like we will miss tide at Portland lets hope we get enough wind to punch on against it don’t fancy another middle watch watching Portland light

22:00 (Chris D)

Well deja vu!!!!! Barfleur on triangle race…Eddystone……start point..now

Back looking at my old friend from navy days Portland Bill…waiting for 60 metres of warp and Danforth anchor to grab still going back at 1 knot in 38 metres  depth of sand/gravel with the current running.  Damn thing should be grabbing by now… well at least not going back at 4 knots which we were with light airs and tide against.. I wonder if the fishermen do pizza delivery!!!

Monday 10^th August

05:00 (Drew)

Anchor up, at last, thanks to the last watch who had the job of dragging it back up. Ian is making butties in the dark so we don’t disturb the others (thoughtful chap) and we have some wind at last and we’ve made back the ground we lost earlier.

Signing off as butties are calling.

PS: It’s the new taste sensation, salami and smoky bacon crisp sandwiches. Definitely up there with the cold spag bol and marmalade sandwiches from the St Malo race.

05:40 (Chris D)

Well nice to see Portland  slipping away astern drew trying to out create Ian

Chicken and salami still warms the mouth. Well time for a brew - green watch sprits high morale good moving again after tack, sun starting to creep up

Great sunrise...!

06:15 (Ian) Submarine Exercises

The last of the Bushmills class  submarines was launched  at dawn today with  graceful determination. The exit strategy using the starboard pen on a starboard tack proved  to be particularly successful, giving rise  to a quality experience!

10:30  (Chris D)

Wakey wakey ride away.  Great bit of speed up no shout needed to wake the slamdowns most of way across bay inshore a bit miss worst of tide. Ah well back onto watch breaky soon.

14:00 (Chris D)

Well brekky on hold - surfs up saltwater showers free in cockpit and helm

Tacking in to get tide round point this is more like it.. Tide gate isgoing to be close run but crew all high sprits  still punching along with some furl gen and one reef.

20:00  (Chris D)

Well days gone well and quick just had Simon's fish pie - georgeous meal went down well with all still tacking to the light… Eddystone then onto Lizard vis closing in drizzle . powernap for hour...

21:45 (Chris D)

Almost level with Eddystone ah ……fairground slammer time much more like my first trip round light wow glad shes solid were getting a right slamming from the

Waves glad anchors not on extra weight would probly bury nose everytime

But she's a good solid boat and we've got a bloody good team.

Night garden tune running through mind now wonder igle pigle escapes to his

Tuesday 11 August

03:15 (Chris D)

Well good run  during watch  with what a surprise another lighthouse

Tours highspot Lizard on the horizon  now on the beam  not long now irish sea

Couple of large vessels passed by and one of the race fleet passed but although faster long tack means we still had better position

Some good conversation  during watch now for quick bit of powersleep….

08:20 (Drew)

Chris D was heavily sedated following his attempts to rename the whole crew various children’s TV characters – he is now calm and enjoying a coffee (decaff I hope) on deck!

Yesterdays choppy water have been replaced by more sedate rollers, we have the sun on our backs and all is well even if tide is against. Have had a shower in a can and scrapped my teeth (Dettol and a wire brush) so feel human again (well almost). Battle of the beards coming on well.

Breakfast number one was a bowl of Trill with skimmed milk which the Skipper thinks is just wrong (although I suspect its because he wants to conserve skimmed for his tea ration). Talk of bacon and black pudding sandwiches for breakfast number two when second watch get up!!

10:00 (Chris D)

Got weather forecast some good some bad lighter airs  coming but good  winds Thursday –Friday and Sat all good sprits  position report from land 49^th

Destination Anywhere direct astern 2-3 miles  great news clippers also astern not last and winning over sister boat. got to be good .well lands end Irish sea long gentle Atlantic swell sun out nice bit warmth will have to have submariner dobbie  later growth stating on beard but suspect will lose on that one.

11:00 (Gordon)

Full of a rotten  stinking cold and too early to break out the whisky ration so a cocktail of paracetemol and mockery from the crew is being tried.

Winds OK and progress is acceptable – Atlantic rollers making the sailing great but not enough for surfing fun yet…another 10 knots of wind would be nice.  Hi to my girl and all those at work…x

10:25 (Chris S)

Sunny outside, hardly any wind and gentle seas. Have heard that the lead boat is halfway back now across the Irish Sea! We have left the lizard and are looking for the end of England. Had a fun 24 hrs with my first chunder yesterday and then feeling rank after dinner, sorry Simon. Had a good stag from 3 – 7 this morning and just woken from a good rest, cleaned up and feeling great.

10:30  (Christine and Shirley)  Time to hear from the ladies !

To  set down the rules of etiquette for using our cabin (whilst we are on watch of course!)

Bring your own sleeping bag for the purpose of containing all discharges and aromas. (usually following curries and vast amounts of various tipples)

Clothing is optional, and garments must be removed from the cabin in time for your watch

If there is a wind force of less than 3 (outside the boat) and no rain be kind and ventilate the cabin for 5 minutes whilst you assemble yourself and leave the cabin

Of special note is the manhandling of our luggage and the less of it the better, as there will be fines in the restriction of any future domestic duties such as tea making, dishwashing  and  vacating the heads in a timely manner.

These rules are subject to change on a daily watch basis and are legally binding at the time of writing.

Any reference to specific individuals is purely coincidental but we know who you are!

The sun is shining and we are now looking for bacon and should be on watch to  pass the Scillies.

Chris (TT22) and Shirley girly.

12:19 (Ian)

Sun out, Keppi, shorts, Queen ……..PARTY ON…….swim for bacon later,…..perhaps!

13:00 (Gordon)

Going good with the sailing – light winds and tides are frustrating and chipping away at our plan for Plymouth on Friday.  Looking forward to getting round the rock but winds are making us tack to head up there – we would happily pay for SW Force 4 or 5 about now…!  We’ve read your messages of goodwill – really appreciate it and keep them coming – great for morale for us to read from our friends and family.  We may lose our signal soon as we head offshore so will catch up back at the Scillies. 

Going now as Hawaii 5-O is on the stereo and the crew are surfing the Atlantic swell…xxx  and we have to get bacon on a ship to ship transfer with Steve and his crew on Destination Anywhere...as they "acquired" it all in Gosport...

Wonderful breakfast of sausages and egg sandwiches, enjoying sun and light winds. Destination Anywhere came right up next to us then tacked off. The Irish Seaawaits. Hoping to reach the rock in just over 24 hours from now. Down to shorts and t shirt, makes a change from full gear. Bit worrying to see us so far back in our class but we do have a very good handicap.

16:30 (Chris D)

Great breatfast however missed the bacon sarny that was visualised during middle watch and I hope they enjoy their extra bacon..anyway lands end astern next stop Plymouth via yet another couple of great lighthouses maybe I should join trinity house as tester/checker of southern lighthouses I have certainly seen a few this year casquets barfleur eddystone soverign tower st cat's start point minques guernsy jersey Alderney lzard Plymouth Portlandto name afew……most ive had to stare at for tidal gates to change.ian has ejoined forign legion with his beau gest legion hat.much merriment and jesting on deck as we get set for the long haul up to the mark. Good winds forcast but time will show….I

Coast in site crew all good spirits 10 miles off 15 miles east of rock heavy seas

Gained 30 places overnight Gordon feeling better after helm time

Dairylea and tomato sandwiches went down well

Ian doing risotto stir fry, ill wait for mainmeal closer to the light

Best quote today that beat my how shallow does it get when working out whether to kedge off salcolme on the eddystone race

Helm (Chris) “when shall we throw in next tack?”

Reply (Martin) ”well fairly soon don’t want to run onto that big rock formation”

Navigator (Gordon) "oh you mean Ireland“

Thursday 13 August

01:00 (Chris D)

Well we have all eaten our fill sheppards pies cooked by Martin

Everyone in high sprits just all eager to see the rock and get settled into routine for home leg infuriating seeing it directly ahead and having to keep tacking.

Ah well that’s the lighthouse rock for you - after the campaign we should all be expecting this scenario. But good news we are still ahead of Destination Anywhere serves them right the extra weight of our bacon and us being lighter….

Great - drizzles stopped and moon stars are popping out h

05:00 (Chris D)

Thick fog and no wind so we passed the rock finally but now how we would have wished.  

08:30 (Chris D)

SW Force 4 building boat gliding again only occasional slam..passed a Challenger yacht whilst on watch

09:30 (Ian)

Cracking 4 hrs kip, proper dreams, pole up, ah well black pudding, sausage, tomato, mushroom & hash brown sub will have to do. 

11:00 (Chris D)

Challenger still off to starboard we are holding but with their config and sail area we are going to have to watch it..

Ian cooking again - smells delicious……..if only we had the bacon...

11.30 (Ian)

Must consult Paul (Knapp Hicks, structural eng) on stability control of a baked sub, and whether a Cumberland sausage being longer than standard would add to the structural stability of breakfast. Calculations to follow when I get a phone signal.

13:00 Ladies log

Following several strenuous days the wardrobe is becoming perilous to predict, we decided to use our first mate (luscious Gordon)as the barometer for the appropriate dress code each morning.

Shirley has looked out of the cabin window (weather permitting, and not recently ) to assess Gordon’s fashionista status on the helm. Yesterdays comment from the skipper that Gordon’s early morning smoke should be accompanied by more than a pair of boxers has been welcomed by Gordon’s followers of fashion as it is a bit chilly on a morning. 

This season the leggings under shorts look has been extensively used with above force 4 by Gordon and as we were to carry out a raid of the rest of the crews legging attire Gordon became ill with flu. 

This required a plan B and we upgraded the clothing attire to a full three to four layers, and change allegiance to anew fashionista - Drew, who has also led in the field of fashion with the legging and shorts look,

We look forward to the seasons collection from Drew (pit master) leader in the grunge look especially after a challenging night out (Cherbourg) and potential leader in the beard growing competition, not sure how we follow that trend ?.

So following a strenuous couple of days and nights on the race we are signing off, and Drew (a pure gentleman) is saving us a dry patch on the cockpit bench...

Chris and Shirley girly.

15:00 (Chris D)

Well the boys from our watch all fed superbly by Ian's rolls go offw atch to the movies leaving the next watch for the next set of tacks.  Everyone in happy sprits as homeward bound the longest bits done.  Time for recharge batteries sub mariner doby and change of undies as the girls using our watch as role models  - I think Gordon's got the fashion and beard contest nailed

17:10 ( Chris S)

Well, a slight drizzle and heading for France across the Irish Seac an’t be bad. We all had amazing sleeps after crawling around the Rock in terribly light winds. There was a certain amount of snoring on the rails! Had a pleasant day with our respective watches. Enjoyed hearing about blowing up military vehicles to flog the aluminium from Martin which wasn’t expecting. Just settling down off the watch to see Sgt Bilco. Feeling good and on the homeward run but anything can happen.

22:00 (Chris D)

Well after promisimg start airs died but Gordon's expertise kept us moving along... The advancing weather promises 20kts plus - hope it gets amove on and we have it for morning watch...  The only thing missing is a lighthouse...

17:40 (Chris D)

Everyone in high sprits - Destination Anywhere 20 miles astern - must have been the extra weight of cheese and bacon and our boats Skippers skill in getting round Eddystone and the Fastnet, with such light airs.   

Overtakeing other boats in line all beit different class …I feel good!!!!!!

Great crew - fantastic awe inspiring experience..hope we all keep in touch after but I feel over this race we've become a family all at one with Inseyandra and our common mistress, fickle though she be the sea...!  Thanks old girl - you’ve done us proud through light and heavy you have kept true...! 

Friday 14 August

05:30 (Chris D)

Well winds back and we have made good progress in night.  With all the Irish sea to play in a bloody trawler has to be on the bow...doh...

Of course it decides to close with us and with me helming, across went the boom despite the preventer being on...

Forecast winds building to 4/5 at moment..although Fce 7 forecast -  hopefully we will be past lLzard before it hits

08:30 (Drew)

Starting to get a better handle on downwind helming not something I’ve been comfortable with in the past.

Discussions have moved towards what we will do once we cross the finish line – so far the actions in order are :-

0. Champagne
0. Moor the boat
0. Beer
0. Chips (curry sauce & mushy pees for northerners please)
0. Shower

When you pack for sailing, especially for racing, you have to pack light which generally means you have less clothes than days at sea. So starts the strategic deployment of socks and pants. You actually find yourself thinking “should I treat myself to a clean pair of pants today” 

12:00 (Chris D)

Bishops Rock - yet another light on the homeward leg….treated to superb shows of dolphins that stayed with us for over 10 miles, playing in the bows as we raced along at 10 knots.  Spinnaker up everyone in high sprits for Plymouth this evening …….

Same as above but swop chips for Plymouth oggie.

 
15:30 (Chris S)

Great! Feel on the home run and that is the mood aboard. What are people doing? Packing! Sunny and licking along. Saw a massive pod of dolphins for a good few hours by the bow, unreal. Must have been 30 at least and they were actually looking up at us. Out to get some sun.

19:25hrs (Drew)

Passing the Lizzard, spinnaker still flying, picking off a few boats on the homeward leg.  Mood on board is good (perhaps they’ve forgotten we still need to clean the heads) with music blaring on deck and hot chocolate and rum to take the edge off.

Gordon and I have added an extra task to the end of race list CIGARS – have a few stashed in the kit bag for later.  First of three dinners arriving shortly. Forward planning to (a) clear out the fridge (b) its going to be a long night with ETA Plymouth 2 am (c) stomach lining for the shore party after we get to Plymouth.

21:30 (Chris D)

Well under 40 to run… passing some of other groups feels good...Everyone on board high sprits after a weeks graft end in site.  Although we are not a racing snake we have one hell of aboat ,Martin and Gordon have done wonders taking complete strangers and knitting a great crew….Disco on deck kite flying racing down to the finalmark.

Come on guz…..(matelot for Plymouth) longest bit of the trip home on the plot

22:50 The last of the ladies blogs

The ladies are attending a special prizegiving on arrival at Plymouth (our own because the official event has cocoa and slippers at 12pm and we will be scheduled to arrive at 2am.)

First prize is to the Skipper (Martin)for an unflappable chilled out approach to being
DJ with good music blasting out to ensure the other boats know the party boat is arriving.

Crew prizes go to :-

Simon for feeding us on a regular basis (not that we are blaming the home cooking for the state of the heads) with special mention to the gorgeous fish pie.

Sharky (ak Chris S )and his stories of up the jungle, which helped pass the night watches (very educational on the mating rituals of tribal populations).

Chris D for the impressive dedication to the blog site, keeping everyone informed of our movements.

Ian for the gadget man approach to sailing without needing an accompanying generator to power everything (close second was the skipper for navigation gadgets).

Drew for the sense of humour that kept us all on the fringes of sanity , perhaps more impressive was the sneaky hair washing today but no prizes because it was with fairy liquid and a scalp outbreak may yet emerge.

Special Categories

The beard competition will be judged in Plymouth later tonight (but Gordon looks a good bet). 

The smelliest crew shirt (some were hanging off the back of the boat to give the impression of being aired – quite delusional really) will also be judged in Plymouth so we know who to sit down wind of.

Third and last category is the award for the safety pin behaviour management programme which the ladies developed and with great success so it will be kept under wraps until patented and published in the race goers go mad magazine.

Girls Summary

Thank you for the support from everyone when we were a crew alone in the Irish sea,

And special thanks for a fantastic race and the sailing skills and knowledge of Martin and Gordon and their brand of wit and charm will be missed as we go on to race again.

Chris (TT22) Shirley girly signing off the 2009 Fastnet.

23.55 (Ian)

Having had an enjoyable surf under spinnaker to some good rock, Gordon decided to adopt a 'happy' approach and spent hald an hour with Neil Diamond flooding the deck, followed by the Skipper’s middle of the road collection. Still some interesting dance moves, driving cars, throwing shapes and sowing seeds! All to the amusement of other yacht crew’s as we “creamed past them” (Sharky term).

 Finished! (Skipper Martin)

Having just crossed the line, It’s finally time to relax a bit and thank the crew for their excellent work and good company over the last week and 600+ miles of sailing.

Special thanks to Gordon for his support and for keeping the crew’s morale high, even when he was poorly himself. No one could want for a better First Mate.

We have experienced drifting backwards on the tide in a silent millpond 10 miles off Anvil Point. Beating to windward for day after day clawing our way Westwards.

A frustrating drift in the middle of the night rounding the Fastnet Rock itself when the crew kept up their efforts despite not even seeing the famous lighthouse up close as we went passed. And today a glorious spinnaker run down to the Scilly Isles and inbound to Plymouth.

We’re also delighted that our sister-ship Destination Anywhere is only 22 miles behind and looks like making it two finishers for Solent Sail.

Here’s to the next race...!