All over

With the racing over and Jangada back in her home port, it's time for quiet reflection on our achievement.

The worst damage to Jangada is a bent stanchion from an accidental gybe - a testament to her reliability and set-up. The worst injury was to Trevor's finger when slicing parmesan, although even that hardly warrants a mention - but the galley is one of the most dangerous places onboard.

It was a stunningly fast pace - we averaged 6.7kts over almost 2,000nm of racing, including 3 hours rowing. Total corrected time was 12 days 13 hours - 2 days faster than last time. And to cross the finish line, 3rd boat on the water ahead of many faster boats is an achievement I'm sure we will boast about for some time.

So now we hang up our wet weather gear, enjoy the sunshine and start planning our next big adventure - the Azores & Back Race in 2015. With 100 boats entered the competition will be fierce and already we are thinking of how we can improve.....

Enjoy the summer and return to follow us to the mid-Atlantic in June 2015.

Richard

Plymouth - so near yet so far!

As we reach the final approach to Plymouth we are drifting on a glassy sea, spinnaker flying. Excitement is running high onboard as most of the fleet are still chasing us to the East of Start Point. But at 2 knots it will be some time before we reach the bar.

Becalmed

It's so still in Lyme Bay that even a spider has decided to risk spinning a web on the pushpit. With winds less that 3 knots we are drifting with the tide hoping to keep ourselves between the finish line and our rivals.

Solent Coastguard on Channel 16

And so we round the final corner at Dover and into the English Channel
with the familiar sound of Solent Coastguard on Channel 16.

A far cry from the heavy seas and strong winds that we have endured to
get here, we are now enjoying champaign sailing. Our initital concern
that the smaller fleet this time around would leave us racing in
splendid isolation. But this could not be farther from the truth - at
one point we could see Suenos, Hikari, Insomnix and Greyhound. Out of
sight but hot on our heels is Zest.

It is great to be back in the familiar area that we sail so frequently.
This race has also left us facing the same decisions that we have
tackled in so many races - how close to the Isle of Wight and Portland
Bill to pick up the sea breezes? Lyme Bay - often notorious for light
winds, but has been used to good effect in some races. Or across the
channel to France - a more radical move, 30nm further that risks
splitting away from the pack and surrendering all the ground made so far?

Whichever tatic we choose, I think it is fair to say that the final 24
hours will offer some exciting and nail biting moments as we close in on
Plymouth.

Wench service?

Trevor said he was off to service the wench - to be stripped, washed and oiled. I clearly misunderstood his intentions as I found him up to his elbows in winch grease and pawl oil. Now put it back together Trev!

Llowestoft

Jangada Too enjoying pole position in front of the RN&SYC at Lowestoft. We are clinging onto first place with Zest only 19 minutes behind us on corrected time after 10 days of racing.

The next leg across the Thames Estuary and along the south coast to Plymouth will be tactically very challenging with tidal gates at headlands and variable winds. Whilst we have maintained our position with the lead pack, the sprint to the finish starts here. Expecting to take around 3 days we should be in Plymouth on Sunday.

Richard

Hikari

As we make our way south a familiar sight approaches from the distance -
the distinctive red sails of Hikari. On the opposite gybe she soon
passes close astern for a photo shoot.....

Richard

Leg 4 start

We decided to start Leg 4 with an "amuse bouche" of pâté de chevreuill with noix de dauphin ® and Charteuse, thanks Sandrine! Xxx

Riding along on the crest of a wave...

With winds forecast on the Grib files up to 25 kts, we decided that
lessons learnt in strong winds west of Ireland to expect gust up to
30kts. So with spinnaker put to bed early it was time to decide beween
the testosterone fuelled heavy A6 kite, or the more sedate Jib Top poled
out opposite the mainsail. As this race is a marathon and we are far
from shore, the A6 remained snug in it bag. The poled out Jib Top has
performed very well, with surfs down the wave almost downwind along the
rhumb line at up to 15kts. Trevor & I had been wondering what happens
when you broach with a poled out jib. Well, it does happen and it far
less spectacular then with a spinnaker. No whiplash in the rigging, no
flogging of the mainsail. Whilst quite exciting, far less stressfull to
both boat and crew. The wind has now picked up to 25kts and with one
reef in the mainsail we can even recover from the broach without
manhandling the sails. Now don't go thinking we are running out of
control broaching all over the place like a windy spring regatta in the
Solent. It has happened three times in the past 12 hours and cause by
the confused sea throwing up peak waves that kick the stern out
sideways. So "Ride em coybow" whilst I take to my bunk.
Richard

Tracker battery dead......

For those of you watching the race on the Tracker, the battery on their tracker has died, so they are no longer updating on the map.  At 6 pm this evening they were about 10 nMiles ahead of Insomnix.  Replacement batteries are being couriered up to Lerwock, so hopefully they will be back on line for Leg 4 of the race.  Richard is reporting his position every few hours to the race office and I am keeping in regular touch with him via the satellite phone.

Grace

Flannan Isles

We have now rounded St Kilda, with the rocky outcrops shrouded in a
blanket of cloud. At least we saw the dramatic islands - last time
around in 2010 they were all lost in the mists. We are now making good
progress towards the Shetlands and have just passed the Flannan Isles -
another remote outcrop of desolate islands. But in the fine weather
they hold a certain beauty, especially with the lighthouse perched high
on the hill top watching over us.

ps - our position has not updated recently on the tracker - maybe the
satellite reception is poor. We are about 10 miles ahead of Insomnix in
full race mode.

Richard.

Results table - Barra, Outer Hebrides

Photos from The Outer Hebrides

Preparing for Lerwick

The fleet spent its last night together in Castlebay. Departure day has now come and we've been busy preparing ourselves and the boat for Leg 3 - up around St Kilda and across to Shetland, passing across the top of Muckle Flugga and int Lerwick. Actually, there wasn't too much to do - the main one being to repair our jib top, which had torn during our passage up the Irish Coast. We also made some other minor repairs to stitching and chafe d areas of the jib and main, so are now set to race. For ourselves, we,re well fed and watered, scrubbed and fettled, doing our routing and weather planning. This leg also looks like another fast one, with the wind mainly from the southwest/west, so a lot of spinnaker work!
The big Open 40, Brusails and Paradox, the bit trimaran, have already left - we leave this evening at 1912hrs, so we need to work hard to reduce the gap. Out ETA in Lerwick is sometime on Thursday afternoon - our favourite arrival time, because it gives us two good nights sleep!
Trev

Castlebay

The fleet moored in Castlebay. Sun shining with boat & kit drying out nicely.

Anchor secure in Barra

Unlike our last stay in Barra our new larger heavier fishermans anchor is holding fast. Definitely no movement. It is of course securely lashed to the mast base as we swing on one of the few fixed moorings - an advantage of a smaller fleet. Anybody want a 20kg Fishermans - nearly new, one careful owner.

Barra boys!

Barra, Outer Hebrides
The Castlebay Hotel came up trumps, with the delights of pan-fried scallops, monkfish, steak and cheesecake to satisfy our hunger after an amazing leg 2 race from Kinsale to Barra. The race itself was not exactly tactical, being essentially a sprint along the rumb line. But it did require constant attention to sail trim and good anticipation of the next weather phase, in order to maximise on the opportunities presented. In particular, our passage to the northwest, up the coast of southwest Ireland was a big challenge. The wind was directly from astern, usually requiring a series of gybes under spinnaker. But, because of the sea state, which would have meant a dangerous, rolling movement, always with the risk of a dangerous gybe, we chose another tactic - to goose-wing. This involves putting the jib out on one side and the mainsail on the other. Normally this is not so fast, but with a good rolling swell to assist us, we managed to surf most of the way, regularly achieving 11 or 12 knots, with me holding the record of 13.5 knots! So we are now currently in first place, both in IRC1 and overall. But it's early days and anything can happen in this race. Our next leg is to St Kilda, around the top of Shetland and into Lerwick. Game on!
Trev

It wouldn't be an RBI without a gale!

Right. We've got that out of the way now - the obligatory gale that
mother nature throws at every RB&I. Off the west coast of Ireland we
had winds of 30-35kts consistently with gusts up to 40kts, i.e. Force 7/8.

The winds put huge pressures on the rig and despite our best effort to
stop any vibrations there is always something rattling. The leading
edge of the mainsail, held in place in the mast at regular interval
rattles away. Fine tuning of the mainsheet merely alters the frequency.
A consequence of sailing at 90 degrees to the wind. No chance of sleep
then.

But it was the sea state that caused most challenges. Imaging riding a
bucking bronko at the Rodeo for three hours at a time. Or being in an
industrial washing machine. Lunging and lurching around with no chance
to sleep off watch. Forget trying to cook! Even if the appetite was there.

Damage report - the dynema line on the kicking strap disintigrated under
the loads. By using a "Handy BillY" we managed to secure the boom down
and replace the line (memo to self - add this to the winter list each
year). The Jib Top sail is torn about 0.5m near the clew. We think the
block for the sheet flogged itself open and as a result the jib sheet
was pulling down at the wrong angle subjecting the sail to unusual
loads. Will save that repair for Barra - we have plenty of kevlar sail
repair cloth and the means to fix it ourselves. Will mean less time in
the bar!

All things considered we have been doing well and still racing a full
speed. We are enjoying the company of Insomnix and Greyhound, both
faster boats to pace ourselves against.

Looking forward to arriving in Barra this evening in time for beer &
scallops.

Jangada currently in 1st place!

Just checked the Yellowbrick tracker, they are currently in first place, in a closely fought tussle with Insomnix and Greyhound, both of whom give Jangada time.  Brusails for Belgium ( Roaring Forty) are not far from Hebrides, its been a fast race from Kinsale so far.

Racing up the west coast of Ireland

Posted on behalf of the Jangadieros, currently racing towards Hebrides.  I spoke with Richard this morning, the weather is fairly lively and they are wearing their drysuits for additional protection, but are in good spirits and making good progress.  Hopefully more news tomorrow.....
Grace

Greetings from Kinsale

We've now completed the first leg of the Double-Handed Round Britain & Ireland 2014. We had a cracking start, setting off from Plymouth and rounding the Eddystone among the lead boats. We settled in for the night and made great progress to the Lizard and across Mounts bay. The Scillies had a surprise for us all, however, by deciding to ban wind for the duration of our stay. The end result was all our competitors caught up with us while the fastest boat in the fleet, a Class 40, escaped. Never mind, we did finally untangle ourselves and made great progress to Kinsale in a tussle across the Irish Sea, crossing the finish line at 11:40 in second place. We are now enjoying the delights of the town and the yacht club, with a visit to the RNLI station planned for the afternoon. We are raising money for them this year - see https://www.justgiving.com/trevor-drew2 - any contributions gratefully received!
Our next leg to Barra in the Outer Hebrides starts tomorrow at 11:40, after a 48 hour compulsory stop. Looking at the forecast, I t looks like it will be a quick second leg!
Photo by Robin Mawer - Jangada Too overtaking Zest amount a mile NNW of Bishops Rock.
Trevor

Leg 1 - Kinsale

With Leg 1 of the RB&I race complete, Trevor & I are enjoying a relaxing break in Kinsale. We are delighted with our performance over the first 48 hours and find ourselves second overall, only 2 hours behind the lead boat. As that is a Class 40 yacht with a handicap some 30% faster than us she will eventually be sailing in different weather systems so anything can happen between now and the finish - just keep on watching......

Scillies

Our race got off to a good start, with the gun firing on HMS Kent.  One of the leading boats out past Plymouth Breakwater, we knew that the pressure would be on. We had a tactical race to the west, tacking on the wind shifts.  But light winds around the Scilly Isles have left us frustrated with boats catching up with us and others slipping away. We have now turned the corner, avoiding the Traffic Separation Zone to the west of the Scillies and enjoying a fresh breeze and close haul to Kinsale.

Richard

And they're off!

Saturday lunchtime photoshoot - smile boys!

Saturday was spent victualling and sorting out all those small, but very important last minute jobs.  Grace and Sophie left Plymouth to go home and Richard and Trevor concentrated on the task ahead.

Unfortunately the fleet has now reduced to just 14 boats: 6 including Jangada Too in Class 1, 3 in Class 2 and 5 Multi-hulls.  However all the boats are very competitive and it should still be a good race.

Sunday morning race start at 12 noon

Our good friend Tracey and her daughter were there at the start, aboard HMS Kent no less, and Tracey managed to get a few photos.  Spot Jangada's new 'stealth mode' mainsail!

So far, 10 hours into the race, they seem to be doing very well and are currently in the vicinity of Falmouth.  You can follow their track on Yellowbrick:  http://yb.tl/rbandi2014  Jangada is in IRC 1.

Grace