Saturday, August 28, 2010
Visit Malta Puma this morning were off the bottom of the leader board…..and now they have gone back down again…ahhh!!! Fortunately I believe this only to be temporary as boat speeds have slowed down as they have been rounding the top of the Shetlands Islands. There is a huge tidal gate here which if not hit at the right time, can see a huge tidal current going in the opposite direction that you want to go. Add to this the wave action and also wind direction, and it can be quite an inhospitable place. However there is still some great news to celebrate this afternoon as they have now overhauled Winsome who are approx. 3 miles astern of Puma – it must be a wonderful sight for the guys. Over the next few hours I am pretty sure Puma will come off the bottom of the leader board once again and start heading up the rankings. In IRC Class 1, Cheeki Rafiki is the next target; she is some 54 miles ahead of Puma now but at 6pm sched, Puma were going 1 knot quicker, which means over 24 hours average, they could make up some 10-20 miles if the weather holds….go Puma go!!! Please spare a thought for Change of Course who have still to get around – let’s hope they do this very soon.
Peter Robson, Skipper of Playing Around Logic has called in twice today,. They had a horrid rounding of MF, and described it as hell. The tidal gate made them go inshore quite close to the rocks, and the seas were short, steep and very unpleasant. The only thing positive he had to say was that it was a great sight!! The weather up there has been cold, with frequent rain showers and some squalls. Now that both yachts have rounded the forecast is looking for the North Westerly’s to build from 14 knots to 20-25 knots whilst at the front of the fleet the wind is dying off slightly which means our yachts have an advantage at last for a least 6 hours.
Who named Muckle Flugga anyway?? I think all the crews must have many varied and very apt names for this Northern most point of the British Isles. There is a lighthouse here on the part of the island called Unst. I have learned today that According to local folklore Muckle Flugga and nearby Out Stack were formed when two giants, Herma and Saxa, fell in love with the same mermaid. They fought over her by throwing large rocks at each other, one of which became Muckle Flugga. To get rid of them, the mermaid offered to marry whichever one would follow her to the North Pole. They both followed her and drowned, as neither could swim.
