On Thursday evening, the British Volvo 70 “Pace” still had around a third of the course to sail in the Round Britain & Ireland Race. Johnny Vincent and his crew had around 600 nautical miles left to cover to reach the start and finish port of Cowes. At the same time, Jens Kellinghusen’s “Varuna VI” from the North German Regatta Club still had around 740 nautical miles to go. Her French pursuer, the Mach 50 “Paland 4”, had 805 nautical miles to cover.
“Pace”, “Varuna VI” and “Paland 4” in the lead
On Thursday evening, four days after, those same three boats formed the start of the anniversary marathon Even after the estimated time, the top three in the IRC overall standings remained the same, albeit in a slightly different order: ‘Pace’ was still in the lead, followed first by ‘Paland 4’ and then by ‘Varuna VI’, which was approaching the Shetland Islands at around 9 pm. According to the calculations, there was just one minute between the two pursuers.
At that point, the JPK 11.80 “Frida” was in 14th place in the overall IRC standings, which put her in second place in IRC One. Her double-handed crew, comprising Tim Behrendt and Andreas Buchheim, included, amongst others, this year Line-honours winner of the Baltic 500, is putting in a strong performance even when compared with the ‘rockets’ sailed by full crews in the Round Britain & Ireland Race.
Four days after setting off, the “Frida” duo sent their first report, entitled “Cowes to Black Rock” by See. In it, the two JPK sailors describe their journey to Cowes, the start of their first Round Britain & Ireland Race, and their first few days in the Round Britain & Ireland Race, which is one of the most demanding long-distance races in Europe:
“We’ll be setting off from Schilksee on 31 July for the transfer to Cowes to take part in this year’s Round Britain and Ireland Race (RBIR). The transfer will be completed in summery sailing weather after one day through the Kiel Canal and three days at sea. We’ll be spending the days leading up to the start ‘opposite’ Cowes in Hamble-le-Rice, a small village on the River Hamble, where virtually every kilometre of the river is used as a marina or mooring.”
A smooth start to the Round Britain & Ireland Race on Sunday
In Cowes itself, Cowes Week takes place before the start of the RBIR, so finding a berth – let alone a quiet one – is out of the question. And so we moor at Hamble Yacht Service in Hamble-le-Rice, right in front of the bow of the ‘Varuna 6’. On the Saturday before the start, we move the ‘Frida’ to Cowes. In the late afternoon, the Skippers’ Meeting and the weather briefing take place at the RORC clubhouse. Afterwards, there’s a BBQ. We catch up with old friends: Kuba from the ‘Polished Manx’ and Frans from the ‘Moana’. Both took part in the Azores and Back Race three years ago.
The RBIR will get underway on Sunday at 1.30 pm British time. There is a single start for all participants. The starting line – a bearing off the RORC clubhouse – is long enough, and the easterly wind and the virtually non-existent tidal current make it easy to get off to a clean start. We get off to a good start and tack eastwards out of the Solent, all in light winds. There are a few patches of light wind along the way; we sail right up to the northern side as far as Portsmouth and are then able to reach the eastern tip of the Isle of Wight with just a few tacks.
The wind is shifting with our course, so that even the route south along the Isle of Wight and then on towards the west is a close-hauled run. Added to this is a strong tidal counter-current, which forces us to tack in tight turns close to the coast. Fortunately, the fleet is still bunched together here; you can easily spot the British locals, who know their way around here and make the most of every headland.
The Round Britain & Ireland Race, past Eddystone Rocks, Lizard Point and Land’s End
The second day of sailing continues with a close-hauled course in a light breeze heading west. We’re sailing in a group with ‘Bellino’, ‘Ronin’ and ‘Moana’. In the evening, we pass the Eddystone Rocks and the wind shifts to the north, allowing us to hoist the C0 and, shortly afterwards, the A2, so that we can continue sailing towards Lizard Point and Land’s End. This is where we make our first major tactical error: we remain in the lee of the coast, and the counter-current pushes us northwards towards the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS off Land’s End), which is off-limits to us.
We try to work our way further west, but a strong tidal current heading north eventually forces us to jibe. We’re moving south at a snail’s pace. It is only when the easterly wind picks up that we are finally freed from the calm patch; by then, nearly three hours have passed. In the meantime, most of the fleet has rounded the calm patch further south. When we pass our first rock – Bishop Rock – on Tuesday morning, we are in good company.
On Day 3, we sail the whole time under A2 across the Irish Sea towards Fastnet Rock – always within sight of other yachts. It’s a wonderful sail, even if light winds aren’t exactly one of our strong points. There’s also a bucket challenge in the cockpit; the nights are starry and mild, and there are plenty of shooting stars. On the morning of the fourth day, we pass Fastnet Rock out of sight and, shortly afterwards, Bulls Rock too. Great Skellig rises dramatically from the sea mist and wisps of cloud, as does Tearaght Island further north.
“Partial solar eclipse” in the Round Britain & Ireland Race
In the evening, there’s a partial solar eclipse with wonderful light. The cloud cover makes it easy for us to watch the spectacle. We spend the night sailing ‘dead downwind’ northwards towards Black Rock, over 100 nautical miles away. We jibe our way through a narrow corridor along the coast, trying to make the most of the changing tides around the headlands. We manage this quite well, but for a two-man crew it means a lot of work and little sleep.
The ‘Moana’ and the ‘Stickleback’ are often within sight and give us a good opportunity to check our course and performance. On Thursday morning, Black Rock is also directly ahead. We now have 230 nautical miles of open water ahead of us. Next waypoint: St Kilda, west of the Hebrides.”
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter