Personal Blog of Ellen MacArthur

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  

In spite of having problems with their furler, Ellen MacArthur and Greg Homann are managing to maintain their position amongst the first 12 boats in the fleet. As they cannot roll up their head sail, this causes problems when they need to paddle so they are hoping that the wind doesn’t drop in the coming days.

After a night of pouring rain on the island of Lappo, the fleet started today, the third day of the Archipelago Raid, at 5 a.m.. This was two hours later than originally intended, due to flat calm in the early hours. The start was eventually given in 15 knots of north-easterly winds and the Formula 18 catamarans charged away at full speed under spinnaker towards the five checkpoints before the leg finish at Fårö in the Finnish archipelago.

The Belgian team Patrick Demesmaeker and Michel Proot on RBSC Huysman dominated the fleet, winning the first leg of the day, but were closely followed by the leading pack of the French overall leaders Eric Proust and Romain Matteau on Team Kalix, the Swedes Fredrik Ekman and Gustav Tempelman on Sundsvalls Bygg, and Martin Strandberg and Johan Örtendahl, Team Thule.

The wind has picked up and the boats are reaching speeds of up to 20 knots. No other people or boats are to be seen although there are small, inhabited islands everywhere. At such high speeds, the teams have to be particularly alert to hidden rocks and be careful not to make any navigational errors. Almost 80 percent of the fleet hit rocks this morning and many dagger boards suffered damage.

On this third day of the Raid, the physical demands are already taking their toll. At some checkpoints located on beaches the teams have to jump out of the boat, run up to check in and run back to the boat. Many sailors have been struggling to get back up on the boats…

Yesterday the weather picture was different. The teams had a tough day in light winds and rain in the Åland archipelago. The last teams arrived more than two and a half hours after the leader to the night stop at Lappo, as the wind died and they had to paddle longer distances.

Throughout the day today, the competitors will complete a good 100 nautical miles before they arrive at the last stop of the day, Nagu, in the Finnish archipelago. Tomorrow the fleet will head back towards Rödhamn in the western part of the Åland archipelago.

Text message received from Ellen on 14 June 2008 at 01:24:

Just woken, big first day. All going well. No majors. Boat fine, us fine. Touched the board on a rock yesterday but all OK. Fixed!

Ellen 

Last Saturday was fascinating as Katie, her parents and I headed off into the Devon countryside to see what people there are up to with regards to sustainable living. We visited two places, Dalwood Hill House near Axminster and Blacklake Farm near Ottery St Mary. More about Blacklake Farm shortly, but right now I’ll write about our first visit.

At Dalwood Hill House we were shown round by Peter Addie who is an inspirational character. He has been living an incredibly low impact lifestyle for years now, and it was a joy to hear him explain how his little 1 acre small holding works. He and his wife Kit are pretty much completely self sufficient, growing 95% of their vegetables, 60% of their fruit and 75 % of their chicken food and creating all the energy they need for the house. The house is actually carbon positive which means that they are sending energy back to the grid, amazing in our world of today, but what really struck me was just how happy Pete and his wife were on their site, how innovative he is, and how his persistence has not only taught him new methods of working, but methods which work!

What Pete has done is mainly common sense, and if I remember correctly, his quote of “Its unbelievably simple but it works” sums things up nicely. What Pete has done for years is use what he has on site to maximise the resources he has. He uses only hand tools, has no car, just the incredible recumbant trikes he has developed, and the trains of course, and I have to say he looks very healthy on that!

His “gym” is cutting and working his coppice and cycling. Both which have a fantastic outcome. His pleasures are tending his land and seeing the fruits of his labour. I respect what Pete is doing enormously, he is content, healthy and always busy. We humans are supposed to be the most intelligent beings on the planet, Pete, I feel, is using his intelligence to the max, and as a result, has a lifestyle most people would only dream of!

His creations have included air heaters using the sun, pivoting solar panels which work the lights and freezer, recumbant trikes with trailers and a mobile chicken pen so he can fertilise any piece of ground.

I would be very happy being one of Pete’s chickens! They get great grub, fresh ground to scratch about on weekly, dry leaves from autumn for bedding in winter. Really healthy birds.

He composts everything, uses everything, and appreciates every resource he has. In the past as Pete admitted himself, he was treated as a bit of a “Good Life” (a UK TV series from the 1970s that featured a couple trying to live a sustainable lifestyle) character. But now, you’d be amazed how many people call at his house to not only see what he is doing now, but hear his experiences of doing this for years. If everyone was as happy and content as Pete we would be living in a different place, to me he was a real inspiration.

If you would like to find out more about how Pete has made his home sustainable, you can call him on 01404 831288.