Race Report

Well what a race it was! 23entries including one from Australia and one from Israel. The weather was great with sun and a mixture of wind strengths but never too strong. Driac attracted a lot of interest both in Barmouth and later and this year she held her own pretty well.We were on a close reach out of Barm

outh from the start, the wind held and as we were not absolutely close hauled there were still a number of boats in sight when we reached Bardsey Sound on Sunday at dawn. Ant was on the headland watching and gave us valuable low-down on the movements of boats out of our sight round the point by radio. This helped us decide how best to tackle the tidal set as we went round.

We made it to Caernarfon bar in a good time but the tide was just turning against us and the wind died so it was out with the oars. The new arrangement of folding outriggers (made by AC Marine) just for'ard of the cockpit was pretty good and we made a knot and a half under oars. Charles had some carefully prepared story about having strained his back but in th

e end was prevailed upon to set up the spare oar to push on near the bow and we slowly overhauled two other boats rowing and two at anchor. By the time we reached the Mussel Bank Buoy where we could start the engine we were using all three oars and making about a yard a minute, but we did it and left four or five boats trapped by the increasing tide and waiting for it to fall off.

Nick and Vernon ran Snowdon in a respectable time, being met by Ant with cold water at Snowdon Ranger on the way up. Vernon had cramp quite badly which slowed things and when they returned to Driac we decided that we would do better to round Anglesey than to go through the straits at a bad time and with increasingly light winds. Several other boats made the same decision and we saw them many times over the next day and night. On Monday morning we celebrated Driac's official 80th birthday by overhauling two other competitors under spinnakers; we were carrying a great pres

s of canvas, with main, genoa, staysail, spare jib flown to windward from a pole and the storm jib and trysail flown as water sails. This was immensely satisfying!

Sails were up and down in various combinations all the way to Whitehaven and we were delighted to learn when we got there that there were five

or six boats behind us. Ant was ready with the bikes lent by Pete Robinson and Stefan and C

harles (the U Boat and the Steam Engine) did the Scafell run; it was not too hot and they did it in just over ten hours, an hour less than last year. It was particularly good that there were seven other teams out at the same time and with the route out and back being the same we saw them all at different times. The atmosphere was very friendly and encouraging.

Back at Whitehaven the crew were repairing various faults with the help of Ant and his car and also

were able to look at and photograph Driac 11 which by chance is on the hard at Whitehaven. She is a sorry sight, having been poorly restored and though smart above the waterline, she is a mess below with soft timber and badly leaking seams. We also had the delightful and unforeseen gift of a fine chocolate 80th birthday cake from the race committee and Marshals. That shows the spirit of the race.

We left Whitehaven with two other boats and there were 6 or 7 of us all heading for the Mull of Galloway together. We rounded it on Wednesday morning and raced the others up to the Mull of Kintyre where the tide turned against us and we were forced to row for two or three hours to slow our backward drift. During the night a yacht motored past, cutting right under our bow; we later discovered it was the Salty Peaknuts who had apparently got tired of the race and decided to motor to Corpach. All this time we were being constantly supplied with delicious and plentiful food by the Professor down below; he even stood watches on occasion! We generally tried to let runners sleep through and this meant some long night watches but it seemed to work all right.

On Thursday morning we had a great race with Fantom and Vagabond as we passed up the sound of Jura and the sound of Luing. At Oban Charles made a sudden personal decision to go west of Lismore, not East like the other boats. Immediately the wind dropped away and we had to row on and off for an hour or so. Once past the lighthouse we got a great wind roaring down the sound of Mull and flew along at 7 or 8 knots for a while but the rival boats crept out into view just ahead of us so the plan ultimately failed.

It was a long run down to the Corran Narrows but we had the last of the wind with us and managed to stay out of the main current until right at the narrows then pushed gently through at half a knot over the ground. There was a good deal of rowing then to reach Corpach and we got in at 1 am. Nick and Stefan ran the Ben in fine style while the others revelled in the company of two lovely wives and large quantities of beer, champagne, wine and whisky. They got back just after we had bedded down , at about 6am; Stefan as usual looking as fresh as a daisy.

We may have missed the official party but we had a good time and met a lot of the other crews during the night. Driac came 17th, beating three boats plus three which were withdrawn or disqualified; a fine achievement for an old lady. A great and richly adventurous week with as fine a group of men as will be in one place together for a long while.

Morning of the race

Race day is finally here I am blogging from Lyster's I phone, which is proving difficult. Driac is looking good. We are flying various flags from the new haliards. Hull paint job looks great. Charles and Vernon came up from Milford Haven, Des andN
NIck arrived yesterday. Ant and Stefen are due today. Stores are on board and gps programmer. Sails bent on too. We didnt notice any other fun runners in the bar last night? More later perhaps - Vernon

Final preparations

Just back from a very busy trip to Driac in gorgeous but incredibly hot weather.

I have done pretty well everything I had planned but an very glad I didn't have the steel re-inforcing frames to fit as I would not have squeezed it in, those will have to be done in Barmouth immediately before the race.

Antifouling went well but I did need to do all of her; I have redone her black band at the waterline in 'hard racing antifouling', the rest is red. She was not too badly fouled with just thin slimy weed and a very few barnacles low down.

I have removed a lot of junk from inside so stowage should be easier than last year and I had the stove looked at by a diesel chap so I hope that will be working better (hotter and more responsive).

The self steering gear is fully refurbished and set up though I was not able to test it under fire; we will see how it works on the way to Barmouth. I'm optimistic as it all seems to move freely and the set-up looks good.

I discovered late in the day that a pressure washer cleans up teak ready for varnish amazingly quickly (though can't be done too often as it also erodes it). I'd like to try and do the toe rail and cover board (the edge deck plank) before the race if possible as it will make a huge difference to her appearance; we'll see if there is time before I leave on 15th.

There is just a little food aboard, some coffee, tea, ketchup, a few tins of tuna, beans etc and some pot noodles. Best assume nothing and supply in full; especially whisky....

Well no-one has blogged for quite a while so here is the latest from me.

I'm off to Driac this Friday for the last time before the race; I'll be drying her out between tides and refreshing the antifouling. This has lasted pretty well (I used Jotun which is an industrial one) so it should be just a broad band around the waterline I hope. I hope to have some reinforcing plates from Stefan by then to fit to damaged frames, shelves and retaining material for lockers and leecloths for the foc's'l bunks. I also hope to complete the refurbishment of the self steering gear; I've obtained, repaired or made the missing components and spoken to the makers so I hope it can be got to work OK. There are endless other small jobs of course and I'll do as many as I can.

Training has been held up by a serious cough which stopped me for two weeks but Nick and I had two runs together in Scotland during the Odyssey course we ran last week and those went well with lots of climbing. Yesterday I decided to do a longish cycle/run session. I cycled for 55 minutes, covering 9 miles and climbing 1,050 ft then set off on foot expecting to run for 2 hours. 4 hours and 10 minutes later I tottered in having run 17 miles and climbed 2,800 ft. This was not a record-breaking time by any means but I feel the cycling really helps the running and I was pleased to be able to keep plugging away for 5 hours and do that amount of climbing without getting cramp, stopping, crawling, crying or being crippled the next day.

I have a busy few weeks before the race but I'll try to keep doing a mixture of cycling and running of different distances with one or two long ones included.

Latest from Driac

I've just spent three days on Driac and was lucky with the weather for the first two, so I now have four coats of varnish on the coachroof and the portlights (repaired and polished) back in. She's looking good. It was good to be aboard her while it was raining as I could assess the deck leak situation. I'm happy to say that there are now very few drips and those there are are not in areas crucial to comfort.

The chart table area has been transformed by the addition of a flap to make it chart-sized and a seat so that it can be sat at properly; I've also tidied up the loose cables and instruments to make it useable. Further improvements will follow. I hope to make the quarter berth, (which is a very confined space and a little prone to leaks) suitable for the 'on call' watch member, so that a fully clad person can doze there on karrimat when not needed.

The major job to tackle now is repairs to damaged frames on the port side. These have been cracked for about 50 years so it isn't dead urgent but I have now spiled (measured) precisely for sister frames. I need to decide how far I can go with this in the time available as doing the job properly will involve making holes below the waterline. It may be that I put sisters in place to support the old frames but leave the through-fastenings until later in the year.

Ok, my turn to try the clever stuff. Here (I hope) are maps of three of my usual runs.

The first is a run that takes me about 55 min; 5 1/2 miles and about 750 ft.

Next is my usual longer run, 6.7 miles and 1,200 ft.

Then last is the long run I did on Sunday, 15 miles and nearly 3,000 ft.

Nick, I must try and get the mapping programme you have if they do it for Mac.

Running route

This is my short running route here in Cromarty.

4.03 miles - 572' of ascent.

It is a pleasant jaunt with absolutely wonderful views out across the Cromarty and Moray Firths. However, I know that I have to get into the mountains to really get the training in!

I decided to do a big run this weekend and as the weather was good I went for it today. I set off at nine am and expected to be about 2 1/2 hours. Three and a half hours later...

I chose as many hills as I could fit in from the house and the total was 14.92 miles and 2,961 ft climbed. Time was 3hrs 31min ands I was absolutely banjaxed by the finish with cramp beginning in various parts. Felt a bit better after a good stretch and a lot of water. Good to do it as I realise I will need to work more on the distance and climbing if I'm to avoid the cramp I suffered from in last year's race. I did keep going though...

A short recovery run tomorrow and I look forward to another monster next weekend!

Around Loch Affric

Yesterday saw me plugging away at a 10 mile run/slip & slide around Loch Affric. I have often wanted run the route around the Loch and so I took my chance. Mistakenly I thought that the route would be clear of snow but was proved to be very wrong when I set off into a calf deep blanket that must have been there for a good few months.

Thankfully when I reached the south facing slope, the snow had all but disappeared. The first half of the run is along an estate track and the next half along a good old fashioned stalkers track.

All in all it was a good run and I am pleased with my latent fitness. It was wonderful to be away from roads and vehicles and as tempted as I was to get up high, the conditions did not allow this.

The weather was mixed with sunny periods and driving sleet.

My time: Pretty slow @ 1:55 with a total ascent of 1251 feet.

Stop all the clocks....

Sorry chaps, I didn't realise that the blog automatically selected Pacific time zone as a default.

I might have managed to sort it out - let's see.

All the best, Vernon

Checking the clock etc.

Nick, great wee video matey. I am just trying to set/check the clock on the blog.

Just trying brasso on the bronze portlights. Doesn't really do the trick as they are pretty green. Any suggestions? Elbow grease is probably the only answer; I hope young Duncan is keen to earn some pocket money.

Can't help noticing the time is wrong on this blog. Last post went up at 2155, not the time given. Gremlins?

Just back from three superb cold, clear, sunny days on Driac. The main job was rubbing down and varnishing the cabin sides; she looks superb with two coats of Le Tonkinois varnish (about 6 more should do it).

Work or Play?

Just off to Milford Haven to spend 3 days on Driac. The weather forecast is excellent so I may finally get some varnish onto currently grey teak. The rubbing down will be the problem...

Hello again

Hi Nick you here as well.
Just going passed (under) the QE Bridge on route to Whistable.
Maybe you can show me how to set this up on my PC so that I now when somebody has blogged something.

Stefan

Hello!

I am an ardent blogger! I start them - keep them up for a while - forget about them - write a bit more - then give them up - start a new one - ..... you get the picture!

This will be good for us to keep in touch and to share ideas etc.

Chin chin,

Nick

First Blog

Hi Charles, Vernon

never blogged before,
good opportunity to give it a go.

Regards

Stefan

First Post

This is the first post from Yacht Driac.