End of leg three...
Pete Goss via mobile phone
24/06/2006 , Lerwick
Hi everyone and thanks for sticking with us. We are now
in Lerwick after a tough night of sailing. The wind was light and fickle last
night and it was a real effort to bring the boat down the east side of Shetland
and into Lerwick. It was also bitterly cold and we are on our way for a shower
and hot food. We are really frustrated at how far behind we have fallen - the
leaders are now over three days ahead - but we are going to do what ever we can
to work through the fleet. We are apparently the twelfth boat in, but that
doesn't take account of class position or corrected time after handicaps have
been applied. As more boats come in we may get a better idea of where we
actually are in the remaining fleet of 37 boats. For now, we will rest and make
ready for the next leg as we continue our efforts to get the little SeaCart
round in the quickest possible time. The boat is holding up really well and we
just want to get back out there and try to reel in the boats in front. Thanks
for your support. Cheers, Pete.
23/06/06
PETE GOSS BACK IN RACE AFTER ASSISTING IN RESCUE
Pete Goss and Paul Larsen are back in the Shetland two-handed Round Britain and
Ireland yacht race after putting in for repairs. The massive lead the pair had
built up slipped through their fingers as their trimaran ‘Cornwall Playing for
Success’ was having the main bulkhead modified and strengthened.
It was a real test for the trimaran as they sailed out into a cold, wet and
windy night, meeting lumpy and confused seas off the Isle of Harris. The boat
held up well with no sign of the earlier problems after the manufacturers made
the modification, as Pete explains: “It was a lumpy and bumpy ride last night
and the little SeaCart took a real pounding. But despite the conditions she is
in great shape. It is incredibly frustrating that the modification to the
bulkhead should have been done by the manufacturers before we set off. It has
probably cost us the race, but we are determined to fight on and see what this
little boat is capable of.
Now making relatively slow progress in light and fickle airs, the team is
looking forward to completing this leg, which sees them sailing around Muckle
Flugga – the northernmost point in the UK – and into Lerwick in Shetland. They
will then get an idea of just how far behind the leaders they are and how much
their three-day delay has cost them.
As well as working on the boat, Pete and Paul made good use of their time on
Barra, taking part in a dramatic rescue of a stricken yacht, which had run
aground in Castlebay on Tuesday.
As near gale-force winds pounded the area, the all-weather RNLI lifeboat had
been called out to help tow in another Round Britain competitor, ‘Knight’s
Challenge’. When yet another competitor, the Sigma 36’ yacht ‘Ruffian’ was blown
onto the rocks, Pete and Paul jumped onto the RNLI’s other boat, a
rigid-inflatable (RIB) boarding vessel, and sped to their rescue, helping to
attach a line so that she could be towed off by the all-weather lifeboat, which
had by now raced to join in.
The RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, Roderick Maclean, praised them for their
assistance, saying that because of their help it had been just seven minutes
from the time of the call to having the yacht pulled to safety. He said:
“When I received the second call for assistance that day, Pete was standing
right beside me and immediately offered his help. He is known to the crew as an
exceptional seafarer and we thought he would be a real asset in the rescue. The
crew were delighted and privileged to have him on board as a temporary volunteer
crew member.”
An RNLI spokeswoman said: “Pete has now become even more of a hero in Barra
than he was already.”
The rescue was captured on video by a spectator, but in typically modest style,
Pete played down their part in the operation, saying: “It was nothing, we
didn’t do that much really, just helped attach a line.”