Race Director's Report
Race 13: Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland to Den Helder, the Netherlands

The start at Greencastle at the head of Lough Foyle was the culmination of a wonderful stopover and the Festival of Sunniva. The wind was coming from the south-west which meant the fleet would cross the line from north to south and race back into Lough Foyle, before reaching the turning mark and racing back out into the Atlantic.

An issue with a kite meant that Ichorcoal suffered a delay that it never really recovered from early on in this five day race. The rest of the fleet streaked on towards the top of Scotland and the Pentland Firth with its raging 9 knot tide. The Pentland Firth always shakes up the fleet’s positions and it was no different this time. Some yachts catching it just right with other being forced back as the tide overcame the power of the wind. Visit Seattle and PSP Logistics fared well and emerged in the top two spots.

The complicated weather system sweeping over the North Sea at this time provided a real challenge. The fleet had to beat against headwinds with things changing as a small cyclonic system went north of them, which brought a few hours of very changeable & shifty winds together with a fair amount of rain. This included thunderstorms caused by the hot air coming in from the south, before it settled in for maybe 12 hours of west/north westerly winds. After this a ridge of weak high pressure developed between lows. Unfortunately several boats got to the north of this ridge and slowed dramatically whilst the rest charged on. Even at the end there was no time to get complacent.

There is a heavy concentration of oil-rigs and support vessels in the North Sea and not to mention some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world as the fleet closed the Dutch coast. No time to relax here!

Congratulations to Visit Seattle on its first win and PSP Logistics for second place and its first podium. So once again we have had a very tactical race dominated by light airs and strong tides. Where every wind shift has to be seen and played for maximum benefit, amongst a fleet of boats where every tenth of a knot counts.