Lanzarote Information

It’s taken two years of planning but this week, the Transglobe expedition set sail from Portsmouth in their round the world adventure. Transglobe is a tri-services training expedition, sailing around the world over 12 months with 13 stopovers. The boats are three identical Challenge, 67 foot (20.4m) steel hulled yachts owned by the MOD - the Royal Navy are sailing the Adventure, the Army are on Challenger and the Royal Air Force have Discoverer, each boat has a crew of 14 on board.

Transglobe was open to all UK service personnel with the aim of developing those personal qualities essential to Regular and Reserve members of the HM Forces. Over 500 service personnel will experience both the highs and lows of ocean crossings, their physical and mental stamina will be tested, whilst building confidence and teamwork with their fellow crew members.

Selected crews will take the yachts in two races as part of the route, the 2009 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the 2010 Antigua Race Week – not only will they be racing against their servicemen, but also against the world’s professional race teams!

You can follow their adventure on this map as of this morning it was showing that Adventure was in the lead off the coast of Cádiz, Challenger was in second position off the coast of Lisbon and Discoverer was trailing behind further down the coast of Portugal.

1st Position - HMSTV ADVENTURE (Royal Navy): Saturday 18/07/09 09:30 UTC, Positon lat 36.3354N lng 11.4389W 

2nd Position - HMSTV CHALLENGER (Army): Saturday 18/07/09 09:00 UTC Positon lat 38.5821N long 12.2813W

3rd Position - HMSTV DISCOVERER (Royal Air Force): Friday 17/07/09 08:00 UTC Positon lat 40.343N long 10.8922 W

The crews have already encountered some tough weather conditions on their first leg of the expedition from Portsmouth to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, a distance of 1620 nautical miles. Whilst crossing the Bay of Biscay, Discoverer went off course as their steering mechanism stopped working and they had to fit the emergency tiller, they headed in to a sheltered bay, where they could repair their steering.

According to the schedule, the boats are expected for their first stop in Puerto Calero, Lanzarote for the 1st August for a one day stopover, so if you’re on the island why don’t you head down to the marina for an explore and cheer these service men and women on in their round the world challenge.

Life on board is going to be tough, only the Skipper and Mate have the luxury of a single cabin each during the expedition, the remaining crew (12 people) are divided into two or three ‘watches’ the leaders of the watches share a 3 person cabin which means they have to perfect the art of getting up and dressing quietly so as not to disturb the other occupants during their shift. The remaining crew, share three cabins, there are 3 single bunks and a cubic metre of space for their personal belongings. The winches on the yacht are manual and require a minimum of five crewmembers to raise the mainsail, there is no automatic steering on board so the helm has to be manned constantly regardless of the weather. There is a large saloon and galley area where meals are prepared and off duty crew can relax. The yacht has two toilets with a sink and a hand held shower facility.

The crew are being encouraged to write blogs during their expedition, Cadet Flight Sgt Emma Sweetman, who is 18 years old and based at Aldershot is on board the Discoverer, here are her amusing blog extracts of the journey so far……..

Day 1: Sat 11 July 2009
Crew arrived on board at 0630 to make the final preparations to depart.  We motored across to Portsmouth Gunwarf Quays at 0730. Families arrived at 0900 for the departure brunch at Tiger Tiger.  Peder was hauled up the mast for a final safety inspection of the mast! Families were shown around the yachts and finally there was a dedication ceremony before we all said our farewells. The Yachts slipped from Gunwarf at 1200 for the procession departure out of Portsmouth Harbour prior to the start at Southsea at 1300. Beating upwind out of the Solent wind started to pick up towards the evening up to 33Kts, leading to an eventful night; a number of the crew were violently ill throughout the night!  This was a shame as the supper was gourmet Spaghetti Bolognese - the fish had a good meal at least. . . . .
Day 2: Sun 12 July 2009
The wind eased toward dawn, and the sun finally came out at 0930. Many of the sleeping crew were awoken by the sound of Steve's retching; to the tune of the the mating call of the North Atlantic Walrus!!  Consequently breakfast was porridge; most of the crew kept that one down! The motor came on to allow us to form up on the other 2 boats and escape the channel before the tide turned. Supper was bangers 'n' mash; Gordon Ramsay would have been proud!
Day 3: Mon 13 July 2009
A mixed overnight watch saw showers in between stunning moonlit seas.  The coast of Brittany was just about visible on the horizon.  Sunrise was again a stunning sight before the winds picked up and the sea grew choppier. Breakfast was a splendid scrambled egg, beans and bacon on toast; the vast majority dealt with that one!! This seemed to be the best day yet; good winds (up to 30Kts) and reasonable seas with the sun well and truly on parade.  To escort us to the Bay of Biscay a pod of Dolphins gave a cracking display and we were visited by a low-flying Beech King-Air, probably Customs or Fishery Patrol, before we put out more canvas and cranked up the pace.   Heading Southbound into the Bay of Biscay most of the day to outrun an area of low pressure before heading Westbound to get back on course.
Day 4: Tues 14 July 2009
One word to describe day 4 'WET!' Throughout the day the yacht was reaching some interesting angles. Dolphins were yet again spotted alongside the yacht. Around 0800hrs we experienced slight difficulties as the steering failed at the hands of Mike (aka Stretchy). This leading to the Skipper (aka Canary Bob) saving the day, hoorah! Points to note of the day do not and I repeat do not sit on the leeward side as it will result in you becoming very WET! Evening meal was a concoction of chicken and potatoes of which many referred to as an inferno of peppered goodness ..yum!
Day 5: Wed 15 July 2009
Everyone seems to have found their sea legs today, and the crew was looking much better (even Steve). Early morning saw some good winds which pushed us onto our destination as a steady pace; but as the day progressed the winds died - on the up side however the sun came out so the crew managed to dry out some of their kit, that had received a soaking earlier on in the week. Weather forecasts are looking like rain so we made the most of things today, and are battening down the hatches for tomorrow.

For more information please visit the British Services Transglobe Expedition 2009 – 2010.

Read our update here, when we met the crew of all three Transglobe yachts

Challenger, The Army's Blog - Day 1-9 with personal messages for home :)

Adventure, The Navy's Blog - with crew shouts included :)