Round Britain and Ireland Sailing Race on our Swan 44

Round Britain and Ireland 2010 Race

Sailing around Britain is something most yachtsman dream of but never achieve. Our skipper Paul Jackson has already done it and this year he is going to do it again taking up to 44 days so to visit numerous places such as St Kilda to name one gem.

Onboard theh Swan 44 we will have a maximum of 6 on board including Paul. We will have a couple of training weekends and then on 30th July set off for an anti-clockwise circumnavigation. These things are weather dependent and with the best part of 2000 Nm to go we have to be flexible, but the initial thoughts are to cover the miles including some extended passages/night sailing in order to maximise time for the more exciting areas further North. We will then head on up to Scotland probably putting in to a couple of ports such as Wick before heading up to the Orkneys and Shetland.
If practicable we will go all the way up round the Shetlands including a stop at Fair Isle which is one of the magic places in the world to sail to.

Then it is off to the Hebrides hopefully by way of St Kilda–I have sailed past before but not stopped. Down to Ireland possibly by way of the Isle of Man and quite a few stops before the run back across to the Isles of Scilly where we may spend a couple of days before running home. We may not stop in the West Country — it is the buffer at the end of the trip, the logic is simple –you can sail out of Falmouth or Plymouth easily at other times.

Assuming all goes according to plan we will arrive back on Saturday 11th or Sunday 12th September.

We will have a couple of ‘training’ weekends to make sure we are up to speed on safety procedures and get to know each other. There is also a possibility of a ‘taster’ weekend so you can get to know me if you haven’t sailed with us before. Later in the season we will also have a re-union weekend on board.

The cost for the package will include all on board food, fuel, and marina fees. The extras are any meals and drinks ashore. If you want to do RYA practical qualifications along the way this may also be possible. Max of 6 on board.

The Swan 44 fully complies with ISAF Cat 2 safety standards and MCA requirements. The Skipper is a YM and RYA Instructor who has sailed over 40,000Nm.

2 training weekends–(21st May and 9th July) 6 week circumnavigation–Re-union weekend

 

Training package

  1. Preparation of Crew
  2. Preparation and set up of yacht for racing
  3. Introduction to racing rules and "Rules of the Road."
  4. Race strategy/tactics/weather/tides/equipment.
  5. Coastal and Offshore navigation
  6. Effective use of wind/speed/depth instruments along with GPS and radar.
  7. Starts
  8. Points of sail.
    a)    Upwind boat handling – tacking and trimming
    b)    Downwind boat handling – gybing and trimming including spinnaker work and boat trim
  9. Watch systems day/night advantages and disadvantages.
  10. Heavy weather sailing.

  For further details are provided in the Round Britain and Ireland Race