I'm on my way back to the UK, headed for Plymouth, still fealing tired
after the race after partying. But it was well worth it we had a great
time offshore as well as on shore. Luckily my being "solo" is over and
i'm here with the help of my friend Philippe.
Yesterday it was prize giving and i was well pleased with the results,
British Beagle was one of the underdogs in the race so i couldnt believe
i was taking home a second overall in Cruiser class, second overall in
Class 1 and third overall in IRC and in case you wonder, yes this is
absolutely the first time i come close to an egraved cup, i will have to
get myself a mantelpiece to put them on, i had never had this problem
before.
So it's time to go home and think about what improvements can still be
made to the boat, after all the start of the OSTAR in May 2009 is closer
than you'd think as everything with boats always takes longer to sort
out than expected.
Lastly, once more many thanks for those of you who sent me messages of
support during the race, i have not responded to all but read them with
great pleasure and somehow the best ones came when i needed them most,
beating upwind in a windy night.
Tomorrow I will leave the boat in Plymouth then head off to London for
work. Luckily sailing for this season is far from over: in just two
weeks it's time for the 50N 15W mission. I will train for Ostar by
actually starting from the Plymouth breakwater, rounding Eddistone light
house and then heading to a point at 50N 15W, once there I will turn
back and sail home. The target is to spend some 10 days at sea and going
through the same as an Ostar start which hopefully will mean being well
prepared for next year. Further nags with the boat can be found and
fixed but more importantly i will once again break my personal limit of
days at sea. We did 4 in the bluQube solo 1000 (just 3 nights) but what
happens at day 5? and 6? Better find out now than after the start of a
transatlantic race. This exercise should also help me better estimate my
provisioning requirements, water supply, choice of clothing and other
aspects that otherwise, in my case, would be left to pure guesswork.
If you have liked these blogs and want to read more during the upcoming
trip I will be posting them to my own website, www.sail.co.nr
Ciao!!!
Marco.
British Beagle
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