Paul's Nautical Adventures

The Race starts......

Wednesday 29th September 1999

Well at least I know the name of the boat, Spirit of Isis (Egyptian god of Fertility), and it is due to be delivered to Gosport Marina in Portsmouth this week.  Crews have been invited to attend the Yachts on Friday 1st October to prepare for race day.  

The Start,  Sunday 10^th October

The day started with an early morning alarm call followed by a swift coffee before journeying to the boat.  Many thoughts went through my mind as I pondered on the journey that was just about to begin.  Last minute preparations on board then everything was stowed ready for the start.  We proceeded to our gathering point on the Solent, met with our Naval escorts, hosted sails, official photographs then took our position for the journey down the Solent and out to Southsea Castle. Taking a few Tack practices we jockeyed for position until the starting gun was fired.  At that stage we appeared to be the only boat behind the starting line, but am now reliably informed that all boats had a legal start.  I soon found that my position on the coffee grinder (Power winch) was going to be tough one and before too long felt utterly exhausted with just about every working muscle in agony.  Having started the race in 4^th place we worked our way up the field and left the needles in first place.  Unfortunately this was not to last.

  Monday 11^th October

The watch system started with daytime 6 hour watched and nighttime 4 hour watches.  The seas turned a little and before too long many of the crew were seasick, and having difficulty keeping any food down.  Fortunately I only felt slightly queasy and returned to complete normality within a couple of days.  Sometime between the 11^th and 12^th we suffered from a Genoa tear and also discovered a tear in our Spinnaker which resulted in us losing our place and being rapidly overtaken by all the other boats.  Mike (Cliff) discovered where his true talents are and rapidly became a dab hand at sewing.

  Wednesday 13^th October

Managed to re hoist the spinnaker and attain a top boat speed of 15.7 knots.  Many of you that know me will realize that this is only marginally motoring but in this yacht seemed a devilishly fast pace.   Found out that Minerva were 100 miles in front which somewhat demoralized the whole crew.  Just when we thought that everything was working fine our Spinnaker halyard broke with an almighty bang, and I suddenly discovered what it meant to broach.  This for me was a whole new experience and seeing the boom hitting the sea and the helmsman hanging on for grim death, was one of those moments in life where you wish that Dene Roddenberry (I think that’s spelt right) had actually invented a transporter. 

  Thursday 14^th October

Today (according to Bob’s (Herbie’s) diary was a bit of a bumpy ride, however the ambient temperature was steadily improving and as an additional bonus all crew appetites returned.  Happened upon a few windless holes which gave us all a break from life at a 40-degree angle.  .

  Friday 15^th October

The day started (time is meaningless the only apparent difference is between light and dark) with wind at force 3/4 rising to force 7.  The foredeck crew got slightly damp (understatement) when the U-bolt on the Genoa got jammed and they spent a good hour and a half attempting to free it.  This was also the day when we had a second broach and Mike and I discovered why it was important to ensure the Spinnaker halyards were ready to run. 

 Saturday 16^th October

At last a nice sunny day, managed to get some of our damp clothes out to dry and started the process of removing layers of clothes to allow the sun to hit us, and for those of you accustomed to long periods of sailing to let some fresh air in!!. 

  Sunday 17^th October

Went to church Started the day with threatened force 7 which never seemed to materialize.  I should mention here that our crossing across the Biscay although fairly choppy was not as we expected and we were very fortunate to miss the storm which hit two days later.  I am sure we will hit some bad weather at some stage but by then we should at least be better prepared for it.  Some good news today we were 23 miles behind Juno and Minerva and gaining by the hour.  Diana had taken an easterly track around Portugal and had lost considerable mileage.  By early on the 18^th we were only 12 to 13 miles behind.  Finally our westerly course had started making a difference.

  Monday 18^th October

Good winds and current and first sight of land.  When still 60 miles to go we could really feel the crew atmosphere building.  Continued to battle on to close the gap, knowing that you should never give up.  Heard that Juno had finished at 22:00 hours and that Minerva was stuck in a windless hole.  Could we really overtake her less than 100 yards from the finish line?   Alas it was not to be and Minerva pulled in at Midnight.  With a lot of help from Ted we stormed in at 00:30 hours, Diane finishing later that day at 14:30 hours.  When we reached our berth we were greeted with rapturous applause from the other crews and a very welcome beer.  Being Isis crew we were already dressed in crew uniform and soon departed for 6 hours of much merriment with the other crews.

  Tuesday 19^th October to Thursday 28^th October.

Time spent ashore, carrying out boat maintenance and regular visits to Porto Del Carmen (the nightspot central).  We also had a guided tour of the Island on Monday 25^th and were treated to a brilliant reception by the Island government on Tuesday 26th.  I should mention here that the hospitality provided by the people, government and tourism departments of the Island has been truly magnificent and for many others and me it will certainly not be the last visit to Lanzarote.

At present the following Isis crew are:

Dughall - Skipper, Princess (Julie), Yorkie (Dave) - Leaving us in Lanzarote but joining again in Tobago, Ted (Paul), Big Bob (Bob), Cliff (Mike), Squirt (Amanda), Herbie (Bob), Velcro (Jeff), Woody (John), Noddy (Ian), Mega (Me).

To the next bit.....The Atlantic