What an amazing day.
Didn't sleep at all well - thinking about the start, how the weather was going to be and how we were going to cope in a big sea. The atmosphere in the pits was buzzing with all the boats there and their engines roaring so that you could hardly hear. Complete strangers coming up to us and wishing us luck.
We were scheduled to go on BBC Breakfast TV at 7.20 followed at 7.30 by the drivers briefing. It all went well and I hope my children have managed to record it for me!
Our start was at 9.30 and we were in our dry suits, thermals, lifejackets, helmets ready to go in good time. EPIRBs, personal flares all attached to us ready for the worst possible event! Once we were out of Gun Wharf Quay, we both relaxed and started to have fun. What a great adventure and it was just about to take off.
We had decided earlier on that as we were first timers, we would let the fast boats get clear of us and then tuck in behind them. We didn't fancy being too close on our first race. The start boat crossed the line a couple of times and then we all proceeded at about 30 know while the yellow flag was up. As soon as this dropped and the green flag went up, we were off. Up to 50 knots bombing down the Solent. Passing through several gates, it only took 30 minutes to get to the Needles. This is where it all changed. The sea was very lumpy and we quickly reduced our speed to 30 knots. Even then we took some hard landings! Very quickly the boats dispersed and we were on our own. We had fixed our course to go 5 miles south of Portland Bill. Both of us have sailed through the race off Portland and knew how rough it can be. We wanted to keep our speed up in hopefully flatter seas. Lyme Bay was really grim - the sea was very choppy with no pattern to the waves. At times we could get up to 40 knots and then we hit a couple of surprise waves and drop down to 18 knots. Half way across we were both pretty exhausted to we came off the plane and had a drink and a quick snack. This was enought to recharge our batteries. It was at this point that we understood why it was an endurance race! Seeing sight of land was a great boost. I don't know why but you feel like you are really making progress. Conditions improved as we rounded Prawle Point and we were able to pick up speed.
About a mile from the finish line, Miranda looked around and saw another boat catching us up. We didn't fancy being overtaken at this point so we pushed the boat and had the most exciting private race and flew into Plymouth Ssound at 50 knots. Fantastic - what an amazing feeling to have got there in one piece.
Later we found out that our average speed was just under 30 knots and it took us about 4 hours 15 minutes. Of the 48 boats entered in the race, we were 24th. There were lots of casualties along the way. The German team sank their boat in the middle of Lyme Bay. They came off a wave and probably split the hull on landing. All the bilge alarms went off and within 20 minutes the boat had gone down. They all got into the liferaft and took as much kit as they could with them. At least they were safe. ne of the Greeks ended up in Hospital with a very sore back, several boats had engine failure, a couple hit things in the water.
When you finish a race you have no idea what your position is and who has already made it back. Boats that you think you might have been ahead of have been in for ages and others are still our there. Everyone has a story to tell.
After refuelling, we were taken to the hotel for a wonderful and very necessary massage. We were both aching all over. Our backs seem to be fine but our shoulders and necks were pretty painful. This is due to the wieght of the helmets when you get thrown around. We joined the evening party for a quick drink but were shattered and needed an early night. The weather conditions for the following day looked grim so I put "Shore Control" on standby for a flat bed lorry to drive the boat to Milford Haven. Miranda and I didn't think we had had enough training to cope with force 7, waves of 7 metres off Land's End in a following sea. Our aim is to get around in one piece and we didn't want to risk damaging ourselves or the boat on the second leg.
This was certainly a day to remember.
Didn't sleep at all well - thinking about the start, how the weather was going to be and how we were going to cope in a big sea. The atmosphere in the pits was buzzing with all the boats there and their engines roaring so that you could hardly hear. Complete strangers coming up to us and wishing us luck.
We were scheduled to go on BBC Breakfast TV at 7.20 followed at 7.30 by the drivers briefing. It all went well and I hope my children have managed to record it for me!
Our start was at 9.30 and we were in our dry suits, thermals, lifejackets, helmets ready to go in good time. EPIRBs, personal flares all attached to us ready for the worst possible event! Once we were out of Gun Wharf Quay, we both relaxed and started to have fun. What a great adventure and it was just about to take off.
We had decided earlier on that as we were first timers, we would let the fast boats get clear of us and then tuck in behind them. We didn't fancy being too close on our first race. The start boat crossed the line a couple of times and then we all proceeded at about 30 know while the yellow flag was up. As soon as this dropped and the green flag went up, we were off. Up to 50 knots bombing down the Solent. Passing through several gates, it only took 30 minutes to get to the Needles. This is where it all changed. The sea was very lumpy and we quickly reduced our speed to 30 knots. Even then we took some hard landings! Very quickly the boats dispersed and we were on our own. We had fixed our course to go 5 miles south of Portland Bill. Both of us have sailed through the race off Portland and knew how rough it can be. We wanted to keep our speed up in hopefully flatter seas. Lyme Bay was really grim - the sea was very choppy with no pattern to the waves. At times we could get up to 40 knots and then we hit a couple of surprise waves and drop down to 18 knots. Half way across we were both pretty exhausted to we came off the plane and had a drink and a quick snack. This was enought to recharge our batteries. It was at this point that we understood why it was an endurance race! Seeing sight of land was a great boost. I don't know why but you feel like you are really making progress. Conditions improved as we rounded Prawle Point and we were able to pick up speed.
About a mile from the finish line, Miranda looked around and saw another boat catching us up. We didn't fancy being overtaken at this point so we pushed the boat and had the most exciting private race and flew into Plymouth Ssound at 50 knots. Fantastic - what an amazing feeling to have got there in one piece.
Later we found out that our average speed was just under 30 knots and it took us about 4 hours 15 minutes. Of the 48 boats entered in the race, we were 24th. There were lots of casualties along the way. The German team sank their boat in the middle of Lyme Bay. They came off a wave and probably split the hull on landing. All the bilge alarms went off and within 20 minutes the boat had gone down. They all got into the liferaft and took as much kit as they could with them. At least they were safe. ne of the Greeks ended up in Hospital with a very sore back, several boats had engine failure, a couple hit things in the water.
When you finish a race you have no idea what your position is and who has already made it back. Boats that you think you might have been ahead of have been in for ages and others are still our there. Everyone has a story to tell.
After refuelling, we were taken to the hotel for a wonderful and very necessary massage. We were both aching all over. Our backs seem to be fine but our shoulders and necks were pretty painful. This is due to the wieght of the helmets when you get thrown around. We joined the evening party for a quick drink but were shattered and needed an early night. The weather conditions for the following day looked grim so I put "Shore Control" on standby for a flat bed lorry to drive the boat to Milford Haven. Miranda and I didn't think we had had enough training to cope with force 7, waves of 7 metres off Land's End in a following sea. Our aim is to get around in one piece and we didn't want to risk damaging ourselves or the boat on the second leg.
This was certainly a day to remember.
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