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The Fastnet Race

Sunday 9th - Friday 14th August.

Fastnet reflections from Alex -

I can only describe the Fastnet Race for me as a trip of extremes !  It all seems to have blurred into ‘a did it really happen’ memory, and I'm already staring to forget the really dreadful bits, which means I’ve started trying to persuade Rob to pull together another campaign for next year – Round Ireland maybe….!  Certainly for me I’ve found a love of offshore racing, (but probably only when its with a group of friends who just want to sail and do their very best – it is after all meant to be fun).

The week running up to the race was fraught with last minute preparations, not helped by the boat not being ready for us on time.  By Saturday evening though, we all sat down for dinner and felt ourselves start to relax – well, what hadn’t been done by then, just wouldn’t get done (including a very nasty sounding winch which we discovered at 7.30pm!).

We left the pontoon nice and early for our 12.30 start, allowing us to get the storm sail up ready to parade across the check point.  There were 85 boats on our class and all were starting together – on a down wind start - so the pressure was on for Rob.  I was given the task of navigating us out of the Solent again ( I think its just that I’m rubbish in the cockpit – for once I’m not worried about being a girl – its far too hard winching !!  We got across the line in a good place, the kite went up, and within seconds we were gibing. With no practice of course it didn’t go well, although al subsequent ones went like a dream.  The wind was good until we reached Yarmouth when it completely died and we saw several boats pointing back towards Cowes, but being carried out backwards towards the Needles at 3+ knots !  When the wind did pick up, we saw it come round to give us a beat out of the Solent, and then stay that way for the next 4 days (more on that later). 

Once we reached Bridge buoy, my Nav task was thankfully over and it was over to Rob and Mark to decide which route to take.  Given the light wind forecast, did we go offshore and hope for wind, or did we head into Lyme Bay so we could anchor against the tide if needed ?  We chose the latter option.  I recall Rob handing over to Sandcastle watch as we neared Portland ‘if the wind doesn’t pick up the tide should take us out at some 7 knots!!’  This worked well for us as we watched other boats going backwards.

The next few days blur into one, but can be broken down probably into good bits & bad bits…

The bad bits

Living for 4 days at 45 degrees (especially going to the loo);

Hanging onto the side of the windward bunk so you don’t sleep on the lee cloth that might break at any moment);

Trying to cook a meal whilst hanging onto the stove to avoid sliding/falling to the other side of the boat; and not feel sea sick whilst doing so;

Bailing out at the end of each watch at least 2 buckets full of water;

Being constantly wet and not getting dry;

Lack of sleep;

Skipper shouting at you every time you lose a second of concentration and come 60 degrees off course (well actually he only shouted at me twice and he did apologise but it felt like every time!!)  He certainly seemed to spot our lapses every time we had one !!

Getting a head cold which meant I just wanted t get off the boat;

Not washing.

The good bits

Seeing dolphins & Whales;

Sailing a boat that when its in the ‘groove’ sails itself and is just a dream;

Sunshine and wind;

Overtaking other boats when we only have a No 3 non battened head sail when they have a multitude of options (good call from our skipper as it brought our handicap down);

The food lasted!

I got involved with some of the Nav decisions which was great learning for me;

Laughter – ye we did have lots of fun;

The watch system – it worked and in fact we all started to be awake ready for our next watch and really did get used to the lack of sleep

The thought that once we rounded the Rock that we would be on a down wind leg and pick off the other boats who had passed us up wind (J’s are brilliant reaching or down wind but not good as upwind boats)….or so we thought;

Getting to change clothes & underwear plus clean your teeth – believe me it didn’t happen every day!!  Urggh.

The Fastnet Rock

Fog started to close in as we reached the rock and we found it hard to see other boats let alone the rock itself.  With fog came a lull in the wind which meant it took a lot longer to round than we had hoped.  That extra hour cost us places.  The wind became ‘variable’ and we really got to understand what this meant…we tried to fly the kite but the wind shifted between 30degrees right round to 180 within seconds. It was hard going.  Mark & Rob were the only crew members able to helm in these conditions and as both had been on for 5 hours, we decided to drop the kite and sail until the morning on white sails.  A hard and frustrating decision but the right one. 

By 3am, the wind became more steady and settled at 110 – the kite went up.  And stayed up until Plymouth – 18 hours.  What a fantastic sail. I don’t think any of us slept – it was all too exciting!  The best I’ve ever had.  We picked off boat after boat and came back up the leader board slowly but surely.  We saw 11.5 knots of boat speed as we surfed the waves.  Mark & Rob helming with Tim & I kite flying and Mark G & Dave winching.  The GPS was telling us we would be in by tea time (Rob only started to believe it as Plymouth came into sight!).

What a race.  It was hard but great fun and I certainly learned a lot about myself and about sailing. 

Bring on whatever challenge we decide on fro next year !!

Fastnet reflections from Tim -

Imagine, if you will, a caravan. A small caravan. Like the ones that nestle within, and spread across, countless English fields throughout the summer season. This caravan is a comfortable haven for the retired insurance broker and his wife whose children have long since flown the nest. Imagine filling the caravan with six fully grown adults, and all the equipment, food and clothing required to sustain them for a protracted siege.

Beat the sides of the caravan with a large wet beach towel, as often and as hard as you can, making sure that no regular rhythm is established. Now shake the caravan so that it rises and falls unpredictably with the discordant thrashing on the sides. It is best if the caravan is also pitched to one side, at an angle of approximately 30 degrees, just enough to make life inside uncomfortable. Roll the caravan from side to side on occasions, although there is no need to do this too often. Try and time the rolling so that it takes the occupants of the caravan off guard. For best effect it is probably best to do this when someone is cooking or trying to get dressed. 

It is important that the caravan roof leaks, so that rain can penetrate the interior.

The caravan does have a toilet, but this must be broken. The seat has to slide unpredictably across the bowl, so much so that it is better to discard it and take your chance on the porcelain.

You can't wash in the caravan. There is nowhere to wash and not enough fresh water anyway. You can brush your teeth if the film of Stag Chilli loses its appeal after two or three days.

If it is possible to conjure up an image, as described above, you will have begun to get a feel for life on-board during the Fastnet Race 2009.

So why do it ?  Where is the enjoyment ?

In the challenge, the companionship, the breath-taking beauty of the sea, the laughter, the smiles, the support freely given, the gentle rivalry, the learning, the wind and rain in your face, the sunshine, the whales and dolphins, the competition with other crews, the big white spinney, the achievement, the friendship, being there.

Looking forward to being there again.

Reflections from Dave, Rob, Mark L & Mark G still to come (perhaps)

Ready to depart from Hamble.

Storm sails ready for inspection.

Alex gets ready for the Solent 'nav'.

Will they still be smiling in 24 hrs ?

Getting ready for the 'off'.

Serious company.

Very serious company.

"I see no ships".

Past Hurst Castle and on to Portland.

Diesel Dave in a reflective mood.

Ahhh.....

Deck candy !

Breakfast at the watch-change.

"I've got this terrible tooth-ache".

Three shredded wheat.

Still beating into the wind.

When we got there, someone had stolen the lighthouse.

The Genie.

"Winch..... !"

... & grind.

Fastnet 2009   IRC2.

Alex.

Rob.

Mark G.

Mark L.

Dave.

All Jellyfished up in Plymouth.

Jumping Jellyfish

Jumping Jellyfish

The Channel Race

25th-26th July 2009

Before I start, I should make an admission. I am not a racing sailor. I am a cruising sailor. I’m accustomed to deciding on courses based on convenience, to turning back at the first hint of the blow and of spending every night in a fine restaurant, followed by a sound night’s sleep.

So perhaps, in retrospect, volunteering to got offshore racing was not the greatest of ideas.

Actually, no, scrub that. It was a great idea. I love sailing. It’s been hard to find time to go sailing when you have an 8 month old baby. So when Mark offered me the chance to take up a suddenly spare place on Jumping Jellyfish (yes, really) for a weekend offshore race, I jumped at the chance. Carpe Diem and all that.

Jumping Jellyfish is a J109. An American built-for-racing yacht with an asymmetric spinnaker and a weird pole that sticks about a three feet out of the front through a hole that leaks water into the boat in rough weather. (We learned this the hard way). She sleeps six (although crew members Dave and Mark G had to get quite friendly in the stern cabin).

So we had a 5.30 am start. After showers and tea, we set off at just gone six.

Or nearly set off. I promised Rob the skipper to skim over the details. But a spring tide of 2 knots and a scratch crew saw a less than ideal departure. In point of fact, we parked across the bows of a couple of boats. But with some nifty seamanship using a fender, a couple of knotted spinnaker sheets and a finger pontoon, we warped Jumping Jellyfish out of berth and departed, only thirty minutes late.

At this point, I would like to reassure those of a nervous disposition. On the other hand, I would like to maintain some narrative tension. I will therefore reveal the following salient facts:

- No one fell overboard

- One person was seasick

- Two spinnakers blew to shreds (although neither of them were ours)

- One person sustained a small bruise to their right shin.

In the interests of keeping some interest to the story, I will only reveal who suffered the injuries at a suitably suspenseful moment.

On board Jumping Jellyfish, we paraded past the committee boat. Rob shouted “Six crew”, meaning watch leader Mark L, me, Dave, Richard, Mark G and himself. We waved two fire extinguishers and were cleared to race. (Why we need to wave fire extinguishers and not life rafts, flares, lifejackets, harnesses or a dozen other pieces of safety equipment is beyond me.)

We saw the smoke from the starting gun, and we were off. We now had a 24 hour race ahead of us. We put the spinnaker up, (neatly, as far as I could tell) and shot off in a Force 4 breeze. Actually, from now on, my recollections of detailed sailing techniques are getting hazy. So I’m going to resort to a series of vignettes.

• Beautiful sunshine, Force 4, two knots of tide underneath us, several cups of tea inside us. What could be better ?

• A crack from the boat following close behind. We looked back to see his spinnaker flying in two pieces, half at the bottom of the mast and half at the top.  We kept ours up.

• We approached the Royal Sovereign marker, and finally dropped our light airs spinnaker. (It was a Force 5 and quite rough by now). As we considered whether to put our spinnaker up, another blew to shreds on the boat on our starboard side.

• We tried to put up our heavier spinnaker. (Yes, even after seeing the others blow out). Ours didn’t blow out. But the sheets came away from the clew and the spinnaker flew free. It took us 15 minutes to snuff it and stow it.

• We rounded Royal Sovereign. Turned into the wind. We now felt the full force of the wind on our nose. Although I was wearing oilskins, I was soon cold, wet, tired and hungry. And seasick. Very very seasick.

• I went to bed.

By the middle of the night, the wind had dropped to a F2-3. We managed, by luck or brilliant planning (I favour the latter) to have carried the tide with us all the way from Cowes eastwards up the Solent to Beachy Head and then, as it turned, to ride it all the way home again. So even though there wasn’t much wind, we kept up over 5 knots over the ground. I got up for three hours of my watch and went back to bed.

Mark L woke me for my watch at 8.15. Only he didn’t. “We’ve finished the race,” he said. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Postscript from Watch Leader - A few other memorable moments from the race:

The exhilaration of blasting along surfing down waves hitting over 10 knots boat-speed, with all six crew on deck and hanging on as close to the stern as possible to prevent the bows from digging into the wave in front.  Waves large enough at times that other boats in the fleet disappeared from view.  The skipper only breaking his concentration at the helm to periodically explain why he wasn’t going to change the lightweight spinnaker just yet.

The feeling of relief as the wind and waves dropped as a beautiful dusk glowed red in the East and it became possible at last to be below without worrying about feeling sick.

The fun of the treasure hunt – searching at night for the vaguely lit buoy that the race committee had kindly chosen in shallow water off Littlehampton.

A cracking spinnaker reach for the last watch carrying us all the way to the finish.

And of course, the full “yachty” breakfast that welcomed us back !

Nicholas

For the 'official' report of the race click the logo below -

For full race results click the logo below - 

They're off....  

Rob listens intently to Dave's Health & Safety concerns.

Black is the new black

'You just turn your back for a moment ...'

Where did that come from ?

Fair stood the winds for France

Almost no evidence of the outboard motor could be seen

Cowes to St.Malo

10th-11th July 2009

With Tim and Dave otherwise engaged, James and Will offered to step in to complete the crew. Mark Green was seconded to Sand Castle watch along with James, whilst Will joined Banana Watch.

A mid-day start presented  the Jumping Jelly Fish crew with the prospect of a lie-in, but Skipper Rob, feeling the pressure, insisted on a 9:30am pontoon departure. Waking to a warm bright morning and a decent breeze the excitement grew with the thought of ideal conditions for sailing. 

Armed with updated weather forecasts, the crew fed and watered, we set off for the start line in plenty of time.  Once through check-in our minds turned to establishing the start line and the tactics we would use.  With an hour or so in hand before our class start at 12:20pm, we went through some practice tacks to ensure we were working well together. With our positions established we sync’d our watches to guarantee a good start, and motivated by Rob's reminder that being over the start line incurred a 1 hour penalty the pressure was on.

A South westerly wind at 14knots promissed a beat all the way across the channel to France.  With Alex checking the tides and depths, it was soon established we need to hug the Isle of Wight coast to get the best advantage possible.  The start line became crowded at the one end for that reason, so we kept our distance in search of a good clean start. Mark G counted down the start and we crossed without penalty and with good speed.  Alex went into Nav. mode and we were soon tacking along the coast nicely with only the occasional “tack” being hollered from our competitors. 

Soon the sun disappeared behind dark clouds which brought rain and increased wind speed. With the wind reaching 20+ knots, the mainsail was reefed and the crew settled into their watch rotations and contemplation of a tough race across the Channel.

As the English coastline receeded, the crew’s attention became focused on the shipping lanes and staying clear of the huge ships.  The importance of this was highlighted when James looked back from the rail and put the question to Rob, “Have you seen that one?”  “Which one replied Rob?” Only to look behind and see that a large grey ship, travelling parallel to us some 15 or so boat lengths away!  “No” said Skipper looking in disbelief  “I hadn’t seen that one!”

As we left the shipping lanes thoughts turned to food (many thanks to Vicky Green), and our next course of action. We realised that our small Jib, that had previously been an advantage in terms of our handicap, was now making it difficult to compete with our rivals on a beat.

The majority of opposition could be seen sticking close to the French coast, with this Rob, Mark L and Will dived below to thrash out tactics. Eventually they returned with a plan to sail in a completely different direction !  Pro and con’s were explained with the crew nodding in the right places. Essentially we would make a course around the west side of the Channel Islands in the hope of constant wind and reduced tidal effect. By morning we would know if the plan had worked.

With the dawn breaking and the mist being burnt away by the sun it looked like a great day's sailing ahead.  Once the mist had cleared we could see a few more boats around us and as the day continued we found were still in the mix with IRC 2 boats. We could see a few boats getting stuck in light winds closer to the land, our plan was working well. As the finish line was sighted all the boats started converging and with Jibe, one of the stronger J109’s, behind us, our position looked good.

The results were received by text via Mrs G and we were able to congratulate ourselves on our 20^th position out 65 boats in our class. The skipper’s objective was achieved with yet another position in the top 1/3 of the fleet ! It was also James and Mark G’s first crossing to France in a sailing boat  and the fulfilment of one one of Mark G’s life ambitions.

Entering St-Malo by means of a very tricky and somewhat prolonged sea lock, the skipper decided upon one final challenge, to moor up in near total darkness whilst still wearing his shades !  After a few drinks and a light bite to eat, we swapped race talk with our competitors and confused them with our shift rotation and rail policy. With many huffs, surprised looks and statements of “you ALL drive the yacht ?!?” We retired to jumping jelly fish with big smiles on our faces.  

Mark G

For the 'official' report of the race click the logo below -

For full race results click the logo below - 

We'll be up as soon as the football has finished ...

Sand Castle Watch motto ... Be Prepared !

I've got my hands full - someone else has got to hold the trumpet.

Jumping Jellyfish and the new cast for Last of the Summer Wine.

The Man in Black

Alex ... is it your turn to tidy up ?

Mourning the sad loss of Alex's hat.

De Guingand Bowl - Round the Island backwards.                13th-14th June 2009

Hard to believe it is only 2 days since Jumping Jellyfish completed her most recent RORC qualifying race; the De Guingand Bowl turned out to be another mini-epic of intense competition.  Now like veterans, the adjustment back to civilian life is hard for the crew only eased by oh-so-wise debrief discussion over a few pints of shandy.

The weather forecast promised another slow race with the Race Committee wisely setting a shortish course to Weymouth and back with an outing to the Nab to start.  Just like the Eddystone Drift, hitting the tidal gates along the way would be critical to success.  Sandcastle Watch was supplemented by a new secret weapon in place of Dave Parr – Jonathan “Casual” Nelson, brother to skipper Rob, making his first appearance in a RORC race, was psyching out the opposition on the start line with his casual jumper-and-slacks seagoing attire.

The skipper played a blinder of a start, timing the strong tide to a nicety and reaching in to the line with speed on starboard before bearing away for a clean spinnaker set by the crew.  There followed a tactical fight eastwards up the Solent playing the tide and seeking out the stronger breezes.  An unexpected South-Easterly filled in and Jumping Jellyfish found herself towards the front of the fleet beating up to the Nab, then round and – the wind veering – beating again towards St. Catherine's point.  Very pleasing to find ourselves overtaking Voador and Diablo-J (long-time rivals in J-105 races) and trading tacks with much bigger Beneteau’s along the way.

Then – frustration! – just as we were congratulating ourselves on a great first few hours, we sailed into a hole in the wind off St Catz point, and could only watch as half the fleet sailed past us in stronger breeze to the South.  Strange weather pattern; blue skies and sunshine, but fog or low cloud like a blanket over the Isle-of-Wight.  Banana watch spent a frustrating time trying to make progress with our trusty lightweight (not insured) spinnaker.  Then with a bit of breeze arriving and the tide under us for the next few hours, the race was now on to make St. Alban's head before the tide turned at 21:00 and slammed the gate in our face.  Fuelled by a fantastic dinner courtesy of Mark Green sister catering (Inc), the fight was on, trying to squeeze every advantage from wind and tide.  We rounded Anvil Point just before the tide turned, but St.Alban's Head was looking impossible.  As darkness fell, more hours of frustration in unreliable breezes, but we were still creeping towards the goal, close tacking in to the shore to beat the tide, the crew slightly spooked by the sound of breaking waves on the shore, incredibly load in a flat calm sea, and wisps of fog drifting off the land.

As the skipper handed over to Sandcastle Watch, there was a vague comment about a number of stationary lights ahead, and some confusion about why this might be.  Our brains a bit dulled now by lack of sleep in the early hours of the morning, it took a long while to realise this was a dozen or so boats from the fleet all anchored just off St. Alban's Head – we had re-caught the leaders in IRC-2.  If we could just squeeze past, we would be away and off in the lead!  We battled for an hour of more, creeping up the shore and apparently passing the yachts, only to find on the next tack the tide would catch us and send us back down towards one of them, with the only option to bear away, circle the fleet and try once more.  In the poor visibility and with3 knots of tide tugging at the rudder and sending the boat sideways, this was a very intense period of helming!  The parked fleet may not have been totally reassured by the crew shouts of “where’s that boat?! Shine a torch!” and “you’re not going to make it!  That’s reckless!”.  Eventually, defeated, we slunk away to test out our worryingly lightweight kedge anchor.  More brotherly love as Rob gave Jonathan very direct instructions as to where to find the anchor, and then – at last – we were safe, secured, waiting for wind and tide.  

After only a brief half-hour, more wind arrived, Tim and Jonathan hauled up the anchor, and we eased Westwards into a weakening tide.  The pattern of the lights showed that the rest of the fleet were doing the same, same hugging the shore hoping for advantage from an eddy, others like us taking a direct course for the East Shambles buoy, the turning mark of the course.  Sandcastle Watch retired below, and the mate grabbed his first hours of sleep of the race.  Delight to wake up and find the Bananas had got us safely round the mark and we were now heading back homewards, flying our favourite secret weapon spinnaker, and very much in among the fleet.  In bright warming sunshine the race again became a battle to avoid the holes in the wind.  Judging the wind astutely, Jumping Jellyfish found herself powering past top-of-class rivals Voador and Gibe as they both sailed into a hole.  Judging the wind less astutely, we lost some of our advantage broaching a few times as we tried to hold the spinnaker too close to the wind in 11 knots.  A neat letterbox drop got us out of a trouble; we were rounding Anvil Point making 8 knots over the ground and still ahead of Voador!  Surely the wind must hold and get us home!  Surely the race committee must shorten course at North Head for the first time of asking!

But the wind had still more tricks to play on the fleet.  The last leg became a spinnaker reach and our new arch rivals Voador and Gibe played their spinnakers and the breeze smartly and pulled out a lead over the last few miles.  Then with wind strength falling and with nightmare visions of the prolonged finish to the last race in our minds, the wind just held out to carry us over the line – and then promptly filled in behind to squeeze up the fleet and make final race positions very close indeed. 

A fantastic feeling of satisfaction at the finish – to have stayed in contention to be only 30 minutes behind the winner in IRC-2, and to back up our previous 9^th place in class performance with the same result again.  And then a small celebration as we have qualified for the big one – the Fastnet is on!

Mark L.

No expense spared !

For the 'official' report of the race click the logo below -

For full race results click the logo below - 

The fleet heads east beyond Bembridge

Who would have thought that we would still be

ahead of Voador almost 24 hrs later ?

Sometimes you just have to laugh

Approaching Nab Tower

Rob, Jonathan and Mark L modelling their sailing attire

Its that hat again !  Was there a Flowerpot Woman ?

If you don't take that hat off, I'm going to eat you.

Mr.Happy thinks up another rib-tickler.

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Myth of Malham       Eddystone Drift II – King Neptune Fights Back

23rd - 25th May 2009.

Two years ago Rob, Mark, Alex and Tim were involved in an epic drift from Cowes to The Eddystone Light and back, a test of endurance against monotony, sun burn and colon clogging cuisine that was ‘Myth of Malham’ 2007. 2009 had to be better, it couldn’t be any worse …… surely.

In 2007 the light on the end of Portland Bill was the object of hate. This year the name Start Point was etched into the list of waypoints only to be mumbled about darkly over a quart of beer and a steaming Vindaloo in the darkest, flock-lined recesses of the Hamble curry house.

All started well. Jumping Jellyfish at least made the start this time. With life-jackets on and fire extinguishers held aloft, we motored confidently passed the massed ranks of RORC officials observing the competitors at the starting gate. Formalities complete, a fresh breeze (more or less) behind us, we were off, asymmetric flying, eating up the nautical miles to Plymouth .

The selection of spinnakers at our disposal proved to be a real asset on this trip. We only flew one of them, but at least the other two stopped the ‘light winds’ spinney feeling lonely in the fore-peak when it was off duty. The surplus sail cloth also provided endless discussion about the possibility of creating a more comfortable sleeping zone whilst off-watch, on the few occasions that lee-cloths were required during the 60 hour(ish) battle with moths, butterflies and bumble-bees that occupied us over the weekend.

Choosing to carry only a number 3 Genoa meant that we struggled a little when apparent wind dropped below 90 degrees, but at all other times the ‘big-white asymmetric’ was up and down as often as Widow Twankey’s knickers in Aladdin. This was the key to our survival, the proverbial ‘genie in the bottle’ when the wind died away and it looked as if completion of the race was going to be impossible. And several times we thought it might be.

Highlights of the race. There were many. The friendly rivalry between ‘Banana Watch’ and ‘Sand Castle Watch’, with both demonstrating the ability to squeeze that little bit of additional speed from the boat, regardless of whether it was day or night, upwind or down. The small private battles with other individual crews, sometimes lost but more often won. The time when we left the whole fleet (or at least the section of it we could see) behind, catching a breath of breeze ahead of the game and responding quickly with a spinney hoist, gambling that the angles were not too low. The delight of finding, after hours of night sailing and agonising over tactical decisions, that you were still in front of crews that surrounded you whilst making the turn for home at Eddystone. Even the disco lights in the heads and ‘classic dance rave hits’ playing serenely as the sun set behind us and the lighthouse faded into memory.

Apparently there was a basking shark at the rock. I didn’t see it, I was too busy humming to myself ‘Who ate all the pies ….. who ate all the pies ?’ to notice. Allegedly Banana Watch even hit 11 knots and saw dolphins. The Sand Castles had to content themselves with sharing our secret stash of Theakston’s with a clutch of passing mermaids …. such are the deprivations of a life at sea.

This was, despite the obvious frustrations, a very enjoyable race. Jumping Jellyfish sailed well (she is not the limiting factor). We successfully trialled our watch system and demonstrated that we could work effectively as a team. Finishing was a real bonus, meaning that we had overcome the problem of light winds and tidal windows that had caused so many to abandon the challenge.

At the time of writing our result is respectable. Provisionally we seem to have come 27th out of 133 crews and 9th out of 45 in IRC2.

Many thanks to Richard and Peter from RBYC for their patient expertise and good humoured contribution to a memorable trip.

For the 'official' report of the race click the logo below -

For full race results click the logo below - 

Tim

Nelson - the loneliness of command

xxxxx  

Richard caught 'fraternising'.

Why does everyone want to use the same bit of sea ?

The genie is out of the bottle

IRC 2.  Richard at the wheel

Mark thrills Rob with the menu for his next meal

Where will they be when the sun rises ?

Banana Watch dolphin spotting

I can see dolphins ... over there !

Plenty of company at Eddystone

The storm wracked Eddystone light

Alex wins the bet that she'd never wear that hat

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Mark Lee's  Race Log from the Fastnet 2007

Saturday

Attend crew briefing with 600 others; 2 per boat.  Weather expert is first up; explains their concern if two deep lows join together, conditions could get very nasty.  Current forecast has winds up to Force 9.  Race organisers have decided to postpone the start by 25 hours.  This should mean the storm will hit most of the fleet off the cost of England rather than out in the middle of the Irish Sea, where it is notoriously rough.

Race has never been postponed before.  Looks like it won’t be a boring race!  Hard to believe in the sunshine and gentle breeze.

Sunday

With start postponed, extra time for preparing the boat and double-checking every rope and all safety gear.

Debate about whether we need extra cans of diesel aboard; we will be running the engine for 10 minutes or so every few hours to keep the batteries charged.

Last supper.

Monday am

Start is civilised time of 1140.  Watch the fast IMOCA 60’s go off before it is our turn.  A good moderate sailing breeze.  Not the best of starts; get caught up in a mob of boats on the start line and a bit rusty on our first few tacks – still, 600 miles to go to make up the ground!

Do better and overtake boats on the beat up to the needles.  Wind over tide makes for a bouncy ride past Hurst castle.  Sat on the rail I get caught by waves and have wet feet already 2 hours into the race!  Only one change of clothing aboard to last 5 days…

Starts are staggered so that the faster boats start later.  Leopard 3 comes past very close by on her way to breaking the record.  Three times our size and with 30 crew aboard.

The fleet starts to split up; we head South to take advantage of an expected windshift coming through later on.  Wind is fine but sea is still bumpy.  Off watch and get my head down from 4 till 7pm; the only real sleep I will get in the race.

Get dinner down us – Alex performing her normal heroics heating up tinned stew below wedged in beside the gas stove.  Most of the crew manage to keep it down, at least for a while.  Tim, not so lucky, is already seasick.

Monday evening

  Wind is building as light fades.  Periodic squalls bring heavy rain and stronger gusts.  Reef the main to reduce sail - takes a lot of effort and 3 crew getting drenched. 

Wind around 25 knots which shouldn’t be too bad, but sea very uncomfortable.  Wind building slowly.  Forecast is still for the worst to come through tomorrow morning.

Good racing in the dark with a couple of yachts close by.  I have an exciting 2 hour stint on the helm; confused sea with big waves coming from different directions.  Passing ships disappear from view as we sink into the troughs between waves.  Very dark with no moon, so it is impossible to see the waves coming; once or twice I launch the boat off the back of a wave and she crashes into the next.  Not good for the boat, and not popular with the crew members who are trying to rest below!  Dawn comes very grey; almost unnoticed you can start to see the waves.

After 2 hours I can’t concentrate any more.  Rob takes over and I go off watch.  The trick is to get below, get soaking oilies off, and get horizontal fast before you throw up.  All the crew are feeling seasick to some degree.  Waves are regularly breaking over the boat and filling the cockpit with water.  Thrown around so much below it is now impossible to sleep.  Close my eyes and try to doze.  Wind strength is continuing to build.  The noise of the waves crashing on the hull is punctuated by calls on the radio – someone is dismasted, calls to the Coastguard for assistance, boats announcing their retirement from the race…

Tuesday am

  Wind hits Force 8, 35 knots, while I am off watch below.  Crew all pretty debilitated; wet, cold, no one has been able to eat or sleep all night.  We decide to head in to Plymouth, lick our wounds and maybe come out again once the worst of the weather is past.  As long as we don’t get off the boat, the rules allow us to re-join the race. 

Tie up on a temporary pontoon with a bunch of other Fastnet boats.  One yacht comes in with only one third of her mast left standing.  Most around us have already decided to retire.  With some warm soup inside us, we check the latest forecast and consider our options.  There’s a second low coming through behind this one, and it looks like conditions are going to stay horrible all the way out to the Fastnet rock.  The boat is fine, but as a crew we aren’t in a fit state to keep fighting these conditions.  We take the better part of valour and retire.  Gutted.

Epilogue

  From our qualifying races we had learnt that you can expect to be wet, cold, seasick and sleep-deprived in offshore yacht races.  Still the strength of these conditions just took it out of us.  Huge respect to the 51 crews who did complete the race this year, some of them in boats our size, and – incredibly – a couple of them with only 2 crew, not our 6.

Here’s looking forward to 2009 ......?  

Mark L.

What is this orange hankie for ?

The Fastnet Race 2007 gets under-way

Leaving the Hurst Narrows - last time we will see this one !

Alex

Tim & Rob. The seas begin to build

A casualty limps into Plymouth

Testament to a wild night

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Cervantes Trophy  - Cowes to Le Harvre (or not). 

1st-3rd May 2009

Rob & Mark took the day off on the Friday to complete a full handover and prepare the boat ready for us to go.  The sail mix was agreed and set up, food was stashed and a full check was completed.  By Friday evening the remaining crew started to collect together on the boat to find we had discovered a problem with the engine - well done to Rob for mooring without it!  Our hopes were starting to sink as we were told there was fuel pump problem and no one had a spare.  The engineer told us to go off & grab some food and that he would work on to try and find a fix for us.  It was hard to be enthusiastic but towards the end of the meal we received the brilliant news that it was working & we were ok to race.

5am on Saturday the alarms went off and we jumped into action.  Spirits were high and we were fired up to have a good race.  We left the pontoon on time ready to motor across the checkpoint to confirm we were entering to the organisers.  About half way across the Solent the engine failed again.  Whilst we waited for SeaStart (the boating equivalent to the AA) to come and find us we watched our other competitors all go across the line and disappear into the distance.  Disappointed  doesn't come close to how we all felt.  We sailed back into the Hamble and spent the day sorting out the problems.

We decided to make use of the time to put ourselves through a 'race' and complete a 24 hour sail anyway.  We left at 5.30 pm on Saturday and headed out to Weymouth.  Wind against tide with beating into a fair wind meant it was quite bumpy to say the least.  Even Alex felt sea sick!  We started our watches at 9 and went for 3 hour change overs.  The beat out was slow and painful due to having to keep the engine on to test it but also because the wind died during the night so we couldn't even sail.  As the sun came up though so did the wind which meant the 'Banana watch' (Alex, Rob & Mark G) were able to get the kite up and sail - 9 knots were seen on the speedo!  

We were back at the Needles by 11am so agreed to take advantage of the good weather and go around the south side of the Island.  That meant we managed to keep the kite up and have some much needed team practice gybes (and one accidental one) and flying.  Great fun.  We found some other boats as we turned towards Portsmouth so managed to 'race' them in.  I'm not sure they realised we were racing them, but we managed to overtake them which made us all feel great!

Arrival into Portsmouth meant a well earned alcoholic beverage for all followed by another fabulous home made meal by Mark G.  (well done to Rob for getting us slotted in neatly on the end of the pontoon which meant a quick hop over the pontoon to the pub and showers!  We were all asleep by about 9!!

Monday brought a vast amount of wind.  Rob/Mark L earned a bucket & spade award for parking us on Ryde sands - oops!  We didn't get to fly the kite but we did get to shake down the boat to understand how she sails upwind & how we should set the sails for best effect.  

A disappointing weekend but one which was very useful for us a crew.  

Next race is 2 weeks time to Eddystone Light on 23 May. 

Alex.

Up early for the start of the race. Looking forward to a sail across the Channel in good conditions.

Dave, Mark G and Mark L contemplate the day ahead.

Rob trials a new mouthwash .... arrrgh !!

Oh the ignominy !

Bugger the Queen Mary II,  I'm on starboard.

Training in the Solent - February 2009 - A small selection of photographs taken earlier in the year showing crew members sailing on the Solent.

Jellyfish Charters - Our boat 'Jumping Jellyfish' has been chartered from Jellyfish Charters, based in the Hamble River.

The Fastnet Race - A short history of the race.