And we are off for the last race from Oban to Portsmouth.
I loved our stopover in Oban. I have sailed out of there before and have always enjoyed my visits. The welcome this time was absolutely amazing, from the many families on small boats that saw us come in, to the ceilidh dances put on for us. And of course, the many friendly smiles, wee drams and bagpipes and the stunning views, if not necessarily the Scottish summer weather. I will definitely be back and I think so will many others on the race.
So, now we are on our way to completing our circle around the globe. Under 1,000nm to go until that pint at The Castle. There is a lot at stake for us this race, being in second place overall with the possibility of still coming first. Or third. Our start went well. We were one of the first over the line and managed to lead the fleet for the first few hours. Then the wind started dying and we had to deal with our wrap (the stickers around the hull) coming undone. To prevent this slowing us down and to make sure no plastic ended up in the ocean, we put our resident climber, Campbell, in a harness and put him over the side to cut it all away. This slowed us down a bit and had us on a wrong tack for longer than we wanted, but in the long run this was the better thing to do. So, we lost ground on most boats and are currently mid fleet. Now, in the early morning hours, the wind is still very light and the progress is slow. The forecast shows light winds for most of today still, but hey forecasts can be wrong too.
Whatever the wind, the team is super motivated and we will push as hard as we can this race.
Ineke, Joss and for one last time the Sea Dogs