Saturday, August 28, 2010
Good morning, and what a morning it is!!
At last, Visit Malta Puma are not last on the water in the Round Britain & Ireland Race!
They have managed to overhaul on the water the Class 2 yacht Change of Course. They are still unfortunately in last position on handicap but at least they know they have taken scalp no 1, now they have to concentrate on the next boat, Winsome. Change of Course is now 7 miles behind them and Winsome just 9 miles ahead. The 3 yachts are all neck and neck as they race to get round Muckle Flugga (does it ever get any closer??), and it is only really the point of sail which is different, It is likely that they will all round in sight of each other which will be a great morale boost for the team on Puma. They are all incredibly upbeat about it, as Philippe’s blog this morning states. The fantastic sailing conditions they are having must put a spring in their step and seeing land as well always gives a huge lift to spirits.
With less than 50 miles to go to get round the yachts should start the second part of the amazing race sometime this afternoon. That is great news as we may get some photos of this mysterious piece of rock. 4 years ago when our yachts competed in this race, Puma went round in darkness, and our other Reflex 38 jaguar Logic, went round in the day light but it was thick fog, so we never did get to see what all the fuss was about!!
Meanwhile during the night, Playing Around Logic went past Muckle Flugga and the 8 hours previous to that clawed back some astonishing mileage against Encore and British Soldier. Unfortunately as these 2 went round, and Playing Around was still heading to the tip of the Shetlands, they once again increased speed as they were on a quicker point of sail. This equates this morning to Playing Around being 34 miles behind Encore having being just 14 miles at 10pm last night – this is cruel game sometimes!! Peter called in last night to explain that they had been ‘Sailing their socks off’ during the day and it certainly showed with the gains that they had made. All is well onboard, they have had their first dehydrated meal last night, and the comments were favourable – ‘not as bad as we thought’ was probably the best comment heard!
The conditions at the top of the British Isles at the moment are superb – light winds, clear blue skies, a little chill in the air but most importantly, superb sunshine. Peter commented that the sea was virtually flat calm as they headed towards MF, ‘like sailing in the Solent on a beautiful summers day’ he said….quite incredible. With the forecast of F6 to F7 coming in during the next few hours, they had better savour the moment as it isn’t going to last!
Keep the messages coming in, both yachts have said to pass on their thanks for them, and that they really do help morale and give the teams such a welcome boost….
Allie Smith
