Personal Blog of Ellen MacArthur

The two biggest boats in the BT Team Ellen fleet - the BT Open 60 and BT Extreme 40 - and all three BT Team Ellen skippers - myself, Seb Josse and Nick Moloney - will be out in force this week and it will be fantastic to have the whole BT Team Ellen team together in Cowes for a while. 

Nick will be skippering the BT Extreme 40 in the iShares Cup which starts tomorrow for three days and he and his crew will face some stiff competition from 10 other teams, including the America’s Cup teams of Alinghi, BMW ORACLE Racing and TEAM ORIGIN. 

Seb will be on the BT Open 60 competing in the Artemis Challenge race around the Isle of Wight on Tuesday 5th August, as well as taking many of our partners, media and the team sailing.   

For me, Skandia Cowes Week starts on Sunday afternoon with some sailing on the BT Open 60 with guests, then from Tuesday to Friday, I will mostly be on the BT Extreme 40, for some class racing in the mornings from 0945 - 1045 every day and then sailing with our partners and guests in the afternoon.

I am really proud that the Ellen MacArthur Trust was chosen as the official charity of Skandia Cowes Week. Having spent a lot of time over the past month sailing with the Trust, I can’t emphasize enough what a difference it makes to the young people recovering from cancer and leukaemia. A lot of the funds needed to arrange these trips came from the Trust Ball during Skandia Cowes Week last year and this time the Ball on Monday night promises to be even bigger and better, with around 600 guests. It is being held at Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s “palace by the sea” which is a truly spectacular venue - all we need now is some great weather!  

ellen 

Yesterday, myself and my BT Team Ellen teammate Nick Moloney were pitted against 3 other teams from the iShares Cup, the Extreme 40 sailing circuit. The challenge was who could be fastest across the same course in the same boat. 

It’s not every day that you can do that in London with a 40 foot Extreme 40 catamaran and it was great sailing on the Thames, it was sunny and there was a fantastic breeze blowing. We finished third in the end with a time of 9 minutes 57 seconds, we thought we were going to be second until the last boat pipped us to the post! The winners Pete Cumming and Chris Draper on Oman Sail came first with a time of 9 minutes 14 seconds. No excuses, but we had the first run of the day which can affect your time as you are negotiating the course first and showing everyone else where to go!

We started out from Greenwich Yacht Club, a great club with a really friendly atmosphere. The course went from there upwind to a pier off the O2 Arena then back downwind. You could see all the tall buildings in the City and the top end of the race course was right next to the O2 Arena so made it a bit tricky wind-wise.

It is not the easiest stretch of water to sail as there is lots of shipping around. It’s also tidal, there are lots of slipways and docks and there is a strong current to negotiate. The depth of water is quite shallow along the bank so you need to be a bit careful to avoid hitting the bottom in places.The Extreme 40 catamaran is one of fastest boats out there, crewed by 4 people, capable of going up to 40 knots. You wouldn’t sail them around the world on one, but they are the Formula 1 cars of sailing and attract many top sailors. It is easy to understand why once you have been on one and yesterday was a perfect day - we had a good team, nice guests onboard and everyone absolutely loved it.

Can’t wait for the UK stop of the iShares Cup circuit - the iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week on 2-4 August!

Ellen 

Last week was a first for me as i sailed the whole 4 day trip with the young people from the Ellen MacArthur Trust!
 
It was wonderful to be there from the moment everyone arrived, going through the team building work and hearing the giggles and amusement as we all began to do all sorts of challenges, some with blindfolds on!  
 
The young people were just fantastic, a mixed group from London and Northern Ireland. Extremely funny, quite entertaining and hugely inspirational!  
 
We did everything from catching mackerel to beach fires, from rib rides to the Needles and fish and chips & ice cream to football on the field!  
 
It was very different for me to be there for the whole trip. To see the change in confidence of the young people. To be there to play card games as the sun set, and to see the pride as they steered the yacht.  
 
The volunteers and other skippers were great, with a lovely mix of fun and learning. Talking to individuals is always something I find totally aweinspiring. If the young people wish to share their stories they can blow you away with their matter of fact way of speaking about their illness.     

They really are incredibly brave. You cannot help but be inspired by them.  

Ellen