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Passing the Canary Islands

Wednesday, 30 September 2009

Tom Gruitt has been finding things hot on Cape Breton Island... and enjoys pushing it a bit with some close-reaching under lightweight kite...

"Days and nights are getting hotter, last night I helmed for a few hours just wearing shorts and a t-shirt, this was about 0100 in the morning. The whole crew are very glad of the newly installed fans around the boat, they are making life down below a bit more bearable during the day.

"Since leaving La Rochelle we have only had hot days with sunshine, winds have been up and down and we are currently making about two knots through the Canary Islands, passing pretty close Grand Canaria. There are so many wind holes that we have been stuck in around here. Last night I was on the helm making great progress for a few hours, close reaching with the lightweight kite, which is rated for 10 knots apparent. The wind kept building and we were hitting about 11 knots of boatspeed with 16 knots of apparent, after holding this for a while our Skipper Jan popped his head up through the hatch and told us to put up a smaller spinnaker.

"With winds looking fairly light for the next few days, we are just keeping the boat going forwards and sailing towards the patches of wind we can see ahead. Other boats around us seem to be having the same difficulty is moving at any great speed towards Rio, some only making 10 miles in six hours. We look forward to more wind soon to hopefully drive us towards the equator and to try and catch up with the boats ahead."

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Dolphins and being 'mum'

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

On Cape Breton Island, Tom has just passed Maderia...

"With winds dropping for now we have hoisted our lightweight spinnaker, the repairs seem to be holding well. Over the last few days we have been sailing hard downwind in the light conditions to keep speed on as get as low as possible, with low pressure expected within the next 24 hours we are preparing for high winds and fairly rough seas. There seems to be a split of the fleet East and West, so we will see what pays soon enough.

"The weather has been great for the last seven days, hot days and sunshine but cooling off to make sleeping a bit more comfortable at night, I suspect that this will change as we near the equator. We have just passed Madeira to the East and are midfleet heading down to the rhumb line to prepare for the strong winds forecast.

"We have seen dolphins, whales and turtles, with sightings becoming more frequent as we dive South. We have even had squid land on our decks, as we found out when our Skipper Jan stood on one with messy consequences!

"Today I am doing my day of mother watch, this involves catering for everyone with breakfast, lunch and dinner and also cakes and plenty of tea. Also part of the duty is to clean the whole yacht top to bottom, and clean the heads twice a day with magic anti bacterial spray."

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Powering towards Maderia

Saturday, 26 September 2009

It's been a busy few days for Tom as he heads for Maderia. The crews have been pushing the boats hard, and on Cape Breton Island this has meant some more work for the sewing machine, but they have also managed to move up the leaderboard, as Tom explains...

"Over the last two days we have had some great sailing here on Cape Breton Island Clipper, charging downwind through the Bay of Biscay under spinnaker or poled-out headsail. I had a good time helming last night, surfing down the waves in excess of 16 knots seeing no further in front of me than the mast, I really don't want to know how big the swell was!

"Our great efforts of pushing hard overnight meant we have overtaken Cork and are up into 6th place and fighting to get into the leading pack.

"Another good night of sailing could easily pull us up a few places if we can catch up with Singapore who are a little way ahead but a long way west of us, crew morale is high and we are getting better and better at helming and trimming as the days go on. It looks like we will carry on sailing downwind for another few days in great breeze making great gains towards the equator where we will inevitably park up for a few days.

"Unfortunately this morning some of the hanks on the Yankee 2 headsail broke forcing us to drop it, the sharp bits of the broken hanks then ripped three holes in the sail, we are just hoping for a day soon where we don't have to make any repairs. Katherine and Rob did a sterling job putting new hanks on and sewing strong patches over the rips so that we can use the sail again immediately.

"We are currently on a course towards Madeira, our current position puts us to the west of Portugal and we are about to get the latest position updates of the fleet. A few whales and dolphins have been sighted around the boat, but were a little too far away for any meaningful photos. The weather has been great over the last few days with plenty of wind from behind and lots of warm sunshine, night times have still been fairly warm with the temperature dropping off in the early morning. It's been so hot today that I haven't managed to sleep, instead helping out on deck, taking photos or relaxing reading a book. Phil and David have just knocked up an amazing dinner for us, I had better go and get some while there is still some left!"

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A wrapped kite and a repair - all in a night's work

Thursday, 24 September 2009

Tom Gruitt and the crew on Cape Breton Island have been busy with the sewing machine... fortunately all the crews received special training from Hyde Sails before they set off so they were fully prepared to complete the task...

"Well, last night was all going very well, boat speed was great and we were doing great on the leading boats until we tore our lightweight kite. We were running doing about eight knots when after chafing on the forestay the sail gave way with an almighty rip. With a slick bit of crew work in the dark, the sail was dropped and a new one hoisted within 10 minutes. Unfortunately due to the fairly light winds and a bit of swell we managed to get our medium weight kite wrapped three times around the forestay, and in doing this put a few holes and in that kite too! Overall a pretty bad night, even one of the toilet seats has broken!

"The medium kite has been repaired and as I speak the lightweight is having the foot sewn back on (see portrait pic). A great effort has been made by all with most having little sleep and some of us feeling a bit a bit ill bobbing around on the foredeck retrieving pieces of spinnaker or being down below sewing the thing back together again. We now need to get back on the ball and start chasing down people ahead as we round Finistere and head further south towards Rio.

"Due to a few people being ill today I have been doing a bit of freelance motherwatching, I cleaned the heads and changed all the bins, it's always good to keep everyone happy as they'll be the ones cooking your food next!

"I think everyone is settling in to their watch systems well, I have a different watch system to Watch A and Watch B, my watch (which only contains me) overlaps the last two hours of one watch and the first two hours of the next, this brings great continuity between the two watches and means I can pass on all the info from one watch to the next. Another added bonus is that I get plenty of time to do my media bit as I'm not needed all the time so can pop off for a few minutes to write this or take more photos of things happening on deck. Sleep is short, only 4 hours before you have to get up again and if like me your bunk is right next to the generator it's a pretty poor 4 hours sleep. Sleep is getting more and more important as more mistakes will be made when the crew are tired, anyway all this talk of sleep is making me yawn! Goodnight, or should that be good morning?"

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First night at sea

Wednesday, 23 September 2009

Tom Gruitt shares the story of his first night at sea...

"Our first night at sea was a quiet one, still with light winds but coming further behind meaning we hoisted our lightweight kite. We had a good little battle with California but as soon as we hoisted we left them for dead. Winds at the moment are still fairly light, with about 10 knots from behind meaning we are running at a speed of about 7 knots towards Finistere. In a few hours we should be putting a gybe in to cover the leading pack. We are hoping for more wind as we near Finistere, we have heard it could be up to about a F5 rounding there in the next day or so. We seem to be slowly catching the leading pack and pulling away from the people behind us, Hull & Humber are only 20 miles ahead which is nothing when we still have more than 4,000 miles still to sail.

"So far food has been great on board, with porridge for breakfast, a nice beef stew with potatoes for dinner and today I've just had a fantastic vegetable omelette for lunch! It's getting hotter and hotter as we cross the Bay of Biscay, and will continue getting hotter the further south we head. The electric fans on the boat are now starting to come in very useful, especially while sleeping. It's now time for me to sign out and get my head down for a few hours."

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The start of the leg across to Rio

Tuesday, 22 September 2009

Tom Gruitt set sail today aboard Cape Breton Island, bound for Rio in Leg 1 of the Clipper Round the World Race as the 10-strong fleet, powered by Hyde Sails, headed for the Bay of Biscay, This is his first report from onboard..
"After an early start to get out of the marina in time for the tide we all paraded around outside of La Rochelle being let by the yacht Joshua, this boat came second to Sir Robin Knox Johnson when he was the first person to sail singlehandedly around the world non-stop.

"We set for a spinnaker start at 1000, but the wind that was there for the parade soon died away to nothing, we averaged under one knot of boat speed for a few hours, but have now completely stopped. We have completed 2.7 miles in two and a half hours, pretty slow and frustrating going. The light wind start has seen many different sail combinations, main with kite, windseeker with mainsail, and someone has even tried just hosting a spinnaker with no mainsail, nothing appears to me much better than anything else! The forecast is for light winds for a few days, but let's hope at least some sea breeze sets in soon."

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Last night in harbour for Hyde Sails

Monday, 21 September 2009

Tom Gruitt shares his thoughts ahead of the start of the transatlantic leg to Rio, in Brazil... which will see the Clipper fleet, all powered by Hyde Sails, battling it out to win the first leg of the 2009-10 Clipper Round the World Race.

"As we approach the last night in harbour until we reach Rio last minute changes and tidying up is going on aboard most of the boats. The atmosphere here seems jubilant, but there is also a sense of anticipation of what's to come. We're having our crew briefing this afternoon in which we will be organising the watches for the rest of this leg. It looks like I'm not going to be assigned to a specific watch, but will participate in both so that I can always be on hand with my camera to get the best shots, whether this will be easier than having just one watch, I'm not so sure!

"The weather forecast for the next few days, when we'll be sailing across the Bay of Biscay, is mainly light winds, increasing the further we sail out into the ocean, so it should be a fairly smooth ride for us all to get our sea legs on again! We leave the dock in La Rochelle at 0630hrs tomorrow for the race to start at 1000, you can track our progress on the Clipper website tracker at www.clipperroundtheworld.com.

"The next report I will be sending will be at sea, let's hope I can remember how to use the computer on board!"

We'll follow the progress of Tom on board Cape Breton Island and Hyde's sails over he next four weeks as they cross the Atlantic.

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Hyde Sails poised to race across the Atlantic

The Clipper fleet is due to start its transatlantic leg from La Rochelle on Tuesday September 22 and Hyde's sails will be powering the fleet on its way to Rio de Janerio, and on Cape Breton Island,photographer Tom Gruitt will be sharing his experience along the way as he completes his first transatlantic crossing.

Tom looks forward to taking part in the first leg of the Clipper Round the World race. "Sailing across the Atlantic has always been a bit of a dream for me. My leg gives me the opportunity to sail the North and South Atlantic, and there is even an equator crossing in there too (must think of a gift for Neptune!).

"It will take roughly four weeks to get to Rio from La Rochelle, the longest I have been on a boat is about five days, the fact that I can't get off until I get there hasn't quite dawned on me yet, but I'm sure it will soon. I think the bit I'm most looking forward to is being on the boat as a photographer, the chance to capture stunning images as the action happens and send them back for the world to see really excites me. I think the watch system will be tough to start off with, the guys on board have already settled in to it on the trip down from Hull to La Rochelle, but I'm sure after a day or two it will become easier."

Keep checking Tom's blog to read Cape Breton Island's progress, and to see the photos he will be sending back every few days.

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Part C: training on the raceboat

Saturday, 19 September 2009

Ahead of the leg from La Rochelle, Tom Gruitt explains the final stage of his training...

"Part C training is completed on the boat that you will be competing in the race on, this gives a bit more time for the crew and Skipper to bond. I will be sailing with Jan Ridd on Cape Breton Island, by far the coolest looking Clipper 68 in the race!

"The main aim of the final week of training is to create a slick racing team that can perform every manoeuvre quickly, efficiently and of course safely. Our skipper Jan ran through a lot of techniques for reefing and the best way to change headsails, and we all talked among the crew about the way we thought is best to carry these things out.

"The main part of the week was spending 4 or 5 days offshore racing against the other Part C 68s. The race started in the Solent with a bit of round the cans stuff before we headed out past the needles to take Alderney to starboard, a mark off of Dartmouth to starboard and a finish back in the Solent.

"Everything started well with us making good speed upwind out into the channel, although when we got near Alderney it all started to go wrong for me. The wind kept picking up and the sea was building, I managed to eat a bit and felt fine but after a trip down below to get to bed I had to reach for the bucket. The silver, slightly metallic looking bucket became my best friend for the next 10 hours or so as I wallowed in my own self pity down below (I wasn’t the only one though). I can’t really tell you what happened after being near Alderney, but I woke up and we were moored just outside of Poole Harbour, I think we stopped there due to the crew attrition rate being quite high.

"Later that morning we set sail to meet all the other boats on the South side of the Isle of Wight for the Clipper photoshoot, we all had to sail in formation pinching hard well over pressed which isn't easy, it was worth it though, the photos are great! The photoshoot was the start of another practice race to Portland and back, I helmed a lot upwind to round the mark at Portland to starboard, although Edinburgh seemed to think it was a port rounding, this kept me on my toes as we met at the mark! Spinnakers were hoised and the chase of Cork for 1st place was on, we spinnakered through the night and were taking huge chunks out of Corks lead, finally gybing inside them south of the Isle of Wight to take the lead, crossing between the forts not long after for the win! I know it's nothing in comparison to racing round the world, but a win early on is always a good moral booster!

"Sailing with some of the crew I will be on the boat with for Leg 1 was great, it really brought everyone together into a great time. I am looking forward to the race a lot, although am slightly nervous too. The challenge of sailing the boat and having to take stunning photos to send back will be a big one, but one I can't wait to complete. "

Tom flies out from Southampton tomorrow to join the fleet in La Rochelle.

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Part B: training on the Clipper 68s

Friday, 18 September 2009

After Part A, there was more intensive training to follow for competitors before they can compete in the Race itself, as Tom Gruitt explains...

"For the Part B Clipper training we were on the Clipper 68s, the same boats used for the race. My skipper this week was Eero Lehtinen on Team Finland.

"The race boats are only eight feet longer than the 60s but feel so much bigger down below, the flat wide deck also makes it a lot easier to move around. We came back to shore every night on our Part B, we were mainly doing tacking and boat handling drills all week to get used to the different layout of the race boats.

"The Part B training really built upon the skills that were taught in the previous course, it also applied them more to the racing side of sailing rather than just making the boat move. Again there were lectures in the evening recapping all of the days activities and learning rules of racing.

"Another highlight of the week was learning and practicing how to do a Le Mans start, this is the type of start used in the race quite often. It means you all line up close hauled with the mainsail up, the staysail and yankee lay rigged on the deck ready to be hoisted. On the word 'GO' everyone rushes to their pre assigned stations to hoist the foresails as fast as possible. The crew to get them up and sheeted in the fastest pulls away pretty quickly.

"All of our racing knowledge was put to use on the last day with us racing againt other Part B crew from Gilkicker Point, around the Nab Tower and back again, a mandatory reef in the mainsail had and a headsail change from the No2 to the No3 had to be completed at some point in the race, this was great practice of a sail change under pressure.

"Again the week culminated with a deep clean of the boat, still not my favourite task, I'm sure I'll get used to it though!"

Tom Gruitt joins the race in La Rochelle on Sunday September 20th for the start of the leg to Rio in Brazil.

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Pre-race training: Part A

Thursday, 17 September 2009

Before anyone can take part in the race, they need to take part in Clipper's training programme. First off: Part A - the initial stage of training, which takes place on Clipper 60s - the boats that were used for the race in 1996/7, 1998/9, 2000/01, 2002/03 but are now just for Clipper training. Tom Gruitt recalls his experience.

"Life on board the Clipper 60s is fairly cramped and the bunks are pretty narrow too! The first night aboard was a long one with lots of snoring by a few and many people only getting an hour or two sleep!

"The aim of Part A is to get everybody familiar with the functions of a racing yacht, bearing in mind a lot of the crew on board have never been on a boat in their lives. The first day or so was used to demonstrate how to use winches, cleats and safety on board, lots of drills tied up in the marina had to be completed before we were allowed out into the Solent.

"On our first trip out into the Solent we were greeted by 32 knots of wind, more than enough to test a novice crew! After a long day of sailing we came back into Gosport for the night, dinner was served and followed by lots of theory lectures before we could finally go to bed.

"The main sailing of Part A was an overnight sail from Gosport to Portland Harbour. We established a three-hour watch system for the sail to Portland, after a nice sail out of the Solent we got to St Catherine's point and parked for a few hours, this brought on a little bit of watch rivalry when the other team came up to take over.

"Another thing to get used to is being on mother watch, this is a watch of two people who do all the cooking and cleaning for the crew for a whole day. I stuck to simple things like sausages and mash and chicken curry, it all seemed to go down very well with the crew though.

"At the end of the week there was a full debrief with the Skipper and an exam on all the things that we had learnt in the week. For someone with sailing knowledge the exam wasn't too stressful. There was also a deep clean of the yacht, I can think of nicer things to be doing after a good night out with the crew!"

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Finland first into La Rochelle, Cape Breton fifth

Line honours in the first race of Clipper 09-10 went to Team Finland as a drama-filled Race 1 drew to a conclusion.

The Finnish skipper, Eero Lehtinen, and his team led for much of the last two days of a fast race from The Humber to La Rochelle, successfully holding off the chasing pack and watching the drama unfold in their wake as the Race Committee considered whether to protest two of the teams pushing hard for a first podium place.

Arriving in the Bassin des Chalutiers, La Rochelle, a jubilant Eero said, "It was a good warm up. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that we've actually started the race and that it's actually happening. It was almost too easy to be honest; we didn't tack once on the way from the Humber to La Rochelle. We did 740 miles averaging more than 10 knots, so it was pretty good sailing.

Team Finland will have to wait until later this week for confirmation that they have won the race. The results are provisional until all the teams have made their declarations and the Race Committee rules on their decision to protest two of the yachts, Hull & Humber and Cork, for an apparent infringement of the sailing instructions.

Cork was second across the finish line in La Rochelle after a tight battle which had raged at the head of the fleet for the last three days. Perhaps the most nail biting finish was between Hull & Humber and Spirit of Australia. Just 40 seconds separated the two boats at the finish of Race 1.

Cape Breton Island crossed the line in fifth place, emerging victorious from what has been an engaging contest between them and Jamaica Lightning Bolt, who were sixth to cross the finish line about four miles outside La Rochelle. Our eyes on the inside of the race, photographer Tom Gruitt, will be joining Cape Breton in La Rochelle for the leg across to Rio.

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Introducing... our man out on the first leg

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

As official sail suppliers for the Clipper Round the World Race, Hyde will be bringing you news from around the world as the Clipper fleet undertakes its arduous journey.
As well as support staff at each stopover, joining Cape Breton Island in La Rochelle is Tom Gruitt, who will be sharing his experiences of the first leg throughout the journey to Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
Tom, a photographer from Plymouth in Devon, is keen sailor of dinghies and keelboats - recently in particular B14s, although he's even been seen sailing a foiling Moth! In fact, he's keen to give pretty much anything a go, including ocean racing. With Tom's help we'll be able to follow some of his experiences in the build up to the race, and see the first leg through his eyes... which will include his first transatlantic crossing.

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Hyde Sails set off round the world

Monday, 14 September 2009

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race started from the Humber yesterday, with the 10-strong fleet heading for a pitstop in La Rochelle before continuing on their first ocean leg, across the Atlantic to Rio de Janerio in Brazil.

More than 100,000 people lined the banks of the Humber to watch the start and as the cannon fired, the ten internationally sponsored yachts crossed the start line at 1400 BST (1300 GMT) to the roar of the crowds at the beginning of their 35,000-mile challenge.

'Edinburgh Inspiring Capital' led the charge across the line, followed by the Irish entry, 'Cork', and 'Spirit of Australia'. The first race takes the fleet from the east coast of the UK to La Rochelle, France. The northerly breeze at the start and the weather conditions forecast for the next few days indicate that the 780-mile race will be a fast one.

By the time the fleet had rounded the second mark Cork had overtaken the Scottish boat, Team Finland had moved up from sixth place to second and Edinburgh Inspiring Capital had dropped back to third.

Hyde's Sales and Marketing Director, Richard Franks was there to witness the 10 yachts, all powered by Hyde's sails, make their way out of the Humber. "It was an amazing sight," he commented. "We're delighted to be the fleet's sail supplier, and it was good to see the boats setting out on their challenging journey with Hyde Sails providing the power to get them round the world. The turnout to watch the start was very impressive, it was fantastic to see the whole city getting behind the race."

As the official sail supplier for the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, Hyde has been closely involved with the boats as they prepared for their round the world test, helping the crews to train in sail repair and maintenance, which will be a necessary part of their trip. Hyde Sails will power all ten of the Clipper yachts as they race round the world. Over the course of ten months and 35,000 miles of racing, the yachts and their sails will face some of the most testing sailing conditions possible, including the challenges of the Southern Ocean. As well as the benefits of the highest quality workmanship, skippers will receive personal training from Hyde's skilled staff, and specialist support at key stopovers.

Tom Gruitt will also be sharing the tale of the first leg as he races from La Rochelle to Brazil, with his camera in hand, you can follow his blog here.

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Clipper Race starts today!

Sunday, 13 September 2009

The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race starts from the Humber today, with the 10-strong fleet heading for a pitstop in La Rochelle before continuing on their first ocean leg, across the Atlantic to Rio de Janerio in Brazil.

For many of those getting ready to set sail on the first leg of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, this is the culmination of years of dreaming of racing around the globe and months of hard training to get here.

Over the course of ten months and 35,000 miles of racing, the yachts and their sails will face some of the most testing sailing conditions possible, including the challenges of the Southern Ocean.

posted by Hyde Sails at