Thanks to everybody involved

Back at home reflecting on our amazingly successful race I feel the need to do an Oscar acceptance speech. Maybe by November and the Prizegiving we will have got used to the notion that we deserve the Tilman Trophy. At the moment it seems highly surprising.
This campaign has been well planned and executed thanks to a lot of people.
Tony Bennett and Chris Smith from Bellanoch were vital in kitting out the boat and supplying the rowing rig which propelled us so effectively.
Chris Haughton and David Herbert helped with the delivery trip from Crinan to Holyhead and cheerfully took part in the inept crew training sessions off Galloway when we struggled with the dip pole gybing system for the first time.
Bill was the shoreside lynch pin we couldn't have done without, and we were very sorry Claire couldn't join him but supported from afar.
Ruth Rosie Mark Mary and Lizzie put up with parental neglect at exam time or while travelling - sorry!
Bridget and Shelagh from Kithros 2 helped look after Bill and point him in the right direction when needed.
Norma Wendy Dennis and Mike and all the Merioneth Yacht Club organisers make us all so welcome every year and encourage us to have another go.
Bill Neal Colin Richard and Mike on Kithros 2 goaded us with well chosen insults when they saw us on the rocks and gave us a reason to battle our way to Whitehaven in the fastest time possible. We hardly saw them after that...
On the crew Patrick was the generous co-skipper and owner, knew his boat thoroughly and was a vital source of local knowledge in Scotland, Virginia was the ships cook of your dreams and downwind helmsman to surpass anybody, Andrew did sail trim and rowing and running while David was offically the grunt who followed orders while running up mountains extraordinarily fast for someone who looked as if he wasn't trying. Thanks to all of them for putting up with being bossed about by me.

It was a great team effort and everybody played their part so to win the all rounder team trophy is particularly apt.

PS Shelterbox donations now within sight of a whole box - just needs £25 more....

Kithros finished ninth

Well done to Bill and crew for a fantastic result. They came in ahead of many faster boats and with a shred more luck at the Mull of Galloway would have been in the leading pack. They seem to have laughed their way round the course and Richard has become a blood brother after bonding with tea and cake rituals. What Mike made of them all would be interesting to hear but he had to jump on a train home as he had wangled time off at short notice.
Bill and Bridget were cleaning the boat and restoring it to Cruising mode when we left. They plan to explore the Firth of Clyde further but were awaiting weather informataion before deciding.
Neal was back in the Sailing Club bar in Devon with a pint of Otter by nine o'clock on Friday night and "next year" was already being mentioned!

Leg Three by Kate

I am writing this in a quiet moment in Corpach. Patrick is asleep, V A and B have gone for a walk up the Ben, I am meant to be boat cleaning and David is probably eating up the rest of the stores while I am not looking.

We had a lucky start on the last leg. Our runners got in just as the tide was rising so we were able to allow them a shower and a cup of tea before locking out with the five other boats at 5 o'clock. Only EADS and the Dockers had left earlier and the latter were still stuck on the sand in the outer harbour.

The first 45 miles is a long slog across to the Mull of Galloway. This was a lovely spinnaker reach and Sea Fever went beautifully with her new sail. The opposition had a theory we had a special yellow wire across the foot which gave it special powers (it was tape!) By the time we reached the Mull we were miles ahead of the other boats with V at the helm. Then followed a tactical debate on tides up the coast of Galloway. We stayed quite close in but then struck off for Kintyre an hour before the tide turned in our favour. This seemed to pay because we were catching up EADS by the time we entered the sound of Jura. Then followed a very long day rowing and sailing and brewing tea as we battled up the Sound to reach Luing before the tide turned against us at 3am. Virginia has decribed it well. We celebrated mile 100 with half a tot of Jura whisky off Craighouse but our scambled brains could not cope with any more. (See photo!)

Patricks local knowledge was vital as he picked our course up past Corryvreckan, but we used Bills famous waypoint list to navigate Luing in the dark.

As dawn arrived we were picking our way past Kerrera neck and neck with team Whistler. Initially they failed to respond to banter but by the top of Lismore were sledging like real Aussies. After changing places about ten times we agreed a truce as we could see EADS in the distance and wanted to catch her up if possible.

The wind had died again so we rowed into Loch Linnhe and waited while the Dockers crept up behind us on the incoming sea breeze. We ate porridge and D and P caught up on sleep while A K and V propped their eyes open for a few more hours (A fell asleep at the oars and K at the wheel!)

Eventually the wind filled and we had a storming finish through the Corran Narrows and up to Corpach. We were delighted to be within ten minutes of the leaders after such a long race.

Our final act before the sailors collapsed in a heap was to wave D and P off up the mountain and bring Sea Fever into the Sea lock at Corpach. Our job was done! Incidentally we had logged the fasted aggregate sailing time of any team, a testimony to the boat.

Kate

update from Virginia

Yesterday was I think Wednesday. It was a very long day but in the end very rewarding and successful. It started either with rowing or flying the spinnaker, and continued with such through the hours of darkness and into the dawn. We had a provisional watch system with all the team now involved, meaning that Kate, Andrew and Virginia would get a bit more sleep, and David would have to get his night vision focused. The reality was that we needed 3 on board for rowing and at least 4 for gybing the spinnaker. Kate had taught her crew well but we were still amateurs and under cover of darkness a spinnaker gybe is more tricky. She would call back into the cockpit 'Is this the red or the blue sheet?' But we improved and concentration was kept at a high level as we changed places with the Aussie team Whistler throughout the day and night. The tricky bit was whether we would get through the tidal gate at Luing, and it looked touch and go through the night, but we managed to get through at 3am at the very last opportunity. Exciting stuff. We were rather surprised that Whistler also managed to get through, but that gave us a continued battle. They were faster than us in a straight line but we sailed directly for the next point at all times, and were better rowers when the boys were on duty. Bacon butties at dawn helped to pass the hours and porridge at 11:30 constituted lunch. By then we were coming round Lismore Island and Shuna, with the prospect of the Corran Narrows ahead. Patrick and David got into preparation mode for Ben Nevis and Andrew and Kate sailed the boat fast; at last the wind had appeared and Andrew and I had stopped falling asleep on the oars and helm, and were enjoying the race once more. As we rushed through the Corran Narrows with spinnaker flying we gave Bill a wave and continued to catch Whistler. We were now worried that there was too much wind but our spinnaker handling had improved so that we looked semi professional, and we managed to get our runners ashore for 2pm. While we chatted ashore to the other boats it became clear that no one else was going for the Tilman Trophy so we became very excited as it meant that we would win this category. Off David and Patrick went, and were back far too fast in 4 hours 15 minutes. We were 4th overall as well so delighted. Champagne and a relaxing evening on board followed with a chicken curry and tuna bake provide by the chief cook who has now gone on strike and left David to eat cereal out of the packets....The team were all very sleepy and have enjoyed an excellent sleep.

Tilman Trophy Winners! - Update by Bill

They've done it!

Dont know how, but they have actually done it!

Topsham Sea Fever have not only finished but won the Tilman Trophy, and may also win the prize for fastest boat.

Full details and stories will follow as soon as we've stopped drinking champagne!

News of Kithros - Update by Bill

Kithros runners Colin and Mike put up a superb time on Snowdon and returned to the boat in good time for the trip down Menai with the tide.

Noticing both White Cloud and Topsham Sea Fever on the rocks in the Swellies, Kithros anchored up and waited for a bit more water. Navigating around the stranded Sea fever, Bill Ricketts avoided commenting on Sea Fevers lack of navigational prowess, but did comment that with the hull heeled over a lot of weed was showing...

Sea Fever eventually regained her lead but Kithros was only a couple of hours later into Whitehaven. Colin and Mike then set off on their bikes, but Colin was hurting badly...

Undaunted, Mike took both rucksacks and cajoled Colin to the top of Scafell. By the top though Mike gave it back with the words, "Take it, or I'll shove it up your *!**!"

Setting off from Whitehaven only a couple of hours behind the bunch, Kithros suffered lighter winds, and after going backwards for a bit they anchored in Luce Bay. This is almost traditional for them, and apparently they then enjoyed a gourmet meal of ration packs.

Currently (9pm Tuesday) they are charging up the Jura Sound at 8 knots, only 30 miles behind the leading boat and closing fast.

Sailing Update - Texts from Kate

Sent at 13:00 Tuesday:
"Virginia and Kate steered through the night and through the fleet". (ed: They got into second place at one time, and are now fourth overall.)
"Andrew and Patrick now trying hard (ed: very trying?) in light airs.
Running out of fruit juice and mould growing on the quiche.
Will try and eat quiche. Will see if it creates wind...."

Sent at 16:00 Tuesday:
"Happily making scale model of Jura from 3 toblerone and a bottle of malt whisky. Will photo for blog.."
(ed: Its quite obvious that scurvy and delusions have now set in!)

Update: 21:00 Sea Fever now in 4th place. The wind has returned and all boats are steaming up the Sound of Jura.

(Edited by Bill, Support Team).

Scafell and leaving Whitehaven - Update by Bill

Patrick and David ran and cycled superbly on Scarfell. They even arrived with a sprint finish and a squeal of brakes so far ahead of schedule that we missed all the best photos! The photo of the bikes was at the Marshal Station in Ennerdale, and what you can see is conservatively estimated at £20k worth of wheels. The other photo is od David and Patrick having just completed Scafell Pike and heading home from Wasdale Head

There was then a mass re-start with 6 boats all locking out of Whitehaven together, and another boat only minutes ahead having finally got off the sand where they had sat for 4 hours. EADS Innovations had a 5 hour head start, but had only had light winds and the race was on!

Trauma in the Swellies! (Ooops!)

These are the photos you all wanted!

Sea Fever headed down the Menai Straights towards and under the Britannia Bridge.

As they entered the Swellies, they saw White Cloud, firmly aground.

They safely got past, but only to hit their own rock slightly further on.

Fortunately they escaped three hours later as the tide rose and rowed through the swellies and under the Menai Bridge. They had avoided using their engine so were still in the race.

White Cloud was less lucky and had to retire from the damage.

Starting Action aboad Sea Fever - Andys Photos

Geoff West and crew put up their spinnaker at the start but lived to regret it as they swiftly broached and poor Gary injured his hand quite badly with a rope burn.

Kithros at the start - Photos by Kate

Note how Kithros is firmly behind Sea Fever!

Bardsey Head Pictures from Andrew.

Sailing off Bardsey Head

The Kithros Photos Files

Kithros II on her mooring in Barmouth

Kithros Team

Topless modelling, Rickets Style

Update from legs one and two by Kate

Leg One
After the start we flew off the line towards Bardsey and enjoyed seeing Team EADS get their spinn aker wrapped. Photos to follow. We sped west and rounded Bardsey an hour after slack water as the race began to rip. Compared to last years effort in the dark it was a pleasure to battle through past Braich y Pwll and by nightfall we were enjoying a splendid fish pie off Pen Mawr. The team got into watches and Andrew and Virginia slept while K P and D sailed the boat to Caernarvon. At the bar we had to tack in up a short narrow channel and were horrified when in 3.8 m at the shallowest point the marker buoy was missing. The light on CB6 had failed. It was with some relief we dropped A and V on the dock and greeted a cheery Bill. Four boats had anchored ahead of us.
While we slept the runners and Bill saw dawn on the mountain with beautiful views. They were so quickly back we were caught napping and had to rush to pick them up. Boats were heading up the Straits into the stream but also diving back out over the Bar to go round Bardsey. We chose the Straits and headed off in 12th.

Leg two
With our spinnaker flying we negotiated Britannia Bridge and were horrified to see White Cloud, an early leader, aground on Cribbin Rock. While rubber necking we foolishly stopped concentrating and parked up on a rather solid piece of shoreline next to the Swelly Rock. With some coolness Patrick surveyed his new boat on its side and decided that kedging off once the tide had risen again would be the best way to escape. We read the papers, ate lunch and took abuse from Kithros 2 as they sneaked past at low water. Helicopters whirred overhead and photographers clambered along the bank to snap us.
Eventually we rowed the boat back into the channel and set off again with a sigh of relief. We had wasted 3 hours but were still in eighth position as we left the Straits due to some having gone South or gone aground.
The wind kept steady all the way across the Irish sea and we were able to close reach with a little spinnaker work at the beginning and end of the leg. We saw nobody although we knew Kithros 2 was around somewhere!
At dawn we approached St Bees head and were delighted to find out that the fleet ahead was only able to enter Whitehaven at 4am so we were only 2 hours behind. As I write D and P are still on their way down from Ennerdale but on their return we hope to lock out with the four other boats waiting. The Dockers are aground outside and Tactix (EADS)has set off but the rest are waiting impatiently for water.

Meanwhile V is preparing the next gourmet meat for us. Freshly cooked meals, no Rat Packs for the Commodore's Summer Cruise. Japanese Noodle Hot Pot and pear and peach ginger trifle tonight. sadly no wine allowed till the finish!
Bill has been a fantastic help despite struggling to keep up on his own. He has provided food and drink for the runners, supplies of milk and papers and weather forecasts for the sailors, and been upbeat and cheerful throughout. Thanks Bill, this is a real team effort and you are a vital member of the team.
So off we go with high hopes for leg Three. Sea Fever is entering home waters and spirits are excellent. All are rested and the boat is in good order.
More from Bill and an account of the running from those involved later.
Kate

PS No major injuries to report. V had a sore knee so Bill bought her frozen peas which she used on her knee then added to the chilli con carne!!
I have a slighly sunburnt upper arm and a torn fingernail, but us sailors are tough and don't complain about these things...
A says he hasnt got any injuries, not even any blisters.

Relaxed and Ready.. Update by Bill

Relaxed and ready, Topsham Sea Fever are all aboad and ready to go.

After the Last Supper in the Yacht Club, and extreme depression induced by England's Football performance, things cheered up immensley when the Team spotted the Power Bar Goodies Van. Andrew in particular was like a boy in a sweetshop!

Partick manfully undertook the regulatory celebrity interview as Skipper. To be honest, they where happy to interview absolutely anybody, but the rest of the team showed a fine turn of speed in all taking one step backwards leaving Patrick alone to step up to the plate.

The crew then caught the ferry out to Topsham Sea Fever, lying smartly at anchor at the front of the fleet. We wish them luck. They are all barmy!

How about Kithros 2? Kate's update

Some of the Topsham followers will be wondering about the other TSC team in the race. Kithros 2 left Topsham on June 8th and arrived in Barmouth after a leisurely cruise on Wednesday 16th. They are in their customary position alongside the harbour wall, fortunately without a sand dune covering them this year. Bill has scrubbed off the hull and mounted his smart harbour ensign. Photos are available of him topless but I am negotiating the bribe to cancel publication. A donation to Shelterbox might swing it.

(If you enjoy following our race blog we would appreciate any support for our charity. The website is

http://www.justgiving.com/3PYRSeaFeverShelterbox

and both teams are collecting for the same cause).

Neal and Colin arrived last night with Richard Stevens the third sailor and Mike Berry the ultramarathon runner who stepped in after Elliot broke his foot recently. They are in usual laid back and jocular mood and one of our objectives, apart from hoping to complete the course with little wind forecast, is to try to stay in front of them. Not as easy as you would think despite the disparity between the boats. Neal and Bill are always tremendously generous with advice and help and I am grateful for their support.
This morning is the briefing sesion. The runners have all checked in their kit and we have a skippers and runners briefing then a backup team briefing. There are bucket loads of Powerbar goodies to stock up on, much appreciated by the teams. After that we will probably go back to the boat for a post prandial snooze before the excitement starts at 4pm.
Thanks for all the messages of support. The official site doesnt seem to have that facility this year so the texts and blog comments are terrific.
Bill will take over during the race as we will be busy until Whitehaven at least! His duties with a demanding crew to service are heavy but he is cheerfully catering to our whims!Thanks Bill
Kate

Message from Virginia

So here we are in Barmouth ready to roll; or sail or row or run up a mountain or fly that spinnaker or wait for wind or eat or sleep or.....who knows...I have been busy today shopping, cooking and cleaning the boat, and we have meals aplenty for the light winds that are predicted. Our menu is not spartan like that in some boats, we have fish pie, chilli con carne and chicken curry all ready for eating, and a boat stuffed with goodies to suit all palates. Our team are big eaters, and there are no rules except if you eat anything you must offer it round.....and jelly babies on the hour through the night. It was good to send the rest of the crew ashore for a few hours today and get the boat shipshape and ready for action tomorrow afternoon. Kate did the race last year and completed it, and she has been teaching David and I how to fly the spinnaker as we came down from Scotland last week. Patrick and Andrew joined us at Holyhead and have been quickly learning the ropes too. Patrick and Kate are in charge above decks and David and I below decks. Andrew hasn't quite decided on his area of expertise, but as Devon Yawl National Champion he will probably be good on sail trim. Andrew was the ladies Team coach when I was sailing at Oxford a few years ago, where Patrick was the men's captain, and Kate was the Ladies Captain when I went to Bristol a couple of years later. So we have known one another for a long time, although have not been in touch much recently until we conceived this crew about this time last year. David is still wondering why he isn't up Everest as he usually is at this time of year, and his greatest challenge will be the night watches. He and I are Crip 1 and Crip 2 having sustained various injuries recently; we decided to get a carbon fibre spinnaker pole for him after he strained a rib when we did the Scottish Islands Three Peaks Race in May.
Anyway, I had better be off for now...here's hoping we finish this year!

Last Minute (.com!)

While the crew work away with final fettling of the boat, B(ST) (That's me: Bill - Support Team) has been checking out the IT. Communications will be difficult, as Cellphones really don't work too well in the middle of the Irish Sea, and anyway, despite our best efforts, the batteries will probably be flat anyway! And as I've never blogged or wirelessed (err.. is that a real word?)before anything might happen, or more likely nothing..

Anyway, back to the team in action:

The Rowing Rig is a thing of technical beauty. Claimed to be more comfortable than the rowing machine in the gym, and excellent exercise to ease tired muscles after running, it will provided many minutes of pleasure when the wind drops. Then it will be hours of shear agony unless the crew sees sense and puts the kettle on to wait for the wind's return instead. Andrew tested it out while on the mooring and completely syked out the other boats watching. Good start! And probably the best use the rowing gear will ever be put too.

Of course the crew includes our resident mountaineer, David. Preferring the Himalayas to the Welsh Mountains, David sensibly volunteered to stay on the ground and to hoist Patrick to the top of the mast to enjoy the view and sort the electrics. The actual quality of the view depended on whether Patrick was looking down or not, but his photo sure scares the living daylights out of me!

Finally, David was left with sticking on our race number, 23. This is now proudly displayed on both sides of the hull. There is no boat numbered 32, so if it's spotted that way up something will have gone badly wrong.

Plans for tonight? An early supper, followed by some serious football supporting, and celebrations late into the night if England win. True dedication to the cause!

(Update by Bill - Support Team)

Preparation for the mountains

The race involves running/cycling up mountains as well as sailing. As we have a Tillman entry 4 members of the crew will run up at least 1 mountain so most of us will be running as well well as sailing. Patrick and Virginia are experienced runners who have done lots of off road races and endurance events. David has been up Everest 7 times and so is very happy going up or down any slope and Andrew has only just returned to running having had a life of luxury and managed a very flat London marathon in April. We have managed a bit of practice on Dartmoor and David, Patrick and Virginia did the Scottish Three Peaks race 3 weeks ago. As usual we have not trained as much as we would have liked or intended! Bill leads the back up team and will provide us with encouragement food and drink on route. So hopefully all will be well when we set off for Snowdon on the early hours of Sunday morning! We shall see! Andrew

Delivery crew reach Holyhead

4pm on Wednesday the delivery crew tied up in Holyhead marina.
Sea Fever has sailed beautifully and we have had some superb spinnaker runs South from Scotland. The first day we arrived at Crinan at 5pm, loaded on the stores and kit and locked out of the Crinan canal by 7pm. Virginia and David had bought provisions and prepared a fantastic fish pie. We sailed down to Lowlandmans bay and anchored for the night in sight of the Paps of Jura. 6 am we weighed anchor and set off South. The tide at the Mull of Kintyre was still favourable so we squeaked past and climbed up into the Firth of Clyde to keep out of the adverse current. Evening saw us hoisting the spinnaker at Black Head and running past Portpatrick down the Rhins of Galloway. We anchored just east of the Mull in East Tarbert Bay and had a quiet night after an 85 mile trip (Chilli with rice!)
The next day was an easy 35 mile run across to The Isle of Man, a brief gasp of excitement in Calf Sound against the tide and another quiet evening in Port St Mary. Virginia went for a run on Man while the rest of the crew loafed. (Pasta with sausages!)
The boat now has its name on the transom and various jobs have been done to prepare. The jelly babies have had to be put on ration as the quarter master is worried about the supplies lasting.
Wednesdays run was 54 miles down to Holyhead and again we put up the spinnaker and had a very pleasant run until the wind died. Motoring into some severe tide we arrived at Holyhead on time to buy spare bulbs and sail ties and organise David and Chris into a bed and breakfast. The boat leaves at 2am so they wisely opted for beds that would stay put.
Patrick has just joined ship at 6.45pm and Andrew is on a slow train that gets in at 9pm. We will have a feast for supper thanks to our excellent cooks and get some sleep before departing at 2am to catch the high water at Barmouth harbour entrance tomorrow. The boat is in excellent order the crew are cheerful and bonding well and we are looking forward to catching up with Bill and Bridget in Kithros 2 who arrived in Barmouth today.
The other teams in Holyhead include Maracusa, Celtic Warrior the Isreli charter boat and another two we haven't met. They seem more laid back about departing for Barmouth but maybe they haven't tried the harbour entrance before.
Signing off to go and eat another feast from our cooks. Virginia says she doesnt like sailing or running in the dark but she is happy to cook for us. A price worth paying in my view!

Medical Kit

Today I sorted out sea sick pills and patches, painkillers and a wonderful gadget that looks like a watch and is in fact a device that gives a mild electric shock into the acupressure point on your wrist and treats nausea. This does in fact work on sea sick patients probably by surprising them out of their symptoms. Actually after a couple of days at sea most people settle down fine and don't need any pills. I have also packed some injection equipment as one of our team has a swollen elbow and we may have to do some surgery at sea. Being the team medic is quite a responsibility especially when the runners are dehydrated and exhausted. Last year I had to threaten Paul with rectal fluids to make him drink more electrolyte solution! It looks as though it is going to be another light airs race so sun cream and hydration will be important.