Our East Coast correspondent Jerry Freeman, stumbled across two Ostar skippers preparing their boats in Suffolk Yacht Harbour, on the Orwell, at the weekend.
Now lets go back a few months. Solo sailors will recognise the scenario: it's the Christmas holidays and the next seasons campaign is being dreamt up, with a good sailing adventure book, a bottle of wine and roaring log fire.
Skipper shuffling feet nervously, clears throat: Ahem. Darling, would it be ok if I pop over to mothers next March? Sis has invited me for lunch on Mothers Day and I havent seen them for ages. Oh! and I could do a little race when I am there.
Spouse: I dont see why not, you need a break and it will be a nice trip, are they still in Felixstowe?
Skipper, pulse racing: Thank you darling, I 'll give you a call when I get there.
This may be common in your house but not in Uraguay, Pip set off solo in January, the distance was 6700 miles and she took 57 days, Piriapolis to Felixstowe non stop. With no trade winds to speak off the only notable event was the failure of gear box output coupling when a few days south of the Azores and stuck in the high pressure. Now engineless for the best part of 2000 miles, the fog off Portland and the spinnaker run past Dover spiced up the last days .
Pip has been working flat out on the boat in Suffolk Yacht Harbour since early March, the rig is out, the new sails are ordered at Quantum, the rudder is out waiting shaft seals, the coupling is en route from Japan. A new Selden boom is being thought of.
To save daylight hours Pip has been sanding the bottom at night, in the dark by the car headlights, once with gloves frozen solid. There is an awful lot of blue paint on the ground under the boat.
The Shed is a Lightwave 395, built 19 years ago by Oysters at Ipswich and raced as the Big Red Shed on the Hamble. No longer Red but still a shed. The Lightwave is 39.5 feet obviously! Draft now is 2.3 meters with lead shoe added to the keel to stiffen up the orignal too light ballast. Designed by Schumakerin the USA as a one design class the boat will rate about 1.000 with a number 3 on the furler.
So how quick? Delivery average speed for 6700 miles, 4.9 knots
Ostar course say 3000 miles, will take 25.5 days, corrected time 25.5 days.
But of course that was not racing and with old sails and grungey bottom, so my guess would be 23 to 24 days.
The plan is to launch on April the 9th, get weighed and measured for the IRC and deliver to the Solent after Easter where they will be based at 5 Star sailing at Warsash for testing and training.
Pip is a sailing instructor and has amassed impressive sea miles, she is one tough lady and will be a serous contender in IRC, watch out boys!
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