All the ducks in a row!
All the yachts have now reported in today and all teams are happy, upbeat and enjoying some great sailing. It has mainly being upwind since the start but after rounding Lands End a little earlier this evening, the yachts have now been able to free off a little and are now reaching across the Irish Sea. We have some fresher winds forecast this evening and during the night, but this will only make the yachts go that little bit quicker!
Addiction Logic were first off the mark this morning to call, and skipper Peter Burwood announced that his team were in high spirits and were having an almighty battle with fellow team mates on Jaguar Logic. They were so close they could just about have a conversation with the watch on deck.
Lancelot Logic were having a great sail when they called in. Skipper Chris Jackson said they were just about to make lunch and they were having a battle with Sailing Logic’s arch rivals but great friends, the Army yacht British Soldier. Chris has had a little tumble in the saloon, and is looking a little like he had gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson; he is hoping he is looking in better shape when he finishes and hits the Plymouth town in a few days time!
Next to call were Jaguar Logic. Sharon Hayward, first mate commented that the crew were trimming hard, watching Addiction very closely and marvelling at the sight of so many yachts racing so closely together after over 24 hours at sea. They were looking forward to rounding Lands End and heading towards the rock. No damage reported onboard, and they had enough bin bags (a little joke.....I will spill the beans later!).
Interceptor Logic’s Skipper Stuart Wilkie called later this afternoon to report that they had a few seasickness victims leaving the Solent, when the Hurst Narrows and the Needles Channel lived up to their reputation of being a little wild, but everyone has now settled in to the routine of the boat and all was well. Profile Logic, doggedly tracking Jaguar Logic’s tail, texted to say that during the night they had lost their mast head instruments and VHF aerial, but apart from that, they were trimming hard, laughing a lot, and looking forward to dinner!
Visit Malta Puma is ahead of her sister ships, apart from Quokka, and is steadily heading up the rankings in Class 2. She has steadily being sailing 0.2 or 0.3 knots quicker than our other yachts, which means the crew must have been trimming very hard to achieve these speeds. Skipper Tim Thubron called as they were rounding the Lizard to report all was well on board. No great dramas to report apart from a few close calls just after the start yesterday, and that they had snapped a genoa sheet.
Quokka have been very quiet, but texted later this afternoon trying to find out how they were doing against everyone else in class. They are first in class on the water at the moment, but on handicap they are not, so it is all very exciting at the top of the class. They will have to pull out some more distance between them and La Reponse and Joopster to climb up the rankings list.
Provisional positions at 2100 are:
Quokka 5th
Visit Malta Puma 11th
Lancelot Logic 21st
Addiction Logic 24th
Jaguar Logic 25th
Interceptor Logic 33rd
Profile Logic 36th
71 in class
News from the fleet is that three of the maxi tri-marans have finished already, which is truly amazing. I am sure they will be relishing the cold beers that Plymouth has to offer.
The big 100 foot maxi yachts of Leopard and Rambler have rounded the rock and are now heading back towards the to the Scilly Isles as well as most of the Open 60’s including friend of Sailing Logic Alex Thomson on the amazing yacht Hugo Boss.
