Apologies
for the slow down in race reports, but
mobile coverage is not that great in the
middle of the Celtic Sea!
As you will have seen from the earlier
reports, progress was frustratingly slow
for Team Lutine, given very light breezes,
the conditions were not ideal for getting
a rather heavy boat moving at all, let
alone quickly. The team continued to work
well, but frustration grew, with zero wind
and zero boat speed for lengths of time.
We eventually got to the stage where our
ETA at the Fastnet Rock, let alone Plymouth
was starting to extend out beyond the time
we had available, and the forecasts we
were receiving over the radio waves bore
little relevance to what was going on (or
rather not going on) around us. Thus it
was with very heavy hearts that from a
position approximately 50 miles short of
the Fastnet we turned our bows towards
Plymouth and started the engine.
Following a brief stop in Penzance for
some more diesel, we carried on towards
Plymouth. As is typical in sailing, and
indeed in life, we than had a magnificent
sail from the Lizard back into Plymouth
as we changed from spinnaker to genoa to
cruising chute with clear sunshine and
magnificent scenery. It was certainly a
sail to 'restore the faith'
We arrived in Plymouth late on Thursday
evening, not long after the more competitive
crews. A slight problem was found in the
early hours, as the beer tent ran out of
beer! Fortunately most of Team Lutine had
had there fill by now - the only confusion
being what that strange glow in the sky
was as we went to bed - eventually someone
worked out it was the sunrise!
Friday saw a day of rest and recuperation
for the boat, as she was thoroughly cleaned
and tidied, and the crew, who made there
way to the showers. By the time of the
prize giving, it became apparent that the
2005 Fastnet was a 'small boat race'. Despite
the millions of pounds spent on the high
tech racing yachts, the victory on corrected
time was taken by 'Iromiguy', a Nicholson
33 built in 1976.
Lutine is now out on a charter for a few
days, before returning to the Solent Wednesday.
In the meantime, Team Lutine are planning
the next adventures...
Ian Long
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