After we crossed the finish at the Northern tip of New Zealand we enjoyed an overnight sail to Opua in the Bay of Islands were we met up with the other boats, it was great to see everyone again and compare our adventures.  After finally clearing customs whose strict rules on entry into New Zealand had meant that we were stuffing ourselves full of any fresh produce and trying to get rid of egg shells. Gill sent seven eggs across the galley during breakfast as the boat was rolling in an attempt to help.

After finding berths for all 3 boats and enjoying a luxury shower which didn’t mean you had to hang on to the toilet at the same time it was time to relax.  We held a drinks party on board Discovery for all three services so we could buy the others a beer and share stories.  We discovered that Christian our Navy stowaway had been forced to clean the heads with his RAF t-shirt!  We know he will wear it with pride really!  It was a beautiful evening in the marina and I think everyone had a great time.

Earlier in the  afternoon Jim had persuaded the local café that they really wanted to stay open that evening and cook for 42 people. Antoinette, the owner, seized the opportunity to entertain us and I think the fact her husband was New Zealand Air Force swung it for us.  The Navy and Army joined us and it was a lovely evening together which resulted in lots of singing and frivolity.  Many thanks to Antoinette who drafted in some friends to help look after us.  Those of us with any energy left headed into town for a boogie, but tiredness got us all in the end especially Phil who was asleep at the table.  The Navy took the opportunity while we were away to change a few things on our boat some of which are still being discovered!  However, we had our revenge - I hope your boat smells less fishy by now guys!

The next day we sailed to a bay near the small colonial town of Russell where we had a chance to explore what was once planned to be New Zealand’s capital, it was idyllic.  After returning to the yacht we spent the afternoon swimming and halyard swinging, Simon seemed very keen on this activity, it was a really relaxing time after our week.   We sailed overnight to Auckland down the coastline which was a shock to the system getting back into our watches and doing lots of sail changes.

We have arrived into Auckland on a beautiful afternoon and have started the clean up operation.  We are looking forward to a days free time in Auckland after we have scrubbed the boat clean.  The boat will have 2 weeks maintenance before the next leg to Montevideo.  I think we all agree that will be a tough leg, we found our leg quite tough and the next guys have 5 weeks at sea so good luck and all the best to the next crews and remember to keep the RAF in front!!

Thank you so much to the Skipper Vaughan and the Mates Carl and Henry, you have been fantastic!  We had a lovely meal served by our Mates last night, the Tiger Prawns with curry mayonnaise were great and I’d like to say the main was lovely, but tinned stew is not really lovely – scraping the bottom of the barrel is the phrase! 

Also a huge thank you to Neil, Clive and Andy at the Trans Globe office for all your hard work.

Skippers footnote:-

This was a fantastic trip for me as skipper, all the crew worked well together and made the trip really enjoyable for all of us. I wish all of the crew a safe journey home you worked hard to get line honours and you deserved them, I look forward to seeing you out on the water in the very near future. To the other two yachts crews I would also like to thank you for your support, we were indeed 3 yachts on a tri service exercise showing how well we can work together. I hope you all come back to JSASTC soon. Vaughan

Siobhan says thank you to Mum and Dad for following the blog and see you soon! X

Gill says thanks to Fiona, Wenders and G I Jane for the texts and Neil of course! X

Steve says hello Munch, hope your not too cold! And thanks to Hedley for putting out the bins! X

Our 4th Blog.

With roughly 200 miles to sail to the finish line, which is not Auckland itself but the very north west tip of New Zealand, things are getting exciting and we expect to cross sometime on Monday evening.  The three boats are very close although not in sight of each other yet.  The wind is currently holding 25-30 knots with a low pressure pushing up from the south and a squally cold front expected during the night, Gillean (The Weather guesser) thinks we could have very gusty winds, rain and a significant wind shift.  The shift on deck are preparing for all conditions by changing to the smaller foresail and putting another reef in the mainsail.  Vaughan our Skipper (who is not competitive at all) seems to be running around the boat getting excited by the final sprint, he is muttering about a spinnaker run across the line, most of the crew are muttering under their breath about more sail changes!  It is set to be an exciting 24 hours.

Down in the Galley, Siobhan and Paul prepare another exciting meal, with fresh ingredients running short but about a 10 year supply of chilli flakes they are having a Ready, Steady, Cook competition at about a 20 degree angle. Food and drinks are an important topic of conversation on board, Granny Titters recipes required more onions than planned and the onion police have been rationing them ever since.  Puddings are getting creative and the question is nutella with creamed rice wrong?

We have heard that the Army’s heads are a little blocked not just one but both we send our sympathies but now we know why they are called the pongos!

The injuries are mounting with one of the watches dropping like flies, our poor doctor spends time trying to fix people and ends up feeling very sea sick herself.  Jim was whipped with a rope and his hand has swollen to double the size he has been renamed the claw due to his bandaging. Steve’s knee continues to hurt and his dancing career may be in jeopardy. Neil took a good whack in the face. Phil joined their shift to boost numbers and seems to have hurt his shoulder...!

Henry has had a shocking day and due to an excessively wet foresail change he is having to change his biological pants 2 weeks early, his cabin mates report that he is applying plenty of his tropical smelling body butter to keep things fresh.  The first Mate, Carl, can’t understand why his favourite socks aren’t dry after two days on the rail in a force 6.

After we cross the finish line it is another 250 miles to Auckland and we are hoping to pop into the Bay of Islands to have a look on the way south.

It has been a great trip so far and the crew are all getting on really well, the banter improves by the day and our Skipper and Mates have been fantastic.

Henry says a very happy half century to Christine and sends his love.  He will of course buy her a fantastic present in Auckland.

Siobhan says happy birthday to little Eleanor and Brian and is looking forward to regaining comms in a few days.

Paul says Karen get the bath filled ready my body needs it!

Alison sends all her love to Peter.

Vaughan sends his love to Helen, he is wearing his life jacket and staying clipped on. Hi to Mum N Dad,Stu & Celia too.

Carl says high to Ster Howard and 33 Sqn in Kenya; as well as to the rest of the Howards in Gloucester and Highworth.

Phil says lots of love to the wife and kids and he’ll speak to you in a few days, say hi to FB for him.

Jim says he is having a ball.

Gill send her love to Neil and says she will phone when she gets a signal.

Neil wants to tell Cathy, love you, miss you.

Monday 11^th Jan 2100 local time

An exciting 24 hours has passed, Red watch went on shift on Sunday night straight after dinner. After a couple of hours the wind steadily increased to 30 knots and we were reaching along at great speed the sky darkened and at around 10 pm the rain started, the weather guesser informed everyone helpfully that she had seen lightening, funnily enough they had not failed to notice, the cold front was approaching.  Carl took the helm while we had a 180 degree wind shift in the pouring rain on the front.   We went from a broad reach to heading in the wrong direction while we sat out the weather.  The Gill waterproofs were tested and seemed to stand up to the weather well.  Eventually we gybed back on course and sorted ourselves out and we were on our way again.

The rest of the night passed relatively uneventfully with us maintaining 10 knots on a reach most of the night.  As day broke we were all looking for the  Army and Navy boats but they were not insight.  Superb sailing throughout the day followed and we all eagerly anticipated the midday position update on what was likely to be our last few hours racing to the finish.  It was great news for us to hear that we were 22 miles in front of the Navy and 25 miles in front of the Army with 50 miles to go.  Spirits were lifted and the skipper was twitchy about keeping his lead!

After a brilliant afternoon where everyone was up on deck enjoying the weather and helping keep our 10 knots per hour speed we approached the finish at around 6.30pm eventually crossing at 6.39 pm with Martyn, who started as a complete novice taking the helm for line honours.  Funnily enough the skipper won the sweepstake on the crossing time with Henry missing out by one minute – was this a fix??

A beer was enjoyed by all to celebrate and the backdrop was simply stunning, New Zealand looks fantastic and I think we were all mesmerised by the site of dry land.  We do not know if we have won the race overall as lots of things have to be taken into consideration including, engine hours and breakages.

Spirits are high on the good ship Disco and we are all looking forward to seeing the Bay of Islands and Auckland, we all send our love to those at home and many are searching for phone signals already! 

Blog 3

Discoverer set sail from Hobart on Monday 4^th Jan evening after one of the Adventure crew was given the all clear to travel despite having spent 12 hours in hospital for an infection in his leg.  He joined our crew on Discoverer so that Alison, our Doctor could continue to administer his medication with the plan to transfer him back to the Navy crew once at sea.  Once we had found room for our stowaway and welcomed him on board we were on our way.

Once out of the Derwent River the wind and waves picked up and our stomachs were put to the test.  Some people have been experiencing the pleasure of their meals more than once but everyone is beginning to get some color back in their cheeks and enthusiasm for sailing once more.  Some fantastic meals have been presented already including Thai green curry, chili, Granny Titters Special Beef Stew and spag bol. Steve, Henry and Phil have done a fantastic job of the shopping and hiding all the food on board and I don’t think chocolate supplies will ever run out!  I even won a free bar of chocolate from a wrapper today but don’t think I will get back to Tasmania to claim that.

We have been lucky with the wind, despite the threat of high pressure building over the Tasman sea a low pressure pushing in from the west has created a squeeze in the isobars and build up of wind with some great downwind sailing and plenty of surfing experience on the helm.  Simon has beaten Martyn and Steve’s speed record by reaching the highest speed of 16.4kts on the helm so far. 

On night two our adopted crew member was deemed well enough to return to the navy after donning an RAF T-shirt and stuffing his bag with RAF merchandise we negotiated with the senior service over his ransom! (1 x generator impellor) Unfortunately the first attempt to return him was aborted after a few problems including losing our boat hook and Siobhan getting into our dinghy over the side of the boat to recover it, I think it was as close as she would like to get to the (shark infested) Tasman Sea.  The following morning in even bigger seas a second successful attempt was made in.  Much respect is due to our naval colleague in his bravery to be passed between boats in big seas 200 miles out of Hobart and also to his crew in recovering him safely, I think our hearts were in our mouths during the transfer as there were a few interesting moments.

As soon as he was safely on board the race began, we put our spinnaker up straight away in an attempt to gallop away from the Navy this worked initially with some good boat speed however soon after we were unable to hold it on any angle that would take us towards New Zealand.  Unfortunately the drop was not very efficient and the Navy escaped.  Looking at the positions of the 3 yachts at lunchtime today we are all quite close with no runaway winner yet, with the winds due to drop it may be a case of the last boat to keep the wind gets the advantage.

Sailing at night with each crew doing 4 hours at a time has been a new experience for many, during the day we are sailing for 6 hours at a time, the only wildlife spotted each day has been albatrosses or albitri!  Jim is still attempting to get a good photo.

We don’t need a foghorn on board with Henry around and his enthusiasm knows no bounds, when he is not making noise he has been crash gybing the boat to make sure everyone knows he is still there.  Today we have been celebrating Mark’s 40^th birthday with BLT sandwiches, cakes and noisy balloons that Carl had planned to release on the New Years Eve flight but sensibly decided not.  Siobhan landed on her bum as she fell out her top bunk during our rescue attempt the other morning, Steve is offering to apply arnica.  Sleeping on the boat is a noisy affair and is like being in the tumble dryer.

So the race continues and we’re all looking forward to a few good hard days of sailing.

Shout Outs:

Mark would like to thank his daughter for her lovely birthday gift and say hello to Archie.

Steve says Hedley can you remember to put the bins out.

Jim says love to Hazel.

Neil says hello to Cathy.

Siobhan says love to friends, family and the Boy.

Carl sends his love to Owain and Emily in Parsons, Kent.

Henry says hello to his family and he hopes the kids have gone back to school happily.

Gill says she can’t forecast the weather out here but she is doing her best, hello to Mum, Neil and friends reading this.

Love to Alison’s husband Peter.

Phil wants to make sure the kids are all working hard at school(!)

Warning to the girls in Auckland… Simon is on his way!

Helen, I am afraid the food is good on the yacht, so it looks like the post Christmas weight loss program is on hold for another year!! Enjoying the sailing but still missing you loads. All my love V xxx

Skippers footnote.

All the team are working together well and have settled in to the routine, the last 24hrs has been good sailing weather and although we hoisted the spinnaker at the start (mind games with the Navy) as soon as they were out of sight we slowed down to get used to the yacht. Most of the team have now settled in and all are looking forward to a good sail to Auckland. We have a nice 20kt wind astern of us at the moment and are finally making way in the right direction, the wind may drop soon though as the following high weather system arrives (clear skies and very little wind)......... good for getting our washing dried but not so great if you are trying to sail a 42 ton yacht. A great atmosphere on the yacht and most have now had their first shower so happy smiling faces is the order of the day. Thank you for checking in on our progress. Vaughan.

Leg 7 Discoverer

4^th Jan

After a great familiarisation of Hobart including eating plenty of seafood we are setting off this evening after a brief delay, which has resulted in us taking on board a stowaway and secret weapon, a Navy diver!  We are heading for the Tasman sea with a lovely sunny evening and a nice breeze, however a big high pressure seems to be building between Australia and New Zealand so it looks like plenty of sunbathing and perhaps lighter winds than we hoped for.  Although the crew seems very disbelieving of the meteorologist on board!  Marty went for a spin in the rowing boat toward his competent crew qualifications with Henri shouting orders!  Steve has spent his retirement fund on new yachting kit he looks quite the part now. Many hours have been spent perfecting our knots ready for the voyage. Pauls snoring continues to rock the boat and the people of Auckland will definitely hear us coming. As I sit here writing this Siobhan and Phil are preparing a lovely pasta bolognaise for dinner as we head up the Derwent river away from Hobart.  A fuller blog will follow but I must head on deck now to help prepare to leave. 

Our first mate, Carl says hello Boo and all in welsh Wales.

The skipper Vaughan would like to shout out to his lovely wife Helen.

Phil says Bex and Jess enjoy your last day off from school.

Paul says hello to Karen and Ellie.

The crews gathered at Gosport on the 31^st Dec for our pre departure briefings and to meet each other for the first time, the thought of leaving the snow and cold behind for the Australian summer was appealing.   Having departed Heathrow a couple of hours before midnight we celebrated New Year with a toast over Prague where Neil spotted the fireworks out the window.  With brief stops in Singapore and Melbourne allowing Simon to squeeze in burger on his world tour of Burger King we finally landed in Hobart at 10am on the 2^nd of January.  It was like a fine day on the east coast of the UK with cloud on the deck and drizzle.  The weather immediately brightened up and the shorts were on. We have arrived in a land down under and discovered that Qantas do a very good breakfast 3 times in 24 hours.  Neil attempted to sneak a tangerine past Australian customs but was stopped and threatened with a strip search.

It was exciting to be in Hobart so soon after the Sydney to Hobart race with many of the yachts still here and a good atmosphere all round.  The first day was spent shopping for food and kit, in Steven’s case, who seemed to have forgotten to bring anything on the kit list and broken all the things he did bring!  The challenge of the day was to see how many RAF personnel it takes to put up a sun awning – about 8 or 9 and several cups of tea.

Alison our on board doctor is looking after us well already treating a bite to Henry’s ankle mysteriously received during the flight he claims it was a killer snake!

After a long day fighting jet lag we intend to go to "The Taste of Tasmania" for dinner then head for a well earned sleep. With the start planned for Monday morning Sunday will be spent familiarising ourselves with our 67 ft craft and remembering which ropes to pull. 

Now we have the sun awning up we are hoping it will be a nice 20kts with plenty of sun to get us to Auckland but we note the Army and the Navy have not put their awnings up yet – do they know something we don’t?

Shout outs.........

Alison would like to send lots of love to her husband Peter and she misses him already and wishes he was here.

Paul sends his love

Phil says Hi to all.

Gillean says love to Neil and Hi to anyone else taking the time to read the blog.