This way, that way, forward and backwards - 02 September 2010
“We’re going this way, that way, forward and backwards over the Irish Sea, a bottle of rum to settle my tum and that’s the life for me.”
Jim Dobie dredges up a childhood memory in his report from on board Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, currently competing in the Severnstar Round Britain and Ireland Race.
“It’s pretty similar conditions out here apart from the fact we have no rum or even a bottle of Benromach whisky to toast some of these tacking angles. What has been a relatively short distance has been almost doubled as we beat up wind to get to the finish,” explains Jim.
It was revealed by the RORC race office this morning that the IMOCA 60, Artemis Ocean Racing, had claimed overall victory in this year’s race as no other competitor could match their corrected finishing time. This being said the race is by no means over for the two Clipper Events entries as the crew of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital have been worked hard over the past few days after experiencing some very fickle winds.
“The wind has been up and down and so have the sails between the Yankee 1 and 2 and reefs going in and out. The crew have been responding well and are starting to look forward to the finish and possibly a few drinks,” reports Jim, who himself only returned to dry land in July after circumnavigating the globe as skipper of Uniquely Singapore in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race.
He continues, “This tack will take us past the Scilly Isles and we will be on the home stretch, tacking up the south coast making sure we make good use of the favourable tides.”
Over on Hull & Humber tensions are running high as Piers Dudin continues to push his crew and boat hard to ensure they stay ahead of their Scottish rivals. “Still no sign of Edinburgh Inspiring Capital but they can't be far away,” reports the Yorkshire entry’s skipper. “We expect to catch sight of them as we round the Scillies, hopefully behind us!
“This section of coastline is especially close to the race course and is actually one of the few parts of the course where we get to see land. Just as well it's some of the best coastline Britain has to offer, although maybe I'm biased!” says Salisbury-based Piers.
“Current ETA is very early Saturday morning. Everyone’s already looking forward to that hot shower, which won't happen till the weekend. But when it does, it will be very well received!”
Fickle winds slows progress
01 September 2010
As the sun rose on day nine, the fickle winds had caught up with Hull & Humber and skipper Piers Dudin admitted that the reality of meeting their ten day target in the Round Britain and Ireland Race will not be possible unless “the earth spins the other way!”
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Ticking boxes
31 August 2010
The Clipper entries continue to encounter a variety of mixed conditions in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race as they close in on the final sprint to the finish.
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