Progress so far (updated 24 June 2008):-

Saturday 21st June

All was going well and we were the last boat out of the Solent, at a good 42 knts. The sea was a bit lumpy off St Albans, and as we went on to Portland it got a little rougher. At 11.55am we changed over positions and had time for a comfort break. As we continued we were waiting for the sea state to even out but no joy. At about 13.00 Matt said, "Steering's gone a bit heavy." We looked around and the port engine was hanging off its mounts. We were about 27 miles from Torquay so had to go in, travelling up and down off the plane on one engine and making landfall by 15.30. Our back up crew trailed us to Plymouth where we met with Barrus to check out spares. No spares available at the usual places and after speaking to the manufacturer they didn't hold out much hope of us being able to fix them.

Sunday 22nd June

Racing was cancelled today by Race HQ - which gave us time to sort out 'Now Worries'. After some discussion we decided to strip both engines and manufacture new steering mounts with the help of a local engineering shop (Broadley Engineering). Special thanks must also go to Dave Oliver and Terry Spike. By 11am we'd started, and we managed to finish both engines at 2.30am Monday (today I think). The alarm clock went off this morning at 6am and it is now 6.25 and we are being picked up in 5 minutes.

Monday 23rd June

We are now driving 490 miles to Portpatrick where we will launch the boat tonight and steam 30 miles to Bangor, intending to rejoin the race tomorrow at 10 am.

Thursday 26th June

Team "No Worries" remain in good spirits as the challenges of the round Britain boat race continue…

After fixing mechanical problems with the engine, the team was finally able to launch at Portpatrick for their crossing to Bangor. Unfortunately, launching at Portpatrick was a challenge and they caused a major stir with many of the locals who came out to watch their trailer sinking into the sand. After a high speed reverse launch into harbour and several engine checks the team had a slow run out of the Scottish village but reached Bangor in just 30 minutes. After they moored it was time for a curry and rest before the race day.

Race day was good but blustery. They made a great start on the seaward side of the fleet and were cracking along at 55 kts with the helicopter coming on station beside them. But the glory didn’t last long as the grab bag slipped out of position and pulled the kill cord and their moment of fame!

With such lumpy conditions the boat was regularly airborne. The scenery was spectacular and as they went past Mull of Kintyre, Matt burst into song. They buried the boat in a wave and got drenched. He didn’t try that song again.

Some of the entrances to the Sounds were very messy waters. Team "No Worries" stayed offshore while other boats went inshore gaining further time. Overall, they averaged 45 knots over the 110 nautical mile race and even managed to overtake one of the boats in their class on the last mile.

After a refuel they cracked onto Fort William which was a particularly good run with spectacular scenery on both sides. Once through the sea lock the boat was moored in the sea basin for a night stop.

A long day followed with a lot of rain and poor visibility. It was not all tough though, they had a great lunch break at Fort Augustus before taking the boat through some slow lock/swing bridge passages followed by fast loch passages. Two of the team even got into Loch Ness to wake board! The team eventually got out of the final lock system gone 8pm.

The primary reason for our entry into this race is to raise money for the St Lukes's Hospice charity. Please feel free to give generously at JUST GIVING. Thank you very much for any kind donations.

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