Picture this; you are in the middle of the English Channel and the skies have turned black as a force eight gale begins to blow up and fog is descending fast. The winds have ripped the main sail to shreds and you have been forced to use your storm sail. Four meter waves are breaking across the stern on the boat. Water is dripping down the hatch into the berths and salt water has contaminated one of the water tanks. The head gasket has blown on the engine, meaning you have no way to charge the batteries. They are already running low so supplies have been rationed to the instruments, GPS and navigation lights. Some of the crew have been taken down with sea sickness and morale is at an all time low. Do you continue with your voyage?
Well, for Chris Staples and his crew aboard Tantrum of Langstone, there was no question about it. It was either grit your teeth and bear it or lose out on first place in IRC 3 for the year.
The crew of six was split into two watches of three, each having their own helmsman, foredeck and cockpit crew. Team A was made up of Andy B, working as both navigator and sail trimmer, Andy H who took the position of helmsman, and me mainly working in the cockpit. In Team B Chris was acting as skipper and helmsman, Lee doing a combination of cockpit and foredeck duties and Kent concentrating on sail trimming.
At 16:00 BST on Friday September 1st nine boats lined up on the start line at Cowes to begin the 2006 RORC Cascais race, not even half of the 25 that had originally entered. The others obviously didn't like the look of the weather forecast.
Southwesterly breezes made for good beginnings for the 838 mile journey, but it wasn't long before the predicted depression hit the fleet, bringing in winds of over 35 knots and rough seas on the way down to Ushant. After a couple of days two boats, Hope and Glory and Brightwork, had retired while others sat out the storm in port in Guernsey. For our crew however it was a case of battling through it.
By Sunday the mainsail had been reduced to its third reef, but the increasing wind took its toll on the Kevlar reinforced fabric, leaving us a batten short and with an approximately 3 meter rip running vertically down the sail. Due to the damp conditions, the sail was down for a day before we could begin our repairs. Andy B and I set about it firstly by sticking the fabric back together and then strips of gaffer tape and Dacron were applied to give extra durability. Lee fashioned a new batten out of a fishing rod and we were able to re-hoist the slightly odd-shaped sail.
It was shortly after this that the engine went, leaving us with one 12 volt battery to last the remainder of the trip. This forced us to ration what was left of the power, only switching on appliances when absolutely necessary and using only our torches at night. Having done a sea survival course only a few days previously, I was surprised how much of it was put to good use over the duration of the trip.
Tantrum soon came through the storm and arrived in the Bay of Biscay; the part of the race I had been most apprehensive about. It was a doddle compared with the Channel; so much so in fact that we were becalmed in the north for the next two days. Quite a contrast! With a calm sea state and overcast skies, we didn't move much until Tuesday when the winds picked up. We began to pick up momentum again. Night Owl called in her retirement in the afternoon due to lack of progress and time commitments of their crew, although they still continued down to Cascais. As our speed grew, we were greeted with a selection of marine wildlife including dolphins, jellyfish, sharks and even a whale or two.
By Thursday we were becalmed again just north of Finisterre. By this point Chieftain had already taken first place, coming in at 09:29 BST on Wednesday September 6th. She was followed by Aquis Granus, Azure and Hooligan V the following day.
We slowly carried on down the west coast of Spain, trying to stay inshore to make the best use of the sea breezes. Though the crew's spirits had remained high, at this point it was becoming increasingly evident that the trip was going to take longer than expected. This bought a cloud over certain members on crew, including myself, as flights needed to be changed and other commitments cancelled, but this was soon overcome as our phone reception was restored and an influx of text messages arrived from well wishers back home.
Shaun Murphy's two-handed entry Slingshot finished on September 9th at 02:57 BST, but it wasn't for another three days that Tantrum pulled in. Our 12-day voyage was twice as long as expected, leaving us with less that a day's worth of food to spare and only two bottles of water left, our tanks having dried up days before.
Our late arrival meant that we missed the prize giving held at the Skipper bar, but this most certainly didn't stop us from having a whale of a time. We more than made up for the absence of alcohol aboard when we set foot back on dry land.
If I had to pick one point out as my favourite of this trip, it would have to be watching dolphins swimming around the boat at night, lit up by phosphorescence. It was an amazing sight and one I will take to the grave. This was definitely my most memorable trip to date, and though everyone aboard went through a multitude of highs and lows, everyone enjoyed the trip and can look back on it in triumph.
As this was the last race of the season, not only had we walked away with first in class for this race, but we had also pipped Mavis of Gosport to the post in series points. By far the best part of racing on Tantrum for the last year has been the people I have met and the relationships we have forged. At the end of this race, like all of the others, the crew came away with smiles and friendships intact.
To see all of my sailing snaps, visit the Cascais Album in the MainSail Gallery.
For full race report, visit www.rorc.org/content/view/190/175/.
