Yesterday afternoon our main halyard broke. We luckily managed to attach a spare line.  It looks all okay now. So we're pushing hard to make up for the lost miles!  Pascal Bakker

Land's End from Phorty

el velosolex sl energies trying to stay with the two bigs irc2 upwind, but it’s not easy! Good move British soldier btw!

Benjamin Schwartz & Chen Jin Hao on FRA98 El Velosolex SL Energies Group

The first 24 hours

After a pretty standard prestart routine of preparation and briefings yesterday the crew of Phosphorus started the SRBIR. For many this would be the longest offshore race they have done so excitement was high and motivation was a plenty.

The first 24 hours of the race have gone smoothly, and life onboard is good. After the initial 20kts from the South that greeted the fleet rounding the Isle of Wight, the wind has veered and for a large part we have seen 9-13kts from the West, patiently awaiting for a shift that doesnt seem to be in a hurry to arrive.

Phosphorus has crossed tacks with Pata Negra a couple of times, both trying to find the right wind to break away from the oothr. But at the moment both boats stay stalking each other onnthe way to the Lizard.

The lesser-spotted Navigator (Mark Emerson) has made fleeting visits to the deck to grumble about grib files and drink his extra strong coffee before going below to check the routing just as a rain shower arrives. Coincidence or luck?

Incident of the Day:

Lily Lower getting locked in the heads for 20mins with no one below to hear her cries for help.

Quote of the day-

Oli Hancocks : Is there any reason were going slow, apart from my driving?

Rest of watch in unison: No!

Get Outlook for Android

After a tricky patch in the light and swell the breeze is now in and we are

beating our way around the Lizard.

Turkey salad sandwiches for us but avocado on rye for the owner as he

recently switched to Vegan.

Just past a close moored oil tanker and there’s been a lot of trawling going

on due to the new moon so plenty to watch for.

We were delighted I see us in 1st IRC but we know Ross will be winding it up

to get his throne back!

Freeze dried for dinner me thinks.. galley is near vertical!

Chris

Some pics for you.

Chris Hanson

07801452205

Sent from a mobile device so may be brief!

Just past Eddistone light near Plymouth and having a right battle with Phosphorus. Only about 50m apart at times last night.

Sun is out this morning with 12knts of wind on the nose. Crew watch has settled in now and although a little complicated to explain means only one person bouncing around downstairs at a time. Boat is a little damp but ok.

We stayed off the freeze dried last night and this morning whilst conditions are stable, so chilli con carne all round (add some extra wind:) )

Should hopefully see end of English Channel later tonight and then off across the Irish Sea we go!

Hope all are safe and well in the fleet and at home.

Chris

Past St Catherine’s and the lovely overfalls. Giles just finished a 3hr

stint on the helm. The rest of the group now a little way behind after we

got 6 knot push at sis Cats.

Boat a bit calmer now as we push on to Portland and doing pleasant 11.7 SOG.

Chris on Pata Negra

So

We are here, ‘T Minus100 mins’ and counting. The crew are fed and watered, the non essential weight cleared and the excitement nears fever pitch. We’ve read to page ten in our book and we’re good to go.

Here is to a fantastic race with memories and tales that we can all, both from R&W and all of the other competitors, dine on for years to come!

Safe travels and good luck all

Team R&W

H J Hutchinson

It’s Sunday morning and we are about to kick off our 1850 mile race with a cup of tea and the first freeze dried porridge of many.

It’s been a hectic couple of days pulling everything together onboard and the three of us are looking forward to getting into our racing rhythm and in some contradictory way finding a bit of calm as we beat our way to the breezy West of the course.

There’s hardly been time to reflect but I’ve managed to grab a couple of seconds think about what we three sailors are trying to achieve over the next ten days or so.

There are many reasons people take to the water and as far as I am concerned Yacht racing is one of the finest. The Seven Star Round Britain and Ireland Race is one of the toughest yacht races there is and it’s held once every four years. Elin set her sights on this race when it was last held in 2014 and here we are just about ready to go. Our boat is the oldest in Class 40 and pretty dated compared to modern designs so though between the three of us we have oceans of experience this will not be a race where we are chasing for first. Our goal is get get round and enjoy. In reality only one team can take first place but that doesn’t and shouldn’t devalue the experience of the rest of the fleet. This is an epic race and we have the opportunity to take part - what better reason to set sail on a rainy Sunday in August.

Pip

Don’t worry about team R&W, we’ve got everything we need to nail the Severnstar RBI. See you on the start line at mid day, so long as we’ve got past page five ‘starting a race’ xxx

H J Hutchinson

“Hello, Bonjour, Ciao, Hola....

A big ‘HELLO” from the “good ship R&W’ and all of her crew to who ever reads this, to RORC, to our family and all our friends. Andy, Andy, Brian, Andrew, Nicholas, John and myself (Howard) wanted to start our journey’s blog so here we go......

Well it’s been a long time coming, from the initial conversation that went along the lines of “anyone fancy a race around Britain & Ireland?”, to where we are today but we are nearly there! The race is upon us and in true form the weather has changed and we will start with a damp sail to Cowes for the Pre Race Briefing and BBQ, hosted by our race organisers the RORC team

As an RBI ‘virgin’ I’m very excited to be taking part in the race and I have offered to forward through updates on behalf of the R&W crew as part of my role. It’s a great opportunity and a thrilling adventure we’re all about to embark on and something I’m proud to be a part of.

The boat’s ready and during the preparations we’ve made some startling revelations during the planning stages. Things such as trying to work out how many tea bags you need for crew of 7 have been a challenge as we were concerned about a potential mutiny when it was suggested that they should be rationed!, to trivial matters such as trying to get certain members of the crew to understand that packing their body weight in chocolate for the voyage is not acceptable have been ‘enlightening’. But, by far the biggest revelation for me has been actually finding out that the boat’s fuel tank does hold more than the 5 litres when we’re racing, a fact that we’ve never before discovered during our trips! Who’d have thought it!

Tonight will be a sound, if not slightly nervous, sleep for me with a brief trip to join our beautiful J122 in the morning for the short trip across the Solent to Cowes. I’m looking forward to meeting you all there for the BBQ. I am also especially excited at the promise from the RORC Team that after the race has been completed that they will be there to meet us on the quayside in Cowes again with a cold beer, perfect!

A great quote from Angele Ewell Hunt that sums up my thoughts for the race;

“Life is not being sure what will come next or how it will come. We guess at everything we do. We take leap after leap in the dark and that’s the joy of living and the beauty of faith. When we grow tired, when we sit still, that’s when we begin to die.....One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time”

Good luck to all and here’s to a fair wind for the voyage. Let the adventure begin!

Howard”