Personal Blog of Ellen MacArthur

Every day seems like a bit of an anti climax after the most amazing Archipelago Raid. It was a really hard race, absolutely exhausting  - both physically and mentally, but truly amazing.

The Nordic Archipelagos, off Stockholm, Aland and Finland, are so truly beautiful, and to be racing around them from 15 to 18 hours a day was spectacular. The tiring aspect came from not only concentrating on boat speed and tactics for that period of time, but also from the fact that in a bit of breeze the F18’s are quite physical to sail. Greg and I were challenged in that we do not by any means sail F18’s all the time – and for me it was only the second race I have ever done having to use a trapeze! Our three day training session in Sweden just two weeks before the raid went really well, it gave me a chance to get used to going out on the trapeze (which must have been hilarious to watch) and also gave us a chance to get used to the conditions over there. I think that people have the impression that all boats are the same, but in fact they are not, and are very different. The skills needed to race an open 60 are very different than those needed to race an F18. For a start an F18 is a small dinghy that you tow behind a car, it’s sailed by two people, and is extremely easy to capsize!

So it was a steep learning curve for me, in how to sail the boat, and how to handle the challenging conditions we had on our third day of training when there was more wind. I guess it’s a bit like an F1 driver jumping in a rally car to do a rally, or a sprinter running a marathon. The two disciplines are very different!

The raid itself was a huge challenge, to begin with I’d better describe how each 24 hour period pans out. You are basically orienteering around 100,000 islands and sailing 2 legs per day. At the end of the first leg you are given the co-ordinates of the second leg. Each leg has around 4 or 5 check points in it and you have to work out which route you will pick between the islands as there are more often than not loads of options! You race really hard, normally starting the first leg of each race at around 2 am to 4 am. It’s a good time of year to do this, as the race takes place around the longest day of the year!

We had everything from light conditions, to really heavy conditions. We had capsizes and collisions with rocks, as did just about every boat out there on the raid! It’s a really tough endurance race, and concentrating so hard for so long really does take it’s toll on you. The good thing is flying along at sunrise between the rocks really does make you feel alive!

We went everywhere from tiny creeks we had to paddle through, to really huge expanses of the Baltic sea heading over to Aland.  Our nights were spent camping in little tents near the boats, in the most stunning locations. We took all our gear with us on the boats, and were provided with one hot meal each day. On the boat we had snacks and repair equipment which we often used at night..

Greg’s hands were not in great shape by the end of the raid, with blisters and three finger nails about to fall off. On the third day in the evening I had to stick a red hot needle through his finger nail to relieve the pressure that had built up behind the nail. Everyone suffers physically – but always it seems with a smile on their face! The atmosphere on our boat, BT was fantastic, we always had a smile, and even in the most difficult circumstances we were able to laugh and diffuse the situation. We made a really strong team, we worked together well, and were honest about each others strengths and weaknesses.

We did not win the raid, in fact we finished 9^th. But then again the guys that did were back for their fourth attempt! The best thing for us was that we progressed well throughout the week, we climbed in the fleet and we ended up in 5^th place on the final leg of the final day which would have stood us in good stead until our rudder fell off (literally!). It was the strangest thing to happen just a couple of hours from the finish. We were sailing along when there was a sudden ‘bang’ and the boat slowed. We continued racing, and actually without too many problems. We only lost one place to other competitors – but when a 30 knot + squall came in around Stockholm in our final 30 mins were in pretty bad shape as we could not actually tack the boat! Greg had to jump in to turn the boat through the wind, and we damaged our bowsprit on a buoy when we couldn’t turn. This ended up with us having to hide in a bay for shelter to escape the waves that we could not turn in. Once the squall was passed we headed out once again… and we did manage to finish – but as with so many races it’s not over till it’s over!

Two tired but happy people crossed the finish line in Stockholm. Both I believe with a strong desire to return!

ellen

Stockholm, 18 June 2008 - Ellen MacArthur, competing in this race for the second time, finished ninth on BT with Greg Homann - in spite of losing a rudder in the final leg. Exhausted but in good spirits, she commented: “It has been great, the race is amazing. We knew we couldn’t win as Greg and I have not trained much on the boat. We participated for the pleasure and we have learnt a lot. All the other competitors have been great. It has been a relaxed atmosphere but a very high level with a lot of experience among the fleet.”

The backdrop to the fifth day of the Archipelago Raid was a beautiful 03.00 sunrise as the courageous teams left Rödhamn, Åland to once again head across the open stretch of the Baltic Sea back towards the Stockholm archipelago. After two hours of sailing on a flat calm sea, the organisers decided to cancel the leg, tow the boats to the northeast part of the Stockholm Archipelago and start the next leg from Fejan island as soon as the wind picked up. The teams were then able to sail to the island of Sandhamn at a good pace in 6-10 knots of wind.

Ellen MacArthur and Greg Homann on the BT F18 are currently ninth and had a great start of leg 10 today speeding away in 10 knots upwind. Late afternoon yesterday, they had problems with their sail and had to stop to repair it. They dropped to last but managed to climb back to 14^th place for the leg. “We are really enjoying the race. There are a lot of tactics involved, which is interesting. We are not used to sailing this type of boat and we are learning a lot. And we are laughing a lot. We are tired but still laughing, which is giving us energy,” said Ellen MacArthur in good spirits before the start in Fejan today.

Tomorrow, Wednesday 18 June, the exhausted sailors will finish the race late afternoon in the city of Stockholm.

Leg 9 to Stockholm archipelago has been cancelled due to lack of wind, start of Leg 10 from Fejan to Sandhamn to start at 1130.

In spite of a really long, physically demanding day yesterday, Ellen MacArthur and Greg Homann are gradually working their way up the results board, moving into 10^th place overall after Leg 7 on Day 4 of the Archipelago Raid.

Althought the experienced French Formula 18-duo Eric Proust and Romain Motteau on Team Kalix have been leading the Archipelago Raid since Day 1, they are having to beat off some stiff competition from the other boats, notably from

Swedish Team Thule (Martin Strandberg/Johan Örtendahl), whose strategic decision to paddle while the other teams tacked when leaving Nagu island in the Finnish archipelago helped them to win leg 7.

This is the fourth day of the Raid and the boats are back in the Åland archipelago, sailing in great conditions with winds around 10-15 knots.

Several teams have problems with their GPS, because of the humidity. They are having to rely on traditional chart navigation, demanding a lot more of the tired sailors.

The tension is rising in the fleet to achieve a good result and the second leg of the day which started early afternoon was full of action, with three boats capsizing over the line! Team Blue Oceans, NCC, and First Hotels were too eager in the gusty winds and turned over. They were all quickly back on track but with a lot of energy consumed.

The eighth leg will take the competitors to Rödhamn in Åland, where they will arrive at the Yacht Club of Åland late tonight.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, the boats will start the long journey “home”, back to the Stockholm archipelago, ending the day at Sandhamn.

On Wednesday 18 June, the race finishes in the city of Stockholm late afternoon.

See updated results at www.archipelagoraid.com