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First Report from Jessica

 

A wet and wild start to the race. There’s nothing like being fire-hosed by waves over the bow while flying at 20+kts and passing boats twice your size. Three miles in and we were all soaked through, but grinning kids at Christmas. The 4^th boat out of the Solent.

 

The wind angle got a bit tight towards the east end of the Solent, so we dropped the kite for a while. When we re-hoisted after Selsey Bill, the boat really took off. The sea state had built into large rolling swells that threatened to bury our nose, yet each time Concise2 popped up quite nicely. ‘This feels a bit light’, said Tristan on the helm a few minutes later, ‘ah, I think I’ve lost steerage’. When the next wave hit we broached. On our ear, kite flapping. 10 painful minutes later the rudder was fixed, but the kite was damaged.

 

Now we’ve just past Dover – white cliffs, heavy shipping traffic and the odd sandbank and windfarm to keep me working hard at the nav desk. The full moon is out, the wind is still gusting high 20s, and it’s a great night to be out here.

 

Jessica Sweeney

navigator