Discoverer, The RAF's Blog

Submitted by Jules on Sat, 25/07/2009 - 06:29.

Sport

Last but not least of the three blogs from the Transglobe yachts first leg from Gosport to Lanzarote, here's the account from the RAF aboard Discoverer:

Discoverer’s Blog - Day 1, Saturday 11th July

Crew arrived on board at 0630 to make the final preparations to depart. We motored across to Portsmouth Gunwarf Quay 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 harbor 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. . . . .

Discoverer’s Blog – Day 2, Sunday 12^th July

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 formate on the other 2 boats and escape the channel before the tide turned. Supper was bangers 'n' mash; Gordon Ramsay would have been proud!

Discoverer’s Blog – Day 3, Monday 13^th July

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.

Discoverer’s Blog – Day 4, Tuesday 14^th July

One word to describe day 4 'WET!' Throughout the day the yacht was reaching some interesting angles as the majority of the crew off watch claim to have been clutching at the railings to stay in the beds for those precious hours. 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 pepperd goodness ..yumm!

Discoverer’s Blog – Day 5, Wednesday 15^th July

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.

Discoverer’s Blog – Day 6, Thursday 16^th July

Once again we've had brilliant blue skys and, thankfully, much calmer seas since we've left the Bay of Biscay - bring on Lanzarote :) Early morning and the task of daily repairs begins once again. Unfortunately today the water maker has packed in, so makeshift repairs need to be made otherwise we will need to "ration" the remaining water. This unfortunately would mean no showers (although we only have on every 3 days as it is), or any freshwater washing of clothes. Fortunately after a call back to base on the Sat phone and a few hours reverse engineering we managed to get it working again. On that fine note I'm off for a wash. . . .

Discoverer’s Blog – Day 7, Friday 17^th July

Today brought a mixture of bright blue skies and golden sunshine along with a few surprises. Traveling downwind we adjusted the sails to suit leaving us with the main, 2 yankee and staysail. This created a goose wing affect, before this could be achieved however, adjustments had to be made to the main as the luff boxs have started to come loose and we've lost several screws, hopefully this is all sorted now and we can have a swift journey to the Can and maybe catch a suntan whilst where at it.Although always remember sun cream as one crew member reminds us as he daily applies his mask of white warrior paint.

Discoverer’s Blog – Day 5, Saturday 18^th July

0300 in the morning and we need to make a major sail change as the wind has picked up. Unfortunately we don't have enough people on shift to manage it, so the "mother shift" is woken up to lend a hand. This is rather tricky at night and took 7 of us about 2 hours to complete (in 30kt winds). There was a lot of falling over, a few bumps and grazes, but everyone was clipped on just incase anyone fell over board. As the day the day progressed it turned out rather nice again, although the wind speeds were dropping. Having spoken to the other ships it sounds like we are currently in second place - you never can be too sure however - there could be some mind games going on. . . .