Sailing Logic Racing Blog

2009-04-27T08:43:00.001+01:00

An Exciting Climax to the Spring Series

The final race of the Spring Series took place yesterday and provided everyone with an exciting climax to the series. Saturday’s training day gave the team their 1st opportunity to experience some strong winds sailing. With the wind gusting to 27 knots the team’s ability was fully tested. Everyone loved it and did a brilliant job, executing some complex manoeuvres in tricky conditions.

Feeling well prepared, the team was cautiously confident going into the final race. We could possibly finish 2nd in the series or we could feasibly drop to 8th! We had a conservative start at the committee boat end of the line, not wanting to risk an OCS. Puma very quickly found clear air and worked the 1st beat exceptionally well, being rewarded with a 2nd place at the 1st mark, just one boat length behind Premier Flair.

For the rest of the race the team worked extremely well, with only one crew error, which resulted in the spinnaker’s premature hoist (we were still sailing upwind toward the windward mark). The problem was very quickly resolved which was clear evidence as to how the team has developed throughout the series.

In the end Puma finished in an excellent 4th place, just ten seconds ahead of Premier Flair. This was to be the 3rd consecutive race that Puma has beaten Premier Flair (one of Britain’s Commodores Cup teams). This in itself is an incredible achievement and one which everyone is very proud of. What is better is that Puma finished the series on equal points with Premier Flair!

The spring series has given Sailing Logic’s teams a great start to the season with a real confidence boost. Puma Logic finished the series in 5th place (on equal points with 4th place). It was an extremely competitive fleet of twenty five boats. Well done everyone, top performance.

2009-04-20T12:45:00.000+01:00

Puma Clinch Another 3rd Place

As the Warsash Spring Series draws to a close the team aboard Puma Logic enjoyed another challenging race with a top result. There has been a considerable improvement in the standard of sailing aboard Puma during the series, which is endorsed by the good results.

The race was both physically and tactically challenging and the team rose to the occasion. Enjoying sunshine and a good breeze for the duration of the race was a bonus. Puma Logic had a great start and was in the top half of the fleet for the entire race.

The interesting course set by the race committee required some excellent teamwork to pull off some difficult manoeuvres. The mark roundings were very busy with three different fleets converging on a few of them at the same time. Despite loosing out badly on the final rounding Puma stormed over the finish line with an excellent 3rd place.

Puma Logic now lies in 5th place in the series. When the discard is applied to the results Puma is just four points behind 2nd place! It is all very close with just a few points separating 2nd place from 7th! It is all to play for in the final race.

Jaguar Logic was also racing at the weekend. She had a team aboard who were doing their ‘Introduction to Racing’ course. It proved very successful and everyone had a fantastic time. There were many smiling faces at the end of the week and everyone is looking forward to coming back next weekend for more.

2009-03-25T08:38:00.004Z

Looking Forward to 2009 and

Reflecting on 2008
By Philippe Falle

One concern when running an offshore racing campaign is the management of expectations. It is true to say that for myself, 2008 was the best season of offshore racing I have ever had, with victories in both the BMW round Ireland Race and the RORC Madeira Race. However, what really made 2008 so very special were the people involved with the Madeira Race campaign.

The dedication, compassion, willingness to learn, humility and desire to have fun became the trademark qualities of a very special group of people. The sailing was both tough and exhilarating providing me with moments of pure exhilaration and mouth watering, adrenaline rushing fear. I openly declared on arrival back in Shamrock Quay, at the end of August, that I had just had the best month of my life. To this day I still feel the same and the memories have not faded. The same sentiment was echoed by several of my fellow team members, including Brian who is 69 years old!

Personally 2008 was a roller coaster ride of emotion complicated with personal issues and enhanced by some amazing sailing. On New Years Eve I felt very mixed emotions when reflecting on the year, knowing that the achievements and emotions of an extraordinary team, would be impossible to repeat. I was not sad to see the back of the year for many personal reasons, which were to become overshadowed by the euphoria of an incredible season of offshore sailing. For that I will always be grateful to my fellow team members who made it happen.

For many people who come and race with us our campaigns offer an escape from hectic and demanding work commitments. Most of our team members are very successful in their chosen careers and work extremely hard with immense pressures. Sailing provides them with a mechanism to release work related stresses, enabling them to become re-energised and enthusiastic for their professional lives. Ironically this is harder for me as my demanding career is sailing! It was therefore a revelation when a racing campaign that I was running became just the escape that I needed. It made me appreciate and understand what people get out of sailing and why it is so important to them.

As I have already pointed out, managing expectations is one of the hardest parts of managing a successful race campaign, remembering that achieving good results is only a small measurement of success. For our 2008 offshore campaign the superb result was actually a reward for the other successes, which were in fact of more importance to everyone. Winning was the icing on the cake and never the overriding objective or goal for anyone.

I am very much looking forward to another season of offshore racing on Puma Logic. There is undoubtedly a certain amount of apprehension as the season closes forever closer. Success brings with it added pressures, some of which are external and unavoidable. Most are self inflicted by ourselves and our fellow team members. Expectations contribute greatly to pressure and therefore how the team manage these expectations will be pivotal to the success of the 2009 campaign.

Over the past two years I have learnt a huge amount about myself, running a race team, managing expectations of a team and building a healthy respect between every team member. Many of those lessons were learnt the hard way from the mistakes I made in a previous year. I am a great believer in the old adage ‘there are no weak teams – just weak leaders.’ It is a philosophy that I embrace and wholeheartedly believe in.

Therefore, when a team that I was leading became dysfunctional, I had only myself to blame. It would have been easy to ignorantly lay the blame on the shoulders of others, but that would have been stupid. It would have achieved nothing and I would not have learnt a single thing about people and myself. Instead I spent the winter doing much soul searching and questioned many things about my approach, how to handle agendas and most importantly how to build a successful team.

These lessons were implemented last year in an attempt to undertake my most ambitious offshore campaign to date. I was very lucky to have a fantastic first mate in Dave Bright, who helped me regain my passion for offshore racing. This was mainly achieved through his no nonsense, honest and enthusiastic approach to offshore sailing. His passion rubbed off on myself and the rest of the team.

Now it is time to start planning for the 2009 campaign and building the team dynamics. The entire core team from the Madeira Race are returning to Puma with the addition of two new faces. I say ‘new’ but both Ben and Howard have sailed with Sailing Logic before and have already become very close friends.

It will be very difficult to repeat the euphoria of last year, the pioneering year, a year where several of us experienced the ‘best month of our lives.’ We have to accept that 2009 will be different and we need to build a new set of core values that were so important to us last year. All of these things in some ways add complications to the development and progress of the team. How we manage the pressures and expectations will be vital to our success.

However, I must re-emphasise the fact that we have a very special and motivated team who are dedicated to the success of Puma Logic. We cannot wait to get started, albeit it with certain amounts of apprehension, from all of us, for varying reasons. On my part I accept that this year will be different with new experiences. It is fantastic that we have two new additions to the team. They are already on the same emotional level and were staunch supporters of ours in 2008.

I will be approaching our Rolex Fastnet campaign with a renewed passion for racing combined with the same honest and enthusiastic commitment of last year. With such a fantastic bunch of team mates and a dedicated first mate we will succeed with everything we set out to do. All our goals will be met and the campaign will conclude with a group of people who are even closer than they were at the end of last season. These are my objectives entering into the 2009 offshore season.

2009-03-23T14:07:00.005Z

Warsash Spring Series Gets Underway

Puma Logic’s extensive re-fit is now complete and she is back doing what she loves most – racing! After many hours of hard work and large amounts of money spent, Puma Logic is looking in excellent shape and raring to get the 2009 season started.

Race one provided the team aboard Puma Logic with disappointingly light winds which ranged between 1.5 and 5 knots for the entire race. Sadly Puma Logic could not find her form and was lagging at the back of the fleet at the end of the race.

On Sunday the weather was looking fantastic with 8 knots of wind and fabulous sunshine. Puma Logic had an excellent start and was 1st around the windward mark. The excitement was short lived as the next mark was missed, which resulted in Puma having to drop the kite and beat back to the mark! This was a great lesson in how to go from the front of the fleet to the back in a matter of minutes!

On the positive, the boat speed was excellent and Puma Logic was out pacing much of the fleet up wind. The teamwork was very good and everyone dealt with some difficult mark roundings with confidence. This resulted in well executed and slick manoeuvres.

The final result, with a position of 12th, is certainly not a true reflection of the performance capabilities of the team aboard Puma Logic and we very much look forward to seeing a big improvement in results over the next four weeks. Puma Logic has pace and the team has great potential. It is looking likely that next Sunday may provide us with stronger winds which the Reflex 38s relish.

2009-03-05T20:51:00.002Z

One Down, One to Go

The annual re fit is well under way now and Jaguar is being re-launched this morning. Her bottom is looking rather slick and slippery! It is always a great feeling as the boats go back in the water, a time when we get very excited in anticipation of a great season when all the hard work will pay dividends.

Puma is coming along well, having had a huge amount of work done to her after a couple of extremely hard seasons of offshore racing. The forepeak has been put back together with the additional structural strengthening and new bunk. The keel work is now complete and the underneath epoxy is finished and ready for antifouling, which is scheduled for today.

The engine has been removed and is having a complete re build. Some of the vital parts are not due to arrive till Wednesday! It will then take two days to rebuild and install! We like cutting it fine at Sailing Logic as Puma is competing in the Warsash Spring Series which starts on Saturday morning! All good fun!

2009-02-19T07:44:00.001Z

Puma’s Forepeak is Removed

Work is progressing well on Puma and she is on schedule for her re-launch on 6th February. The bunk in the forepeak has now been removed and the final preparations will take place this weekend for the structural strengthening to be added.

It has been noticed that the longitudinal stringer has detached itself from the hull in front 1.5 metres of the boat! It must have been one hell of a wave that did that on the Madeira Race! That will also be re bonded and laminated in for extra security.

The forepeak looks somewhat odd without the bunk in place. We actually quite like it, the boat is lighter and there is plenty more sail storage!

2009-02-12T19:08:00.000Z

The Re-fit Begins

Last years Madeira Race was brutal both on Puma and the team that sailed her. Puma took a real pasting in the Western Approaches and rounding Ushant, so we knew in August last year that there would be much to do to Puma to get her back into pristine condition.

Work has now begin to get her ready for the forthcoming season which will see her hardened offshore race team compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race, eager to improve on last seasons results. Puma’s close knit team aim to maximise their chances of a Fastnet victory this year. Several of them descended upon Shamrock Quay to spend hours of painstaking work underneath her sanding the old antifoul off.

She is now as smooth as a baby’s bottom and ready for some fresh expoxy paint followed by new antifoul. Our fingers are now red raw after sanding all the internal woodwork ready for three coats of varnish. Puma will look and feel awesome once the refit is complete.

The conditions during the Madeira Race were so harsh that we have decided to take the precaution of adding new internal structural strengthening to Puma. We are ripping out the old forepeak bunk, adding longitudinal stringers and replacing the bunk with additional strength to make Puma stiffer and even more structurally sound.

One wave hit us so hard that the fairing had cracked on the underside of Puma where the keel joins the hull (see photograph). We have ground out all the laminate and filler in readiness to be re placed. Whilst this is only cosmetic it is extremely important in optimising the performance of Puma. The smoother the bottom the faster she will be!

Progress is well on schedule for the re launch on March 6th. There is still hours of painstaking work to do but it will be worth it. The preparation of our yachts is something we take immense pride in. It contributes greatly to our impeccable safety record and the consistent performance of our race teams.

All this before we have even begun on Jaguar Logic and Bongani. And you all thought that February was our quiet time!

2008-11-21T16:10:00.008Z

Sailing Logic Success in RORC Championships

Our 2008 offshore racing team were honoured at the RORC (Royal Ocean Racing Club) annual dinner and prize giving on Saturday night. The team led by Philippe Falle and with the shore support of Allie Smith had a fantastic season.

For the sixth consecutive year Philippe's team have won the RORC School Boat of the Year award. In addition they collected prizes for finishing 2nd in IRC1 in the RORC Championships and 3rd Overall in the RORC Championships. Most importantly they were awarded the Pera prize for assisting another yacht in distress during a race.

If you are interested in joining one of our offshore race teams or our Rolex Fastnet 2009 teams then have a look at our Fastnet Race 2009 information.

2008-09-08T19:17:00.000+01:00

IT IS OK TO BE SCARED!

CLOSING BLOG FROM PHILIPPE

I was quite relieved on Monday night when Becki sat in the cockpit of Puma and announced to the team ‘for the first time ever aboard Puma I was scared.’ I was relieved as it was good to know that I was not alone in my own thought.

I have often been asked about my scariest moment at sea. I get the feeling that my normal response of ‘I have never been scared as such’ is met with a certain amount of scepticism and disbelief. However, that was the truth up until Monday night whilst sixteen mile West of Ushant. I have been anxious and apprehensive before about a situation; but never scared. Now I actually understand and appreciated what it is like to be scared at sea. I will be able to answer the question with honesty in the future.

The next question that I am sure many of you will immediately be asking is ‘so were you in danger?’ This is something that I have subsequently given careful consideration to. We learn from our own experiences and it is therefore very important to analyze the events that lead up to a situation provoking certain emotions and actions. Firstly I will give you the conclusion of my deliberations as I do not want you to be unnecessarily concerned. No is the answer, I do not believe Puma or anyone aboard her was in any danger at any moment.

‘So, how come I was scared then?’ That is a harder question to answer. Having a healthy respect for the sea is paramount in good seamanship. There is continual thought process that a skipper goes through when making tactical decisions combined with assessments of risk analysis and crew welfare. We all know that to race successfully means pushing slightly closer to the limits of safety than cruising requires. But we must determine what is reasonable and when the risk becomes too significant. It is the best balance of the two that separates success from disaster.

We were hurtling toward Ushant at speeds hitting just under twenty knots with one reef in the mainsail and a poled out no 3 jib. The wind speed was reaching nearly 40 knots (a full force 8 gale) and the sea state was very rough with waves in excess of five metres. It was pitch black and raining hard with poor visibility. We were on the edge and pushing hard, forever closing the deficit on Pen Azen.

I was considering reducing sail area to control the speed as with a lee shore rapidly approaching I was conscious of the safety issues. It was time to once again throttle back. We were 16 miles from Ushant when the lines that hold the spinnaker pole in place departed from the pole end. The consequence of this means that it is very difficult to get the jib to the other side of the boat (something we needed to do before any other manoeuvre was possible).

Poochie (Brighty’s latest and favoured nickname), Richard, Becki, Alan and myself were on deck. This situation needed some quick thinking with a safe and fast execution of whatever manoeuvre was decided upon. We all sat in the cockpit shining torches at the front of the boat for about ten minutes. Nothing was said; fairly indicative of the fact that none of us could think of a solution. The quietness of all of us was actually quite amusing and comforting in itself, a good sign that panic had not yet set in. We even had a laugh about the situation at one stage!
Then we started bouncing ideas around, we moved some lines around in a vein attempt to provoke a thought process. Clearly we had no answers that we knew would definitely work so we decided that the best way forward would be to cast off one line, pull another as hard and fast as we could, close our eyes and hope for the best! I was not entirely satisfied that we had a satisfactory solution to the problem and just before we started it I came up with another plan.

David just looked at me and said ‘that will not work!’ I responded ‘maybe not, but it is better than the current plan.’ Poochie retorted ‘ok, let’s give it a go and if it works you are a f*****g genius!’ We set up for it, breathed in and hoped. A few moments later Poochie looked at me and proclaimed me to be a F*****g genius. The problem was solved.

In total it took about 30 minutes to resolve our little predicament but in that time we had closed to within eight miles of Ushant. We had travelled eight miles in thirty minutes, an average speed of sixteen knots. For a thirty minute period we had not been able to control our speed when I felt it particularly necessary to do so. At that point I was scared! The elements had completely controlled us leaving very few options and we had to deal with it. Never before had I felt the sea to be so much in control of the situation which was a sobering reminder of the power of nature. That is why I was scared.

So why were Puma and the crew never in danger? Simply because we had planned far enough ahead to enable us to sort out any problems effectively and safely. We had the experience, knowledge, ability and most importantly time to analyze, plan and execute a remedy that would keep Puma out of danger. ‘TIME’ is the key issue. Whilst we had been pushing hard we had given ourselves time to sort out the problem and therefore I was satisfied that I had never put the team in danger.

The next 220 miles we covered in just 22 hours. I probably do not need to say too much about the sailing other than it was breathtaking with one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I have experienced. The speedo was reading 15 knots for sustained periods of time and peaking at 18.8 knots! The hull was resonating for much of the time and the loads were immense. I am sure you are fully aware of how hard Team Puma pushed right to the end. We were all at our mental and physical limits digging deeper and deeper into the reserves.

I do not fully understand how a team like ours can come and take on some of the best and most experienced teams around, possessing the belief that they can succeed. There is certainly a rare quality about the teams that sail offshore aboard Puma Logic and it is testimony that anything can be achieved with the right mindset. Puma Logic was very much the underdog in this battle but came out on top. This year there has been an undeniable commitment, incredible self belief and most importantly a huge respect for each other which has resulted in a morale and energy capable of taking the team to the top and conquering.

Sailing back into the Solent with the support RIB’s to greet us was a very special moment. At that stage we knew we had won the race and we had time to take it in and savour the moment. I cannot really recall my thoughts except the ones of relief at finishing the toughest yacht race I have competed in the euphoria of winning it. I will never forgot the moment we berthed in Cowes under sail power only. It was a sensational moment and the smiles, tears, laughter and hugs said it all. This concluded the best month of my life with a fairy tale ending…..beating the best yacht in the RORC championships in the toughest race. What more could anyone have asked for?

2008-09-08T17:39:00.002+01:00

RORC Cherbourg Race - last outing of the season....

Puma Logic and Jaguar Logic set sail on Friday evening to race to Cherbourg with an expected fleet of 52 yachts. This race was the culmination of the RORC offshore series and Jaguar Logic, skippered by Sailing Logic's friend Pete Summers, came along to push Puma hard and also join in the celebrations in Cherbourg. The weather was appalling, and for once the forecast pretty accurate.

Only 18 yachts appeared on the start line, with the rest deciding that a Force 8 southerly wind on the nose wasn't going to be fun and decided to stay at home and watch the tennis.......I think perhaps they had the right idea!

Never to be daunted, the Logic yachts set off down the Western Solent and out of through the Needles and then across the Channel to Cherbourg. Puma Logic was trying to consolidate her second place in IRC 1 Class, and for that they needed to make sure that British Soldier were in sight at all times. The maths were that if British Soldier won the race and Puma had not taken part, then they would have overtaken Puma to claim second and push Puma to third. Pen Azen emerged just after day break in Cherbourg as the Class winners with British Soldier second and Puma Logic third.

Puma spent half of the race without a mainsail up, after a technical problem, which meant that even getting to Cherbourg in third place, and not too far behind Pen Azen and British Soldier was another great achievement. Jaguar Logic came a very creditable 4th place, after having half their crew drop out at the last minute after looking at the weather, and with the rest of the team being made up of first time offshore racers, hats off to them!

The obligatory few beers were drunk, a belated French breakfast eaten at the yacht club, and then onto a rice little restaurant...........mmmm.....we always enjoy Cherbourg!

The teams were met at the finish by a Logic groupies...namely Jane, Maire, Poochie, determined not to miss out on some fun time and a few drinks with the crew.

The yachts returned safely at Sunday lunchtime, and all is well.

STOP PRESS:

Puma Logic has now been confirmed as coming 2nd in IRC Class 1 and also 2nd in IRC Overall which is a fantastic achievement for a team of relative novice offshore sailors, and a little sailing school yacht....we are VERY proud of you!!!

2008-09-03T18:02:00.000+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race - Final report: It's official - Puma wins!!!

Fantastic news...RORC this afternoon have confirmed that Puma Logic and her team have won the Madeira-Cowes Race, by 2 hours and 23 minutes on corrected time...they have actually won twice; first in Class and first overall which means a double celebration. We have some exceptionally weary sailors here in our offices this afternoon, but the smiles and grins on their faces say it all....an fantastic achievement and what a fitting end to an amazing adventure.

When RORC advertised these two races back in December we were looking for a new adventure to fit into our calendar. Little did we know at the time that this adventure would turn into such a journey, and with such success. Not just the positions on the water at the end but the spirit of human endeavour, steadfastness and friendship. We have 12 people who normally would not meet in their everyday lives. We now have a team comprising of 12 sailors who will forever be joined together with their common experience, loyalty and achievement. Our yachts have never been in such weather conditions before and so far away from land. We are immensely proud that they stood up to this hard test and passed with almost flying colours. Puma does need a little bit of tlc after her journey but nothing that will stop her racing once again on Friday over to Cherbourg for the last race of the season.

There were grumblings this morning on the dock that with the weather forecast for this coming weekend being horrible, that maybe the team should stay in bed, and drink a beer or two just in Southampton. However, after a few hours sleep and some of Bernie and Kath's fantastic cooked breakfasts at the Waterfront Bar at Shamrock Quay, they are all raring to go again. We can now officially announce that they are all mad!

The biggest impetuous for racing again this weekend is the team want to meet their fellow Madeira race teams for a celebratory beer or two, and this is the last opportunity of the season. They weren't able to meet with the Pen Zen crew last night after finishing and the British Soldier team were long gone back to Gosport. There is also the little matter of the positions in the IRC 1 Class and the Offshore series overall to think about, probably the biggest impetuous to carry on sailing than the beer!

Anyway, rest assured the crew will give it their all as before and I hope that Ian from the RORC Race Office have warned the Cherbourg Yacht Club that Sailing Logic is coming back!

2008-09-03T04:45:00.004+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race Report 12: Puma finish in dramatic style!!

02.14.50 hrs - Puma Logic finish the Madeira-Cowes Race....welcome home Puma!!

Pen Azen finished at 23.52, just 2 hours 22 minutes ahead of Puma after over 1500 miles of racing, amazingly close. We do not know yet where each yacht stands in the overall placing of the race but as soon as we do we will update you.

A fantastic night rib ride for the families of the crew met Puma as she skirted around the coast of the Isle of Wight and escorted her across the finish line and into Cowes fo a champagne reception. The yachts engine was restarted after their power failure 3 days ago, and the yacht is now heading back to her home port of Shamrock Quay for a little sleep and then a full English breakfast that they have been dreaming of since leaving the Solent in early August.

More to follow....

2008-09-02T13:21:00.001+01:00

RORC Maderia-Cowes Race Report No 11: .....12 hours to go and counting....

Puma is nearly home - into the Channel they have stormed this morning and are still averaging 10 knots towards the finish line. Pen Azen have definitely got ahead of them further after the interesting night, but not far enough for comfort. We still believe that Puma has a chance of overhauling the handicap deficit and so please keep everything crossed even tighter. It will be very, very close and oh so very, very exciting!

We have heard from the yacht at lunchtime and they have the 0.75 oz spinnaker up and the sun is shining. The wind is still strong from the south west which means it is perfect for bringing them home as quickly as possible.

A few of the crew are having second thoughts about racing to Cherbourg this weekend, but I am sure after a few beers and a good nights sleep they will be raring to go again.....absolutely mad!

Unfortunately, singing and dancing to Queen cannot help them at the moment as they have no power but they have been trying to remember the words and the tune, so maybe its a good thing they are mid-channel and no-one can hear them! Spirits as ever are very high with everyone working exceptionally hard to get the yacht back to Cowes in record time.

ETA still the same - 0200-0400hrs Wed morning.

2008-09-02T09:00:00.002+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race Report No 10: A tale of two Ushants.....

In 2005, Sailing Logic declared that we were never going to sail in or around the Bristol Channel ever again, after experiencing the worst tides and conditions that we had ever sailed in on our little 38 foot yachts, whilst trying to take a group of novice sailors to the Ireland and back. Force 9's on the nose and an equinox tide made the Bristol Channel particularly inhospitable.....Philippe, Dave L and Mike to this day still have not been back. Early this morning (1am to be exact) Philippe declared that Ushant was to be held in the same regard as it came back to bite them again for a second time 'Never again' he declared, 'am I going round this piece of rock and water'....this being declared after the yacht experienced large following seas.

You might think, well that's not too bad, wind and water coming from behind them, much better than when they were going to madeira... however there is a little 'but'. Puma had gone back into superior stealth mode after a battery switch was left on in the wrong position, meaning they had no batteries, which means no engine to start to charge them, which also meant, no lights, no navigation instruments, no vhf communication, in fact absolutely nothing. A pitch back night with rain squalls, huge seas and the yacht hurtling down them reaching nearly 20 knots...yes, I mean that....nearly 20 knots.

With all this going on you can forgive them for being a little tired this morning but also very relieved to see day break and at least have a chance of seeing what they are doing. Whilst all this was happening during the night, they had a poled out No 3 headsail and 1 reef in the main, when disaster struck on the bow and one of the ropes holding the pole in place snapped, leaving skipper and mate scratching their heads to think of a way of retrieving the situation whilst hurtling towards Ushant directly at breakneck speed, with no deck light to work with, only a torch with its batteries running out. And they are still racing.......

This morning we think they have lost a little bit of time to Pen Azen, but it is still incredibly close on handicap. We will be getting updates periodically through the day and will post these on the website blog as and when we hear fron the yacht. Unfortunately they won;t be able to receive any of your messages today but we will print any out for them and pass them over once they have finished. ETA in Cowes at the moment is approx. 0200-0400 Wed am....

2008-09-01T18:05:00.001+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race Report No 9: ....50 miles to Ushant...

Puma has done extraordinarily well today......they are absolutely flying along with 25 knots of wind coming from astern.

We think they may have pulled back a few more miles on Pen Azen this afternoon. We believe the deficit is down to less than 15 miles. They have just sailed over 55 miles in 5 hours which means if they keep up this sort of speed average they will have covered around 220 miles in 24 hours and for a small plastic 38 foot yacht that isn't too bad!

Brighty (or Poochie to his team mates) has the speed record of 17.5 knots today but Philippe is determined to beat him at some point and so they are wrestling for time on the helm. They have changed down from the big spinnaker to a smaller, more user friendly version. It hasn't seen Puma's average speed drop too much, but makes helming a straighter and more direct course much easier, which in turn may make them quicker in the long run.

The crew are all absolutely stoked up for the fight right until the end and know that every manoeuvre and every tactic from now until Cowes has to be executed perfectly, if they stand any chance of overhauling the deficit of mileage and handicap of Pen Azen.

It has to be noted here that Pen Azen have been the outstanding yacht of the season so far, as they were in 2007. We all have a huge respect for them and they have only twice been beaten by a British yacht in the last 2 years.....and both times it was Puma.....lets keep our fingers crossed (and everything else) that Puma can make it 3rd time very lucky........

2008-09-01T12:01:00.000+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race: BLOG FROM SKIPPER PHILIPPE

Our extraordinary adventure is now drawing to a close. We have just a few hundred miles to the finish line in the Solent and are battling it out every inch of the way against Pen Azen. We are currently 22 miles behind them which, once the handicap correction is applied, puts us pretty much level. It is gripping stuff and the team aboard Puma are completely psyched up to fight till the finish.

Three weeks ago we left the English Channel in a full gale, so it only seems fitting that we should re enter the Channel in another force 8 gale. Yes, that is what is forecasted for us as we round Ushant for the final time! It hardly seems possible that it is less than three weeks ago that I wrote ‘I would never choose to sail around Ushant in 40 knots of wind again!’

Well here I am eating those famous last words! There are however two fundamental differences this time. Firstly we will have the wind from behind us making for an extremely fast and more tolerable ride. Secondly, we are returning with a team of experienced ocean sailors who have developed in confidence, stature and ability over the last 3,000 miles of tough racing.

It always strikes me that much of what people back at home read about adventures at sea is based on the discomfort, hardships and physical toughness of offshore sailing! You may wonder therefore why we do it! Based on what you read I guess you may be forgiven if you think that we are bordering on insanity. Believe me though, that is not the case (well for the majority of us anyway)!

I often think that you may not get a completely balanced narrative of what life at sea is all about. If it was always as tough and miserable as we often like to make it out to be then I think I would be the first to agree that maybe the men in the white coats should be waiting for us in Shamrock Quay on Wednesday morning! As much as I would like to fuel our egos depicting heroism I feel compelled to divulge the truth of our journey!

Over the past few months I have had the great honour of sailing with eleven of the most considerate and team spirited individuals I have ever met. Richard has previously written about our ‘Team Values.’ I think you will all agree that a set of words is meaningless unless everyone believes in them and fully embraces them. Over the past few weeks it has struck me that our team not only believes in those seven key words but they have become the epitome of us. They could now be seven random words that anyone who looks at our team from the outside would select to describe us.

The truth is that we set off on an adventure together as twelve strangers and have shared a unique and wonderful experience together. Do not get me wrong, every single person on board deserves every bit of admiration and praise they get. The achievement is immeasurable and without a doubt we have been through some extremely tough conditions. However, for every hour of hardship there have been several hours of immense pleasure, fun and euphoria.

What is so amazing out here is the appreciation of the power of nature. There are no words or prose that can completely depict the emotions, or pictures that can document the magnificence of the ocean. To fully understand the true enchantment of the sea you have to experience this sort of sailing first hand. We can try our hardest to explain it to you but I feel it to be an impossible task. This is why I do it and why I love the ocean with so much passion. There are twelve privileged people on our campaign who will share the memories and emotions of Mother Nature at her best for the rest of their lives. Our lives will be so much richer for this experience and it is something that no amount of money will ever be able buy.

For me this race has provided me with the best month of my life. It has been a once in a life time experience that perhaps will be impossible to replicate. Everything has worked out so well and the enthusiasm, humour and commitment of every member of the team have been outstanding. Team Puma is a ‘TEAM’ in every sense of the word and I now look forward to the Fastnet campaign next year with the same team.

I hope you have all enjoyed sharing our experience through the wonderful blogs that everyone has been writing. They only give a taster of what life onboard Puma is really like. This team has been unique and with a very special bond. Without being here it is difficult to fully understand. Sadly for us the adventure of a lifetime is nearly over and we must all start thinking about how we are going to cope with returning to normality next week and saying goodbye.

Anyway, enough of that sentimental rubbish, it is back to business. We have a yacht race to win and please be rest assured that we are giving it our all. We are experiencing light winds at the moment which is a welcomed break after two days of tough upwind sailing. Both Puma and Pen Azen have negotiated the light winds very well and as the tactical options are drying up with every mile we will be relying on superior teamwork to out sail them.

Morale is extremely high both on deck and down below which is a huge advantage in the closing stages of the race. We have the prospect of some exciting downwind sailing over the next few days which is something we very much look forward to. All we need to do is keep Pen Azen in the same relative position and we can have them. Keep thinking positive thoughts for us. There is one thing you can be certain of; we will arrive in Cowes (hopefully on Wednesday morning) having put in 100% right up till the end. Come first or second I wholeheartedly believe we are all winners on Team Puma. Beating Pen Azen will just be the icing on the cake though!

PS Congratulations to Bol on making it through the North West Passage, the first boat through unassisted in a season! Well done you. Awesome achievement. Safe passage home.

PPS Thanks Ben for your legendary messages. It really has been like Nania Land out here much of the time. Cannot wait for you to join the Fastnet team, I have a feeling you will fit in just fine!

PPPS Top advice Finbar, but a tad late!

PPPPS Thanks to our harem of loyal supporters. It was fantastic sharing our experience and making you all a big part of it in Madeira. (Mum, Allie, Maire, Anna, Siobhan, Debs and Steff).

PPPPPS Huge thanks to Allie for your continued support. You have been truly amazing and we all love you.

2008-09-01T09:03:00.000+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race - Peter Brownsell’s Sunday Blog

This has been a very high spirited trip as I guess you’ll all have realised from the blogs we’ve been sending back from Puma. However spirits can’t always remain high.

I know personally that however exciting and rewarding the current experience, I always have a down moment, when nothing is as it should be and the world is just WRONG.

That moment came for me yesterday. I think it was yesterday, a couple of watches ago anyway. I was expecting it, and to be honest I was surprised it had taken so long to come. No specific reason, just tired after cleaning the boat on the morning watch while the boat rocked crashed and slammed it way through a difficult sea, and fed up with slipping all over the place in my special non-stick deck shoes. Twice into Philippe, who suffered quite badly for it, adding a nice frisson of guilt to the miserable mix. So I recognised that the darkness had come, and I wasn’t concerned because I knew it would pass.

My crew mates were I think, a little concerned, having never seen one of my less than happy moments, and responded in exactly the right way by taking the micky out of my foul mood. The swine! It did make me smile at the absurdity of how I felt though.. Then just as I was dozing off, off watch I was presented with a little bunch of flowers made from tie wraps and kitchen roll. What can you say, I couldn’t help myself, however much I was enjoying my misery, I had to smile and give it up! I can’t make any further comment without getting a sentimental. So as a Bloke I shall refrain, but I’ll just say that I love everybody on this crew dearly. (I have told them before, but I was, as they keep reminding me, very, very drunk at the time!)

Now after sleeping through three straight off watches and Puma humming along on flat seas, everybody dancing to Queen again after Philippe’s briefing last night with a special light show of flashing torches in the cabin and Pen Azen firmly in our sights, everything is rosy again.

So I’ve had my moment and it’s all up from here. All I need to be concerned about is what I’m going to do when this adventure comes to an end, which unfortunately it must. That is in the future though, and the future doesn’t exist, there is only this moment, NOW! I tried to explain this to my watch at three thirty this morning as we were getting ready to go on. They laughed at me very hard. I can’t think why?

2008-09-01T09:00:00.000+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race Report No 8 - Homeward Bound......

Fantastic news this morning.... Puma have got the expected winds and is rocketing along at the moment, averaging between 11 and 12 knots. They had around 350 miles to go at 0730am, and this will start reducing at an alarming rate going at this brilliant speed. It is interesting to note that Change of Course, who were only a few hours behind Puma and Pen Azen at one stage have now dropped back considerably as they have not hit the south westerly winds at present..

Pen Azen we think are around 20-25 miles ahead of Puma, which means that it is going to go down to the wire as who is going to win class and the race on handicap. By our calculations there are only minutes in it! How exciting!! British Soldier finished last night sometime around 8pm we think, but unfortunately the their tracker seemed to get stuck at 12 miles to go, so we assume they are in safely, and congratulations go to them. They left 4 days ahead of Puma and Pen Azen, so with an eta expected early hours of Wednesday morning, we hope that Puma will have jumped ahead of them on corrected time.

Pen Azen is a J122 which means she is 12.2 metres long with a waterline length of 10.55 metres. Puma is 11.6 metres long with a waterline length of 10.40 metres which means that she is a little shorter and in these conditions should be fractionally slower, as the rule normally is the longer the water line length in a following sea means a quicker boat. However, Puma is wider than the J122's which means in the conditions that the yachts are in at the moment, gives them a slight advantage as they have more wetted area, thus giving them more stability and hopefully that little bit of extra speed. Think of the yachts as giant surfboards and you won't be too wide of the mark.. so Pen Azen is slightly longer, Puma is slightly wider...which will give the yachts the best advantage, its too close to call. The Reflex 38's in general really relish these type of conditions - flat seas, wind behind the beam, surfing along quite happily. Go Puma, go!

All is very well onboard. They have had another Queen disco experience last night when they found out where they were in relation to Pen Azen and British Soldier. Those of us who were in Madeira and witnessed Puma leaving will remember the crew dancing, singing, and laughing to the tune of 'Don't stop me now', well they are at it again. With whoops of joy coming from the helm when they top 15 knots boat speed, life onboard has just changed to one of upbeat anticipation. They are in no doubt that they have to keep racing hard right up until the finish line, if they want to be in with a chance of go ahead of Pen Azen. It will be a very nail biting time tomorrow evening waiting for Pen Azen to finish and then counting the minutes until Puma appears over the horizon. We will keep you updated as often as we can right up until the finish......

2008-08-31T11:03:00.001+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race: Mairead’s Blog Friday 6pm

This time last week I had just taken off on the Easyjet flight from Gatwick to Maderia, with team-mate Rachel to join the 8 Puma Team who had completed Leg 1 and were preparing for the return leg. I had worked that morning to complete my hand-over; this was going to be my first time on annual leave I would not be contactable should an urgent query arise. The other “critical” thing on my mind my ensuring there would be someone in my flat when Currys were due to deliver the tumble dryer whilst I was away! Contrast that with yesterday when the sea state was so rough work hand-overs and tumble dryers and such material priorities were replaced by my psyching myself up for over an hour as to when I could face getting off the rail, taking off my kit and making the 20 minute struggle of a distance of less than 30 foot to go to the toilet and when off watch; the inability to sleep, although exhausted with the sound of the waves crashing against the hull as I was tied into my berth.

But that was just yesterday and I need to add very quickly I was not afraid, yes anxious and uncomfortable but very confident and felt safe with our talented and well experienced Skipper, First-mate, team-mates; Puma’s maintenance and professional shore support! Philippe had briefed us on when the weather was expected to change, I had the privilege of being on watch when it happened and it was an amazing feeling when the wind just dropped off and the sea calmed imminently. Then what I love about competing with Sailing Logic was the adrenalin; instant tactics, focus and excitement of getting the reefs out of the main sail and changing from Head Sail 3 up to Head Sail 1, and getting back to the race – we are all very keen to get our best result after all our hard work!

Back to the race – hurrah – we are seriously in this game and everyone is up for it – so keep watching! Monday and Tuesday were a great settling in couple of days for me, unlike everyone else on the team this was my first time at sea more than 26 hours consistently. By Wednesday I had settled into the watches, we had good weather and I had stopped feeling tired – although I had been sleeping a lot both off-watch and on the rail whilst on watch. Now the bad weather has passed I am really pleased we have 4 more days of this as I feel I’m just getting into it and time has gone really quickly. Funnily enough I am pleased we had a rough time on Wednesday as it was another new experience and makes me appreciate the more settled weather.

So why I am here? Why am I doing this? Well for the past 3 summers I found sail-racing a great stress release from the hustle and bustle of London and fantastic socially. I have had so much fun and I have met so many entertaining and like minded characters and indeed friends for life. I love being out on the water, pushing myself both physically and mentally – its such a complex sport and I can safely say every single day on a boat I learn at least one new skill/technique/technical understanding. I also find it has taught me; and further developed characteristics such as patience, empathy, compromise, listening, when to stand back and when to help out, how to relax and be myself, how to really be a team-player and how to lead by example.

Sailing Logic and in particular this Maderia team and campaign has been exceptional for all of the above reasons. Not sure I’m really a “yachtsperson” as I personally find sailing also makes me appreciate and enjoy my job and life in London; my comforts (high-heels & handbags etc), family and friends! When I’ve been sailing at the weekend I love going home having a bath and I actually don’t mind being back at my desk with my work colleagues having Starbucks and banter on a Monday – but that is because I have had such an exhilarating and fun weekend - the ultimate balance for me.

Sailing has put my life in perspective. I think I will settle to being a part-time yachtswoman if the yachties allow me, but at the same time give it my personal 100%!! I am enjoying every minute and find the time is going too fast. I am looking forward to the remaining days. Thanks for the emails that have been sent to boat – really nice to hear from everyone.

2008-08-31T10:56:00.000+01:00

RORC Maderia-Cowes Race Report No 7 - The jib top is out....

At last we have managed to make contact with the yacht after about 24 hours. The satellite phone has not been behaving itself, so getting information from the yacht has been a little tricky.

All is good aboard. Everyone is now very tired but spirits, as usual, are very high. There is plenty of laughter and banter despite the tiredness. Talk of returning home has now begun, where to eat, where their 1st drink will be and so on. They are all wondering if Southampton us ready for their homecoming, and will they be able to drink the Waterfront Bar dry on Wednesday!!

As far as our calculations go, we believe Puma to be around 15-20 miles behind Pen Azen, which means on corrected time (Puma has a better handicap) both yachts are neck and neck so there is everything to play for. British Soldier have still to arrive in Cowes after setting off 4 days before Puma and Pen Azen which means at the moment, both yachts are ahead of them, but there is still a long way to go!

Brighty got very excited this morning as the Jib top came on deck. This is a great sign as it means that the wind is freeing them up more and they are able to start going a little quicker, and using a sail specifially for the purpose.

The forecast shows that the wind should back westerley later this afternoon which means that they will then be able to fly the spinnakers and they will be surfing home......great conditions to finish a race.

All the crew have asked me to thank you for the wonderful messages to them - please keep them coming as in these final few days, whilst they are all very tired, it will make all the difference.

At the moment, the yachts eta in Cowes is looking between midnight Tuesday and midday Wednesday. In time honoured fashion they are bound to finish about 4am as most Sailing Logic's yachts seem to do when finishing long offshore races.....we will have to try and sort that one out for the future!

2008-08-30T10:19:00.001+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race Report No 6: Cat and Mouse....

As those of us who are not racing look forward to a sunnier forecast this weekend, our courageous team aboard Puma have been having far from predictable weather so far this race. Unseasonal gales and erratic seas have made competing against the rest of the yachts quite a challenge.

At the moment, as you know, stealth Puma is playing cat and mouse with Pen Azen. We know where she is but Pen Azen doesn't. Will this matter on board the French boat? You bet it will! They will be constantly looking over their shoulders, scanning the horizon, wondering how far away or how close Puma is, knowing full well in the conditions that the yachts have faced on this return race, both yachts are quite evenly matched. Pen Azen has set sail this time with only 7 onboard which means she is at a disadvantage in heavier weather as the boat is lighter and therefore more difficult to sail and keep on course. However, in lighter airs , they should be more competitive.

The weather model shows a complicated high weather area coming up off Cape Finisterre. Light winds are shown, so tactics will prove to be very important over the next few hours. It sees that there should be some wind due North of them rather than North East, but as we all know, sometimes the wind and weather shows no respect for what the forecast says!

All is still well onboard. The team have got through the uncomfortable night on Wednesday and I would imagine that the motion of the yacht has calmed a little for them to at least cook an evening meal without it ending up in Richard's boot! (see latest blog on website). Dinner tonight is Mushroom Strogonoff with rice....

2008-08-29T15:38:00.000+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race: BLOG FROM RICHARD

THINGS ARE A LITTLE TRYING DOWN HERE, CAN YOU MAKE DO?

I looked at my watch lying in my bunk; the one lucky one to sleep on the leeward side – there are not enough bunks for everyone to sleep on the high-side. It said 0610.

That’s good, 2 hours sleep; that makes 9 since leaving Maderia. It is the third night and I will be on watch again at 0800. Must get up an extra 10 minutes as I am tired and will need my salopettes to go over my shorts for the next watch. Get up at 0730, that will make the difference, and, another hour and a bit of sleep. Fantastic.

“Richard. It’s 7-30. Time for breakfast.” said Eileen.

Bugger. Forgot breakfast. But it is only normally coffee. No problem, better get going. Body get moving. Get Moving. GET MOVING.

Can’t move. Blimey. I need energy and FOOD!

“Richard. Do you want coffee?” As the coffee is a fresh-ground coffee, that question on Puma tends to be like asking if the Pope is Catholic.

“No thanks, but muesli would be good”.

“Where is it?”

“In the cupboard behind where Alan is sleeping.”

“Okay. See what I can do”.

As Rachel’s blog said we had two days sailing, up-wind, in breezy, sunny conditions; probably described as a pleasant, up-wind slog, but conditions were changing.

My watch had gone to bed after supper at 8pm. All spirits were high.. Oh come on you on-watch guys and gals, you can drive better than that, as Puma started to slam into the waves. Inside the noise is magnified like a drum by the hull, and you are physically thrown around in your bunk. Sleep is difficult. Their driving and the slamming seemed to get worse and worse. A quick check at midnight with the other 3 on my watch confirmed that between 4 of us, we had a total of zero minutes sleep over the last 4 hours!

When we got on deck, we discovered why the other watch was driving so badly. They were not, it was an ugly confused sea with 20+ knots of wind. Here we go again, son of Ushant! It was the turn of the other watch to go to the sleep free zone. It worked, our driving was just as good/bad, and they got no sleep, even after Philippe had made the decision to throttle back to protect Puma. These conditions explain why I am so happy with 2 hours sleep!

“Here is your muesli and how much milk do you want?”

“And here is the spoon”.

I looked aghast as I was hand a teaspoon to eat a big bowl of muesli, drowned in milk.

“Is there a bigger spoon please?” I asked.

“Things are a little trying down here, can you make do please?” said Eileen.

I looked at Eileen, held into the galley area with a strop attached to the cooker. The cupboard with the spoons leaning towards her, just out of reach, its contents visible like a bunch of little school children at the gates of a school, desperate to spend their pocket money at the tuck shop. That would be where Philippe was sat studying the latest weather and position data for his crew briefing at 8.

I looked around the cabin at the rest of the watch. Alan had just managed to get one leg into his salopette and was struggling with a position out of the game “Twister” to get the next leg in. Becki was dressed, with salopettes that any street kidz would have been proud of – a crotch around her knees, her straps undone due to sunburn on the shoulders gained whilst preparing Puma in Maderia. But she was trying to work out how to extricate her lifejacket from underneath a pile of wet sails, crew bags, and Alan who had now fallen on this pile. Mairead was stood by the heads door. Pleased with her achievement of getting from the back of the boat to the heads, was now trying to work out how to open the door, which was on varying 20 to 35% angle uphill, with a pitch as Puma rode the waves, or dropped when the helmsman did not notice a “hole” hidden behind a wave. Eileen had previously decided to demonstrate her break-dancing skills when she flew across the cabin. Coffee pot in one hand and skipper’s coffee in the other. Philippe grabbed, the coffee cup and proudly went on deck to announce that Eileen had fallen over, but had not spilt a drop of his coffee. He didn’t mention that the coffee pot was open and that a shot of hot coffee had hit my bare leg and straight down my boot. No burn but ouch.

On reflection “A teaspoon will be fine, thanks.”.

The next 10 minutes was a blur of little teaspoon on a mission to empty the bowl so that I could be on-time for watch.

I never did put my salopettes on, though I was reminded twice more during the day the secondary purpose of foulies, a protective layer against food substances and hot liquids split whilst eating, or whilst cooking, or by a fellow crew member performing either of the 2 previous functions.

I arrived on deck, delivering two coffees to encounter an in-bound bunk interceptor, Brian, whose face looked as if the last watch had been as tiresome as the sea state. He brushed one of the coffees as he homed in on his favourite bunk. Hot coffee down right leg and boot. again

And cooked lunch was cancelled when the water heating up to cook the pasta decided to leave the saucepan and dance across the cabin towards the nav station. Right leg and right boot AGAIN. Fortunately not hot enough to burn.

Life on Puma can be difficult and messy (all senses of the word) at times. It is hard to describe how difficult some of the simplest tasks can be or the state that we live in when the conditions are difficult. These tend to be soon forgotten when the good times arrive. As I write, 24 hours later the sea state and wind has calmed. During the night we went to full main and no 1. We have now changed to no. 2 and the boat log says we are doing 7.2 knots. Philippe has informed us that we are holding Pen Azen on the water, which is great. Despite the messy conditions, we are all having so much fun. We have already had some great sailing and, with 825 miles to go, there will undoubtedly be a lot more good times to come.

2008-08-29T08:37:00.001+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race Report No 5: Half way home....

This evening Puma Logic should be around the mid-way point in her race back to Cowes. During Wednesday night they had some pretty nasty conditions; steep unpredictable seas and pitch black, not giving the helms much chance of steering good course all the time. The tracker is most definitely not going to work for the rest of the race which is a real shame; we believe its battery life is just not long enough, even though it was working perfectly well before the yacht left Cowes and again on leaving Madeira. I know the yachts position as do RORC but it is interesting to ponder on how this will affect Pen Azen's tactics or indeed those of Puma.

We are also tracking everyday exactly where British Soldier were at the same point in their race (they left 4 days before Puma and Pen Azen) and its quite reassuring to know that the positions are all very similar, so no one has taken a flyer and been sailing in completely different wind conditions. British Soldier seems to have had quite light winds through the bay of Biscay and at one point it looked like they had been becalmed, so there may be a real opportunity in the next 2 days of the race to overhaul there respective position.

Once again, the tactics in a race like this are endless, and one can only assume what each skipper and crew will decide to do. The weather they have currently and the forecast of what is to come is very important to know, so that they can make choices. Without this information, they would be sailing quite blind. This is where the Iridium Satellite phone comes in. Philippe can hook the phone up to his onboard computer and use the phone to download weather information, which is then turned into a picture file which can then be used to interpret what the weather may do. Obviously as we all know, forecasting the weather is not an exact science so each skipper may interpret it differently, and also, the weather might not do what it is expected to....and we all know about that in the UK don't we!

We are expecting another blog today from one of the crew so it will be sent out as soon as it is received.

2008-08-28T10:34:00.000+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race - Blog from Rachel

NEW KIDS ON THE BOAT

Yippeeeee! It’s a ‘clean pants’ day! Perhaps I should rewind a little…….

Team Puma is a team of 12 and Mairead and I are the two return leggers, replacing Alice and Chico who did the outward race.

Like you, we both followed the race on the tracker and like you, we hung on every word sent from the boat, wanting as much information about life on board and how they were coping through all that rough stuff.

As the outward race began I watched and worried and wanted to be with them to help out and muck in. Rather selfishly, I also began to feel those familiar butterflies about the return race – would we have something similar on the way back? Without doubt, the team were brilliant in the way they coped and in the way they came out smiling on the other side and still hungry for victory. We flew out to Madeira on Friday and I still had the same nervous feeling and was in awe of these heroes…….

…..that was until we arrived at the hotel reception on Friday night when we were mobbed by the noisiest rabble of drunken misfits Madeira has ever seen. Who needs nerves when you’ve got this lot? We’d just flown 3 hours from London and yet I had the strangest feeling of coming home – I was finally where I should be. Bring on the next race!

It was a good race start and we’re making good progress. We’ve been beating the whole way (that’s sailing into the wind so the boat is at a constant 30-40 degree angle) and the sea has been a little lumpy at times so we bounce about a lot but we’re not complaining.

We’re settled into the groove now, watch systems in full swing (I’m writing this at 23.00 on Wednesday I think although I really don’t know). General conversations on deck usually centre on boat handling, tactics or weather patterns. And then for the remaining 95% of the time it usually degrades quite quickly into the usual silly banter, smutty schoolboy humour and occasionally to the obscure topics like the robustness of raspberry seeds (I know! Thanks to Brighty for that little marvel).

Yesterday afternoon we had a pod of approx 15 -20 dolphins keeping us company for half an hour or so, entertaining us with the occasional mid-air number. It was a great day, the sun was out and the evening skies were breathtaking. Such was the level of happiness on board that I think the only complaint was from Elaine when she was ‘a bit miffed’ at only seeing one shooting star compared to Pete’s seven!

On the not so nice side, life is pretty primitive. We wash up in a bucket filled from the back of the boat, we have to climb into wet clothes at 4am (got that one to look forward to later tonight), we live below deck in a sauna – especially when the cooker is on for mealtimes and coffee times and yet despite all that, I’m really going to miss all this when it’s over.

Anyway, better get back out on deck – we heard today that we’re holding Pen Azen and might even be beating them on corrected time so every ounce of boat speed counts. I’ve been sitting at the nav table for a while and on this tack it’s on the low side – which is not good. All the weight needs to be out on the rail
so I’m going to layer up and don lifejacket and get my new dry and clean pants wet.

P.S – 0540. It would seem that Puma has been playing with the dolphins for too long as she now wants to be one. Every other wave and she’s trying to jump out of the water. Now whilst we all agree that she’s a graceful beast in the water, she really is lacking something when she tries to leave it. Her crash landings back into the drink have all the finesse of a fairy elephant. After a particularly big one when her whole rig shuddered afterwards, Skip put safety first as always and has clipped her wings.We’ve gone from a 2 to a 3 headsail and chucked a reef in. That should tame her a little – until the Biscay!

2008-08-28T08:21:00.002+01:00

RORC Madeira-Cowes Race Report No 4 - Stealth Puma...again!!!!

Please don't worry, Puma hasn't lagged behind during the night, it seems their tracker has malfunctioned again, which is a real shame.

Looking at the routes taken by Change of Course and Pen Azen, it seems that the last successful poll was 1900 last night which coincidentally the last time I spoke to Philippe aboard Puma. They have also been having technical difficulties with their Satellite phone but at least this seems to have rectified itself. Please rest assured that Philippe calls in at least twice daily with positions so that we know where they are and also to report what has been happening aboard and how everyone is.

Spirits were very high last night, and I could hear in the background singing coming from the cockpit and general all round hilarity. This leads me to believe that Brighty must have been somewhere close!
I am sure that they are still up close to Pen Azen, and will wait for this mornings call to find out their exact positions to plot against Pen Azen to see exactly how far they are away from each other. It was a great decision in Madeira for the 3 yachts to leave together. I have been really please to see how well Change of Course is doing, just a few hours behind Puma and Pen Azen. Change of Course is crewed by a team with an average age of over 60, but it doesn't seem to diminish their enthusiasm or sailing ability one iota - good for them! Puma gave them some bread mix before they left, so we hope that they are making good use of it!

Back in the UK, I am being asked what day/time we think that Puma may arrive back to Cowes. It is difficult to say exactly at this point but the routing model says that their eta will be sometime Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning next week. If history tells me anything, it is likely to be either 4pm Tuesday afternoon or 4am Wednesday morning....Puma seems to like this time! The nearer they get the more accurate this will become and I will keep you informed all the way.

Once again, if you have any messages for the crew, please send them through to me and I will forward them on. They do really make a huge difference to morale onboard and we want them in the best frame of mind to trim hard, and sail as fast as they can back to Cowes. Keep them coming!