Marco Nannini - Ocean Racing

Going west

The whole of last night there hasnt been much chance for sleep as
anticipated. First i had to clear land, then the traffic separation
scheme and when finally things got calmer the usual fishing boat on a
converging course made sure i couldnt go for a kip.
Later in the night i sailed right through the eye of the first low, the
wind went lighter and started coming from all directions, it would
literally swing around me leaving me almost unable to move, as soon as i
set the sails it was coming from exactly the opposite direction. After

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Space Technology

I was still playing around with my satellite connection but had given up almost all hope, on
fact i had resigned to the idea of no blogs and worst no up to date grib files for the next
10 days. Luckily i have Navtex which is going to give me at least basic info, i thought,
when i turned my head to see if i had any new forecasts: the Navtex was dead! The digital
world of marine technology at its best, now it works, now it doesnt, nothing in between the
two state.

Navtex is a very simple piece of kit, you think nothing can go wrong with it, so i decided

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Plymouth Sound

The first time i had heard of the Plymouth Sound i had imagined a
vibrant city home of jazz cafes by the waterfront, with a refined
atmosphere rich in culture and creativeness. Little did i know that this
place seems to share the same historical roots of australia, everyone
appears to be a descendant of a thief, murdere or rapist and if silk is
smooth Plymouth isnt. However, after a couple of days in Mayflower
marina, getting the boat ready for this trip, i started to feel guilty
about such harsh judgment of Plimoudians, nothing was stolen, i hadnt

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Land good bye

i'm about 7 miles south west of the bishop rock, the last bit of land i
should see for a while. the scilly lie very low on the horizon and only
a few lights disclose their presence. the sky is not yet pitch black but
now it should be a matter of half an hour or so.
Getting here so late means that i have yet to clear the traffic
separation scheme on the other side of the isles, there is no one about,
the closest ship is 20 miles away on AIS but, nonetheless, i'll have to
wait before i can catch some sleep. i guess it'll be approaching

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The fat lady sung

I'm on my way back to the UK, headed for Plymouth, still fealing tired
after the race after partying. But it was well worth it we had a great
time offshore as well as on shore. Luckily my being "solo" is over and
i'm here with the help of my friend Philippe.
Yesterday it was prize giving and i was well pleased with the results,
British Beagle was one of the underdogs in the race so i couldnt believe
i was taking home a second overall in Cruiser class, second overall in
Class 1 and third overall in IRC and in case you wonder, yes this is

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From dusk till dawn

There we go, the clock ticks and the mile counter drops slowly but
surely... As I write i assume at least the first 3 or 4 boats have
crossed the line if not more. I still have 65 miles or so to go and
since this afternoon the wind swung north west so i have the extra
pleasure of beating to Chausse de Sein before freeing the sails and
speed off to the finish line, I'm sure the guys at the bar with a cold
beer in their hands are really gelous of the privilege of another
extra hours of bashing to windward in 15-20 knots of wind - at the end

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Sarkozy proclaims national offshore fishing day

I just spent hours going through an enormous fishing fleet, at least 50
boats blinking on the horizon and near me. They seemed well behaved and
no one came after me, all kept their course and dodging them has not
been too difficult. I find judging distances of lights at night very
difficult, certainly Graham Wilkinson knows this well, as i once tried
to park his boat onto the shore of the Lizard lighthouse. Anyhow, alone,
tired at night i take no chances and for peace of mind i stick the radar
on. When i identify a boat that seems to be closer than the others i do

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British Beagle from the Club Real in Santander

Hi all, first of all thank you for all the messages of support i received during this tough leg from kinsale to santander, from friends and family, some from well wishers that i met only once and even from strangers that simply wished me luck.

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bluQube Solo 1000, leg 2, day 4

The stormy weather we had on the way down seems a distant memory,
sailing now under bright sunshine, blu skies and steady westerly winds
on a perfect reach to the finish. The angle is just to shy for the kite
and i could risk the assymetric kite but the wind goes down a few knots
for me to consider it then up again to think forget it. One of the
retirees of this race retired because of a nasty spinnaker wrap and
there couldnt be anything less entertaining to have to deal with now
than a sail gone crazy in the wind. Plus, with my electric autopilot

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Qualifier - day 3

the last 24 hours have been quite something, in all respects, sailing
and personally. first of all this is now the longest I have been alone
at sea on my boat and what a perfect choice for weather than a near gale
in Bay of Biscay.
When the wind slowly shifted westerly to southerly we all knew this was
going to be followed by a blow. this of course started in the middle of
the night, just off ushant and its traffic separation scheme and all the
shipping that comes with it. from when the wind picked up to this
afternoon when it came down a bit there has been no peace, first the

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