Storm conditions in Round Britain & Ireland Challenge

The crews in the Round Britain and Ireland Challenge have been feeling the full force of the weather, which has been hitting the UK over the past few days, with gale force winds gusting up to 35 knots.

The yachts are currently hurtling down the East Coast, dodging in and out of the oilrigs of the North Sea, whilst frequently swapping positions with one another.

Spirit of Sark is currently out in front with a fragile 4-mile lead, followed by Me to You, SAIC (8 miles back), Samsung (46 miles back) and Pindar (59 miles from the leader).

The fleet is approaching land once again, and is somewhere off the coast of Norfolk. The next major waypoint is the Dover Straits, where they turn west and head for the finish. They will be hoping for an easier point of sail once they "turn the corner" as the English Channel is greatly tidal and the yachts will be restricted where they can sail by the Traffic Separation Schemes.

The leaders will be hoping to get through without meeting any tidal currents that are against them, as they could be held up for several hours if they arrive at the wrong time and miss a 'tidal gate'. Spirit of Sark and Me to You's lead of thirty miles is quite slim if they get held up for even a few hours, allowing the fleet to concertina.

Looking back at the weather, which the crews have experienced over the race, the best word to describe it would probably be ‘extremes’. From virtual becalming at the start of the race, which the crew referred to as the Irish Doldrums to gale force winds in the past couple of days - the crew have certainly had it all!

Marcus Cholerton skipper of Pindar may be at the back of the fleet but he has not given up hope as he explained: “Maintained good course to wind and waypoint closing velocity throughout yesterday. Boat went particularly well with sail plan of Trysail, Yankee 3 and Stormsail. Dropped Trysail when apparent wind speed in the fifties started appearing but only lost about 1.5 kts.

“Crew happy, unharmed and keen as mustard. Now racing to Dover. Hope to catch tidal gate and get in before the approaching low really hits us. Still chasing fleet hard, 300 miles and all to play for.

Describing current conditions, Jason Friend, a Crew Volunteer aboard SAIC explained: "Our second experience of a Gale is quite different from the conditions we saw off of the Western Isles of Scotland. The seas in the North Sea are much shorter and steeper. This has given us a much more violent motion and has meant we are getting a whole lot wetter!!"

“The violent motion of the boat falling off of the larger waves knocked me clean off my feet on a few occasions. This is all a part of why we are here though and all the time we are pushing further south and nearer the finish."

Phil Lowery, sailing onboard Me to You further expands: "We are also getting rather adept at walking nonchalantly around the boat at an angle of 30 degrees or more with a boil in the bag in one hand, a coffee in the other and carrying out conversation as if it was all completely normal!"