Girlguiding iw press release on their way to the fastnet

GIRLGUIDING IW PRESS RELEASE

ON THEIR WAY TO THE FASTNET

To qualify for taking part in this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race the Girlguiding crew of ‘Fastnet Divas’ have had to undertake a lot of training. At the start this meant, working as a team, life saving in a pool and general preparation. However, as the weeks progressed, getting to know the boat and how to manage situations at sea came into play.

Training, and in fact the Fastnet Race, will be on board the Tall Ships Youth Trust yacht- Challenger 3 skippered by Elizabeth Terrell. All the crew are female, nine of which are Girlguiding members. It is only the second time an all female crew has entered this race, which is in its 90^th year, and the first time a team from Girlguiding has undertaken this great challenge.

Three qualifying races, sailed under the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s (RORC) rules are needed before the Rolex Fastnet Race can be undertaken. Our Girlguiding crew of: Amy Mossop, Hannah Nobbs, Charlotte Scoynes, Jos Baldock, Kate Felton, Jane Brooke, Tanya Trevena, Hilary Zayed and April Ulyatt have now sailed their three races: The Cervantes Trophy sailed from Cowes Isle of Wight to France (135 miles) on 2^nd May, The Myth of Malham Race Cowes to The Eddystone Lighthouse (Devon) over the May Bank Holiday weekend and most recently The Morgan Cup Cowes to Guernsey (125 miles) on 19^th June.

Their first race of the series sailed in the English Channel was the Cervantes Trophy Race, which started on 2^nd May 2015. Organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in association with the Société des Régates du Havre and the Royal Yacht Squadron, the 114 yachts entered were set a 135 nautical mile course from the RY Squadron Line, Cowes to Le Havre.

For the first leg, the fleet sailed downwind to Anvil Point and the DZB Buoy, with 20 knots of wind from the east. It was a terrific start to the race and with spinnakers set most yachts were enjoying double digit boat speed. The wind was funnelling through Hurst Narrows and the increased wind speed caused a good few broaches, but back under control, the competitors continued downwind to Anvil Point where it was spinnakers down and on to the wind for the 100 mile leg towards Le Havre. A weather forecast was showing a massive shift in the wind direction from easterly through the south to settle in the southwest. With this in mind most of the boats stayed on port tack and headed for the Cap de la Hague in anticipation of the change. With the forecast changing and rain squalls running up the channel the crossing of the Baiy de la Seine and negotiating the tricky tidal streams and shifty winds was to prove a crucial part of the race.

Géry Trentesaux's new JPK 10.80, Courrier Du Leon was the overall winner, taking under 20 hours to complete the course.

Challenger 3 took a very respectable 25 hours to complete the race.

After the first race Amy wrote: “The race was in pretty tough conditions and we did pretty well. Our no1 sail tore (late evening I think but after we had rounded the mark down towards Poole) and when we went below to get the replacement sail out we discovered the galley was flooded - so there was some delay whilst the source was located. Thankfully it was a faulty valve / stopcock which has now been repaired. Despite being OK on the boat my world is still bouncing up and down!”

Charlotte blogged “I discovered sailing on Challenger yachts in 2012 on a trip organised by Girlguiding North East, and loved the experience so much that I have been several times since. The Fastnet Race was just too good an opportunity to miss out on, so when I saw that Girlguiding South West (my 'home’ Region) was looking for a crew, I went for it.

It's an amazing challenge – competing in a famous race alongside professional sailors when we are just a bunch of novices. We're the first-ever Girlguiding crew to do the race - made up of nine Girlguiding members, a skipper, Elizabeth Terrell, and other female crew members.

Being part of an all-female team is great as everyone is so supportive and fun! It's our chance to show that girls can do anything, that women are adventurous and can complete challenging tasks. We don't have to conform to stereotypes – of girls or of Girlguiding members.

When we had our first qualifying race – the Cervantes trophy – from Cowes on the Isle of Wight to Le Havre in France, it was definitely a learning curve! The race was upwind the whole way and took just under 21 hours to complete, before turning around and coming back to Cowes. We spent a total of 33 hours at sea using the watch system and sailing at night.

One of the best things is just being with the crew, going sailing and having fun whilst learning.”

Over the late May Bank Holiday Weekend, a tense, tactical and complex yacht race was played out along the south coast of England. 141 yachts, racing in the Royal Ocean Racing Club's Myth of Malham Race, enjoyed a dress rehearsal for the start of this year's famous Rolex Fastnet Race. The Western Solent was a magnificent sight with over a hundred spinnakers flying, heading for the Eddystone Lighthouse, off Plymouth Sound.

The complex tidal flow along the 229 mile coastal course, was a crucial part of the race. Before sundown on the first day, the larger high performance yachts seemed to have the upper hand, enjoying an advantage of water line length in positive tide, as well as rig height and sail choice more suited to light airs reaching. However, several smaller yachts made the crucial tidal gate at Portland Bill to stay in touch with the larger rivals. During the first night and the second day, light airs persisted and with the high performance yachts not able to achieve planing speed, the smaller yachts were in with a chance of overall victory.

The winner of the Myth of Malham Race was, once again, Géry Trentesaux's French JPK 10.80, Courrier Du Leon.

Morgan Cup: 108 yachts crossed the start line for the 2015 Morgan Cup Race which started on the 19^th June. Although the race started at 7pm on Friday evening, due to the Summer Solstice, the fleet barely sailed more than a few hours in darkness. The gentle northerly wind, which eventually backed to the west, gave a spinnaker run for most of the 125 mile course. The majority of the fleet finished the race on Saturday afternoon, perfect timing to enjoy the hospitality of the Guernsey Yacht Club. Tide always plays a part in races to the Channel Islands and this year's Morgan Cup Race was no exception.

Piet Vroon's Dutch Ker 51, Tonnerre 4, sailed by Frank Gerber, was the overall winner after IRC time correction.

Our ‘Fastnet Divas’ were the 1^st of the Challenger fleet home in a corrected time of just over 24 hours. Hannah commented, “It was a great race. It has given us a huge motivation boost for the Fastnet! “

So now it is on to the BIG ONE- the Rolex Fastnet Race. With a course of 600+ miles it is considered one of the World’s greatest yacht races. Challenger 3 will be in the company of 380+ other racing yachts.

Be there to see the start at the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes on August 16^th at 12 noon- it is always a splendid sight.

Notes to Editors: For more information please contact Suzanne Whitewood-01983 521814 [e-mail]

Photographs sent with Press Release show: Challenger 3 with crew at sea.

Royal Yacht Squadron – Start cannon for Morgan Cup Race.