Round Britain Powerboat Race 2008
Trip Start
Mar 30, 2008
1
41
144
Trip End
Mar 31, 2009
Portsmouth,
United Kingdom
Friday, June 20, 2008
Well around the 13 June I had a quick look on the net to see when the round Britain powerboat race started and was surprised to see that it hadn't started yet and more importantly my name was still down as the co driver. So i immediately got in touch with Greg to see if there was nay chance of me getting back in time to take part. After much to'ing and fro'ing of emails it eventually transpired that Justin was prepared to pay to fly b both Clare and I back to UK to take part.
The next we knew on Sunday 15 June we were booth on our way back on a flight via Abu Dhabi
The route
. After a quick stop in Portsmouth to pick up boating stuff from Ruth's thanks to Adams and Rhodes parental taxis we were then off up to Cambridge to meet Greg.Here we helped prepare the equipment and were assigned tasks. Clare was nominated as oic driving motorhome and food fro th troops. Along with Normski (Lt Col (rtd) Norman) the pair got th motorhome wherever it was needed and made sure we always had the food we needed.
RBR 08 20 - 30 June
Saturday 21 June
The race started on Saturday 21 June. i was not on this leg as we had our Raymarine sponsor on board, Chloe Bartle. This relatively short leg passed without incident and was a good shake down for the boat. The boat a Rigid Hulled Inflatable or RIB was equipped with 300 horses packed into a modest 4 stroke outboard motor, these capably push the 7.8m hull along at speeds of up to 47kts.
After accompanying Clare and the Normski in the motorhome I arrived in Plymouth to greet the boaters along with Nigel 'Spence' Spencer MBE the other non rider on the first leg. I was really glad to be there and especially glad to have survived Normski's close encounter with the fuel station which resulted in the first visible damage to the 'Bus'
The unbranded version of Wolf
. Seeing Greg, Dave Hemming and Chloe come in was good, but for the two of us just heightened how disappointed we were not to have been there on the start line. Before we left Clare and I managed to hitch a ride on a scorpion RIB to watch the start and even Clare really wanted to have been there on the start line. Hankerings of her rally days! Sunday 22 June
The day started with a delay on the start. The RYA committee were afraid the weather was too bad to run the leg. the intended riders were Greg, spence and I and so we spent the time waiting for the briefing to inform us whether the race leg was going to be run studying the weather. There was a very deep low pressure centered on northern england a quickly tracking south westerly this had resulted in strong south westerly winds and high sees in the Irish Sea. At around 11am the committee canceled the leg due to predicted wave heights in the Irish Sea of 9m!! We then went back and scrutinised the weather from every angle including checking on actual wave heights. Seeing nothing to substantiate this massive wave prediction and having real difficulty in finding a trailer team 'Vampire' decided to head towards Penzance safe in the knowledge that if the weather was bad an overnight stay here would allow the remaining wind to clear to the north east
Branding time
.At 12 midday we left a passage plan with Falmouth Coastguard and headed towards Lands End. The conditions were moderate to rough, but we made good progress towards our first intended fuel stop in Falmouth. Unfortunately due to large amounts of water being shipped into the boat and an incorrectly stowed EPIRB (in my pocket) we arrived to VHF calls from Falmouth CG informing us of our EPIRB signal. The Emergency Position Indicating Beacon had been put in my pocket as if we had encountered RIB toppling conditions in the Irish Sea this would have been our only method of obtaining assistance. Unfortunately it wasn't adequately protected against salt water ingress and as such the salt water switch was briefly activated.
After good natured discussions with Falmouth CG and an update to our passage plan we left towards Milford Haven with an intended bolt hole in Newlyn for B&B. Around 6pm we arrived at Lands End to moderate seas we considered continuing to Milford Haven but chose to stop at Newlyn until early the next morning. We found a B&B who had already learned of our journey through BBC news and after having a Chinese in an accommodating nearby pub we got our tired heads down
The sponsor, right and Greg Vampire skipper left,
. At 3am we left headed for Milford Haven.Monday 23 June
Again conditions let a little to be desired but speeds crept up gradually during the passage to around 30kts when we made landfall at 7.30 am. Greg was just in time to walk into the 8.30 am briefing whilst we and the shore team turned the boat around. Greg and Spence then left for Bangor, Northern Ireland which gave the shore team two days to make our way to Oban. Shortly after leaving Milford Haven Clare and I in the back of the motorhome heard from Normski in the fronts "I think we might have a small problem". He turned the bus around and headed back in search of his bedroom window which he now believed to be missing! Sure enough a thousand pieces of it were found along the dual carriageway. Leaving the window as irreparable we continued and stopped that evening in a service station near Glasgow, where we broke the news to Dave that his security deposit and damage waiver were in danger!
Tuesday 24 June
The shore team had a slow start to the day and left around 9.30 am for Oban
Dave & I ready and willing
. The drive there was amazing, passing between serene lochs and impressive imposing mountains. It took four hours of driving along some narrow roads to reach Oban. We were surprised to see the first Pulsar boat in was 'Wolf'. Concern grew for 'Vampire' who eventually arrived over half hour later. Spence had taken a bad fall and injured his left elbow and two finger on his left hand. We quickly plied him with hot tea and warm clothes before leaving directly for Inverness to give us the maximum time to work on the boat. We all arrived in Inverness early that evening and checked into a local army barracks there.Wednesday 25 June
'Vampire, now looking rather tired was taken down to the disused empty B&Q warehouse in the town and the suzuki guys began their work on the outboard led by Gordon. The rest of us set about the various other jobs that needed doing. Those included revising the additional fuel tank arrangements, removing panels to allow access to the wiring looms for Suzuki, removing a broken Ullman seat, new bilge pump fitted, minor fibre glass gel coat repairs, re-lashing the spare outboard to prevent movement, sponging out, drying out and repacking equipment. After a good days work we were well ahead of the game with a lay day in hand. Only one thing to do go for a buffet Chinese and a skinfull of beer!
Thursday 26 June
Intended as a lay day, I don't know of any teams that didn't still have jobs to do on this day us included! Unfortunately as we only found our way back to the motorhome at 4am, Greg, Dave, Care and I were a little late out of the blocks
The team photo
. The first job after refueling was to repair the huge fuel leak we subsequently discovered only after investigating the cause of a minor electrical fire that occurred whilst re-re-fueling!The prop had now been replaced so Greg and I took her out for a spin. With four now on board, we picked up two Norwegian children from a sailing yacht, we were doing 45 kts top speed in the choppy waters of the sound. Dropping the children back off on the yacht to continue finishing their 1 year sail with their parents we were now up to 47kts top speed, and 'Vampire' was ready to go for blood. Envious of the comfort of our slower friends we returned to prepare for the next leg. Whilst we were heading south they would be crossing the North Sea for the fourth time thinking of their imminent return to work and reflecting on their 12 months at sea and 2 Atlantic crossings.
Friday 27 June
Crew now just Greg and I we had 210 nm ahead of us to Edinburgh. The fleet were led out by committee to reduce the risk to local whales and dolphins. We then had a good passage to Edinburgh with few stops other than to switch between additional fuel tanks
The team assembled
.Saturday 28 June
Greg, Dave and I prepared to make the short hop to Newcastle now. This gave Dave his first real opportunity to navigate and I became the back seat driver! This was a relatively straightforward trip.
Sunday 29 June
The same team, Spence was still resting his injured arm and fingers, now prepared for the penultimate leg to Lowestoft, one of the shortest we hoped to be there early afternoon.
Monday 30 June
The final leg was again a long leg and the weather conditions did not look favourable, sw 4/5. OK up until the turn towards Dover. As predicted this was a long and very bumpy slog down the east coast. We had decided as i think had most teams to go the seaward side of the Goodwin Sands, however the tricky nav here allowed My Pleasure 2 to catch us up and now we had a race on
Off to the start
. Our plan was to stick behind them and nearer to the end to overtake. However as soon as we turned the corner we were drastically slowed by the short sharp chop of the head sea. My Pleasure 2 pulled away, not long after we saw both Mud, Swell and Beers on our heels. I suggested that we stayed in shore towards Brighton which we did and found fantastic flat conditions allowing us to accelerate up to 40 kts. We maintained this speed all the way along the in shore route to the point before turning towards Chichester and as we rounded we saw that we had put ourselves back in front of two other vessels. The last 10 miles to Portsmouth were at full chat despite the choppy conditions and the radome that was hanging off and the broken weld on the plate supporting the GPS antenna. A final high speed finish saw us finish in good time with no one else anywhere near behind us.The feeling as we entered Portsmouth Harbour was fantastic, but I couldn't help feeling a little sad and also wondered if whether we now continued and did the race again, how would we fare. It felt like now that we were all working well together we were in a really good position to win if we had to go round again! Clare and Debs meet us in Gunwharf Quays and handed us some champers which we liberally coated the boats and ourselves in.
Final checks
We waited for 'Wolf' and were surprised how long it was taking them to arrive. We had heard that they had been seen on Marinetrack making only 6 kts, which was a concern, but it turned out that they had lost the signal from their GPS antenna and Guy was having to navigate using only hand held GPS and waypoint list! It was really good to see them when they finally did arrive about an hour after us.
All that was left now was the event prize giving which to be honest was a shambles! The buffet dinner was OK but when the awards started it was really hard to swallow. No mention of being the only RIB or small boat to complete every leg, let alone the award. Also apparently the lower finishing Mud Swell and Beers was the highest placed, lowest powered finisher despite having the same outboard and longer hull than 'Vampire'!
For Justin and Greg especially this was a difficult after dinner pill to swallow and we were all quite disappointed. Although for me it couldn't detract from what we had all just achieved. One RIB, same engine 1300 miles all the way around Britain.
