7/13/24 8:08AM Central time
We are 17 miles from the finish. Sailing up to Oban by beautiful Scottish hills. There are two boats close ahead of us in sight. We are catching up on them both and definitely could pass them before the finish. Just got buzzed very closely by a seaplane owned by a crew member on another boat.
7/13/24 5:07 AM Central time
Looks like our finish will be delayed. The wind is getting very light and the other watch is getting the windseeker on deck. It’s a spinnaker that’s used for very light air. The boat 6 nm in front of us is going just 3 knots. We believe the two boats behind us, including BCF, have retired and are motoring. They are doing a steady 7 knots directly towards Oban. It hasn’t been officially confirmed. We will decide at noon whether to withdraw and motor or try to catch the boat in front of us which is currently 6 nm away. It sounds like the customs officers won’t come to the boat until 11 am tomorrow if we don’t arrive by 5 pm. I can see Ireland to the south! We are doing soup and sandwiches for lunch. I just finished cleaning up and am in my bunk for a couple of hours.
7/13/24 12:04 AM Central time
We had a wild morning at 3am today. The winds came up at dawn. Not sure why, but that’s typical. I call them “false morning winds” because they are usually gone in a hour or so. We had to reef the main, but the rail is still in the water and it’s incredibly hard to get around. At 3am, we had 76 nm to go to the finish. We’re doing around 10 knots, so we should be there in 8 hours or 11 am. That’s 7 am your time. Fingers crossed the wind holds.
7/11/24 6:12 PM Central time
We just put up the code 1 spinnaker and are headed fast directly to Oban!
7/11/24 10:21 AM Central time
Oh, no! It’s looking like I’ll have cookie duty again the day after tomorrow. We had 400 nm to go as of 1 pm today. We’re doing 9-10 knots towards the finish for the first time in days. We have had a very favorable wind shift and hopefully will be able to sail up and over Ireland without tacking. It also looks like we’ll avoid the wind hole. It’s looking good for us getting in on the 13th or 14th. It’s another beautiful day. Cool, but nice in the sun. Last night was very cold. We are still going upwind in light conditions. We haven’t done a sail change or tack in several days. Yesterday on the other watch, a whale swam directly towards the boat, then dove and popped up on the other side. Jono was trying not to hit it. The are lots of phosphorescent “bugs” in the wake now. Maybe krill? The number of whales correlates closely. Last night, every 10-15 seconds, maybe 50-100 would flash. They are much brighter than fireflies. It’s very magical. It has clouded up this afternoon and the wind has picked up. We’re making 9-10 knots.
7/10/24 4:43 AM Central time
Winds are less than 15 knots, but we are going about 8 knots across the ocean sprint. We are headed pretty much directly at Oban, but unfortunately, Ireland is in the way! We will probably have to tack up the west coast of Ireland. So far no wind holes. It is light from 4am until 10pm.
7/9/24 10:35 AM Central time
Not much to report. Making slow progress towards Oban. The wind is more favorable, but a high-pressure system is dropping down on us which will likely delay us. Probably no chance of arriving on Saturday the 12th. Oh no! I could possibly have cookie duty again. MUST GO FASTER! 😂
7/8/24 12:35 PM Central time
This is day 13. No chance of a very quick crossing. Last night was cold. My $6 insulated gloves from Harbor Freight are toasty warm. We’re going only 8-9 knots over the ground and not able to point directly at Oban. Probably making only 6 knots towards the finish. We did just 100nm over the last 24 hours. Still the same this morning. Slow progress due to light wind speed, adverse current, and having to beat to windward. Hannah thinks we may be beating the rest of the way. At least for now, we’re not heeled too much or pounding. As of 3pm this afternoon, we have better winds, up to almost 15 knots and are pointing better towards Oban. The weather is beautiful. Sunny and cool. BCF was wind holed and we were not.
7/7/24 11:03 AM Central time
Not much to report. I’m am done with cookie duty! We are less than 1000 nm from the finish. Unfortunately, we are having to sail upwind again. This morning when our watch came on at 7am, it was really bad. Things have moderated now at 10am and it’s much better. And just now Julie informed me that our bunk is soaking wet. :-(. I just made hot drinks for everyone and helped Vasi do the bilges. Now for a quick nap down below to warm up. It’s much cooler and cloudy now. Much more like what I expect Scotland to be like.
7/6/24 11:42 AM Central time
Our 3-7am watch was CRAZY! We flew the code 3 with a full main in 30+ knots of wind with gusts to near 40. Hannah jumped on the helm and we were setting up to blow the spinnaker when she said something like “Screw it. Let’s do this! The worst we can do is destroy the kite.” We flew along for a couple of hours going 14-15+ knots with spurts above 20. It took two of us on the coffee grinder to trim the spinnaker. The loads were huge. Hannah got 20.6 knots on the speedo and Olly got 20.5! Oh, and a small whale passed very close during all that. This morning, I am happy to be cookie today since it’s raining. Steve has joined me and Julie since his partner was Cat. He and I are taking turns as helper. Julie wants to do all of the cooking and is very good at it. She made incredibly good bread. It’s half the work for each of us. It’s a bit of rocking and rolling, but not too bad and not too hot. Only one more cookie duty at most for me! Today is cool and cloudy. Not another perfect day. It rained in the morning, but stopped around lunchtime. The winds are lighter and we just switched to the code 2.
7/5/24 11:57 AM Central time
I’m up by the mast in the shade after having helmed, check helmed, and trimmed spinnaker. It’s another absolutely beautiful day. Champagne sailing. Sunny and just the perfect temperature. We had expected a wind hole today, but that hasn’t happened. Hopefully, when it does happen, the boats in the lead will be affected sooner and we can catch up. Forgot to tell you that Hannah announced that we had a 303 nm day. That’s our fastest ever and first over 300 nm. The generator has a water leak and we ripped off one of the hydro generators, so we’re using the main engine to charge the batteries. Having had gone around the world, things are otherwise in remarkably good shape. It’s very frustrating to have people helming who are struggling. It really reduces our speed. And the conditions are very easy—beam reaching with the code 1 in 12-15 knots of wind. Liz is trying to coach them. We have cleared the ice limit without having seen any icebergs. The update at our 1pm team meeting is that the wind is expected to increase over the next four days. Only 1374 nm to go!
7/4/24 4:03 PM Central time
Happy 4th of July! Liz, of course, is dressed as an American flag! I feel like I should salute her!We are past the half way point! I just can’t wait to be with you in Oban! The weather is just beautiful, but the winds are much lighter. I’m going on watch now in shorts and a CO-OP sun shirt. We’ve seen small female sperm whales (as IDed using Hannah’s book on whales, birds, and dolphins. One poor, exhausted bird landed on deck last night and flew off in the morning. We had fried halloumi cheese for lunch. Really good!I’ve helmed for two hours, trimmed spinnaker for another two, and now am taking a break by the mast in the shade. Luckily, the lack of crew on my watch that want/can helm, means I’m doing very little wooling.
7/3/24 8:31 AM Central time
Not much to report from here. The winds are very consistent and we’re going fast. We’re switching between the code 3 spinnaker and the yankee 1 rigged as a spinnaker. We’re not beating upwind and not going downwind. More of a close reach. The boat isn’t completely flat, but not heeled too much and never pounding. The waves are surprisingly small for the winds we have. I don’t believe I’ve seen any over eight feet. Maybe something having to do with the Gulf Stream. Today is underwear change day. Very exciting! I just finished cleaning the heads, which is my job today. Just a small part of the glorious world of elite ocean yacht racing. 😂
7/2/24 5:53 PM Central time
Another beautiful day. Perfect winds. Sunny and warm in the day. Cool and damp at night. Really a very easy leg so far. Although I’m having fun, I’m ready for this adventure to be over and to be back home with you for good. I so miss you. I am definitely selling my Catalina 22. That’s just something else that would steal away my time with you. Liz, Olly, Vasi, Bob, Izzy and Jono are officially circumnavigators now. Liz baked a cake to celebrate. In the next day or two, we should pass near where the Titanic sank. It’s just south of the intersection off the two lines that make up our ice limit.
7/1/24 12:56 PM Central time
We did 294 nm in 24 hours and averaged 14.5 knots over a 6-hour sched! Both are our records for the entire race! We are flying across the Atlantic! We should be up to the ice limit tomorrow, but it’s warm and sunny. We’re in 7th or 8th place. Hard to believe after the ding we took for the rescue. Cat is already back in the UK. She’s not sure if she will be able to rejoin in Oban.
7/1/24 10:14 AM Central time
We’re quickly passing BCF now. It’s very windy, but the seas are not too big yet. We’ve had gusts up to around 40 knots. Every so often, we take a wave over the side. It is a blast helming. Like sailing a big dinghy. HLB and another boat went south. Hopefully, that won’t pay off for them. Yesterday, we broke our all-time six-hour speed. We averaged 14 knots for 84 nm total. Hannah has really been pushing the sails hard. Oh well, off to do the damn bilges.
6/30/24 7:07 PM Central time
Things are great here. We had a wonderful day sailing downwind. We had winds in the upper 20s in the morning and damaged the code 3 slightly. The winds diminished to the lower 20s and we were able to switch to the code 2 so Vasi could repair the code 3. She is amazing. She carried and set up the sewing machine, which is very heavy, and made the repairs all by herself. One of the bobstays on the bow spirit broke, so Hannah went out hanging from a halyard and fixed it. She got totally soaked, but was a good sport about i
6/29/24 10:54 AM Central time
Wow, what a day. Cat spilled a boiling hot pot of coffee over her head, believe it or not. She has blistered burns and the telemed folks recommend that she not continue. We turned back to Norfolk about 10 am. A helicopter had been sent to meet, so no need to go back the entire way to Norfolk. A USCG C-130 met us about 1 pm and started orbiting us about 500 feet off the water. The helicopter met us about 30 minutes later. It was really impressive when it approached us low over the water. A rescue swimmer was lowered and he swam to the boat. Cat was put in a survival suit, helmet and had her passport and a few essentials. Together, they jumped into the water from the back of the boat and we sailed away slowly. The helicopter approached again and lowered a basket for Cat. She went up followed by the rescue swimmer and off they went. Evan Staff was the USCG swimmer. He asked that we send videos.
6/28/24 12:42 PM Central time
A helicopter is coming to meet us. We’re going fast downwind to meet it, so hopefully a quick turnaround and not going all of the way back to Norfolk. Nothing else to do.
6/28/24 10:28 AM Central time — EMAIL FROM CLIPPER RACE ADMINISTRATION
The Washington, DC team is heading to port due to a crew member requiring medical attention. Catherine Lister has sustained burns from a hot liquid and our remote medical provider MSOS has advised that she be taken to a medical facility for her injury to be assessed and treated. Catherine is in good spirits, with her condition stable and she is being treated on board until able to disembark. The Race Office has instructed Skipper Hannah Brewis to head to Norfolk, Virgina. At time of writing, the yacht is 210nm due east of Norfolk and weather conditions are favourable for a relatively fast passage back to Chesapeake Bay. The estimated time of arrival into Norfolk is approximately 1200 local time (1600 UTC) Saturday 29 June. Updates will be provided on clipperroundtheworld.com
CAROL BLYTH Crew Manager
6/27/24
Our Lemans start went fairly well despite very light winds. The fleet tacked onto different gybes and unfortunately for us, BCF is doing very well. They played their Joker and are in a position to overtake us if they do well. We passed several of the other boats on our gybe. By 8pm, the fleet had spread out. At 8:15, a submarine surfaced near by and passed us in the opposite direction. The AIS identifier was “US Government Vessel”.
6/26/24
We have motored most of the day and did our refresher training for new crew and MOB training for everyone. We sailed by The Pride of Baltimore tall ship. We were out of the Chesapeake about mid night motor sailing with other Clipper boats to the start.
6/25/24
We had a great time in DC. Claire and Emma joined us for several days. The send off was absolutely amazing! As the hometown team, we lead the boat parade. There was an amazing fireworks display in our honor. The Woodrow Wilson bridge was opened so the fleet could pass.