First hand account from the cockpit of GYRate

by Claire Kennard on 3 Dec 2007 The Global Yacht Racing yachts racing in this year’s ARC race have a treasure trove of comms equipment on board including Iridium satellite phone, navigation software and GPS and Sat C. Skipper Em Pontin has put it to great use with a cheerful and amusing boat blog. We expect regular updates from the crew so if you want to live every minute of their fantastic transatlantic adventure with them and hear what it is really like to race in the ARC then keep an eye on the Global Yacht Racing newsroom at www.globalyachtracing where they will be posted.

Skipper Emma Pontin Reports:

After first dispatching her one female crew member to the laundry the female skipper was heard to ask her remaining - by now - all male crew members if they had all finished with her red nail varnish! Now I know you all now have visions of 70 little red painted toes drying in the sun in preparation for their two week sun tan holiday but I am afraid I am going to have to disillusion you - the nail varnish was for their head torches! Far more practical!!

So - the EH01 ARC 2007 race campaign began in anger. One week ago my crew arrived in Las Palmas - seven eager beavers and my invaluable first mate Tim - all bright and sparkly - and sat patiently through interminable safety and boat briefs and to their credit didn't wiggle once. Their reward? A 0630 alarm the following morning to begin a frenetic week of preparations and sailing practice. We had just seven days to create a race ready boat and team and I was in no doubt that we would achieve that.

The crew worked admirably during this preparation week and our little boat - EH01 - who is to take us all safely from the wilds of windy Gran Canaria to the warm tropical climates of St. Lucia was scrubbed to an inch of her life. She underwent a full rig check, sail check, continued maintenance where necessary and was loaded to the gunnels with water, diesel and provisions for our adventure. Oh - I must apologise to those of you in the northern hemisphere - if you are trying to purchase skittles for a wee treat you will be unable to - we have them all on board with us!!!! A mountain of non-meltable chewy sugar filled sweeties for those long night watches.

We only have one food fidget with dietary issues on board who is unable to eat wheat - my mate Tim 'special needs' Ionides. The rest - who nicknames only number five so far - Sick Note, Worzel, Essex, Cruella and Irish (we are working on the rest) appear to be able to eat all and everything which is handy because our fare for this trip is boil in the bag 'stuff' - oh and skittles!! There is the odd bit of fruit and cereal thrown in but only if they behave!!! Special Needs has his own inimitable 'style' to include orange juice on his cereal!!

Race Day dawned and we slipped lines and headed out through the marina - the noise from the horns, the bands and the cheering was wonderful and judging by the little faces of my crew they were soaking it all up - a race start is a truly wonderful experience. For me this held a particularly special place in my heart too.

We rounded the marina entrance, through the start gate and motored off to examine the start line. 273 boats were milling around in the outer harbour area of Las Palmas together with the Committee Vessel - a huge warship. Fortunately the container port had been closed for the race start so there was no commercial movement to contend with at this time. We settled into our race day start positions, hoisted the main and genoa and tacked and gybed our way around the mayhem waiting patiently for our 10, five and one-minute signals.

Finally - with a fantastic boom from a cannon we crossed the line - next stop St.Lucia. It was a fast and frantic hour before the race start out on the water but once over the line a calm fell over the crew as we focused just a little on what we were all about to undertake. This is a familiar body of water for me but for everyone else on board it was a first ocean passage. Our team song rolled out from the deck speakers and I watched the faces of my crew - with grins from ear to ear - taking in the atmosphere.

One happy skipper!!!

As the afternoon rolled on into night we began our watch systems with my watch - Gin - taking the first turn at the helm. Tonic was sent to bed for a wee snooze with promises to be woken at 2300 hours. A fairly hairy night followed - the winds had been fast and furious all day and were not letting up - a beautiful down wind start with winds of 25-30 knots gusting upwards but with a heavy sea, which was challenging for the helm. We sailed out south-easterly just on the outside edge of the acceleration zone that sits at the southern-eastern end of the island. We had turned early evening in the general direction of St.Lucia content in the knowledge that we had gone far enough to clear the dead zone that sits 50-60 miles off the southern limits of the island itself.

Not so - at around 0300 hours this morning our winds dropped - from 30 knots to eight knots in the space of about 2 minutes and so we sat - desperately seeking the wind. We changed the sail pattern accordingly and waited. It was a comfort to learn that we were not alone in our wind hole - the many navigations lights that surrounded us signalled their predicament too.

The crew is fed and watered and still talking to one another so all is well. The boat is beginning to smell delightful and the bug that has been raging through the boat and team for the past 5 days appears to be subsiding - oh and I have yet to have any sleep. What more could a skipper ask for??