2007 Fastnet Race
Yes, I really should have learnt by now! I'd obviously forgotten what the Round Britain & Ireland Race was like, and thought it would be a good idea to enter this year's Rolex Fastnet Race Already delayed by 25 hours due to a storm brewing in the Irish Sea, we spent most of the first day and night speeding along under storm sails in the forecast southerly winds, and listening to radio reports of yachts retiring into Plymouth.  Quite exhausted we were approaching Lands End where we were expecting to start heading downwind as we turned to the north west, when we picked up a weather report warning of gale force 8 north-westerly building ahead of us. It was clear that we would need to seek shelter so we headed for Falmouth, and later decided that we were not likely to complete the race so retired in time to enjoy the warmth and local brew in Falmouth Harbour. This turned out to be the right decision as on the way back we lost our rigging, which would not have been fun if it had happened in the Irish Sea with the weather the way it was.

20 August 2006 -Morning Press Release
At a little after 0500 hrs this morning, a shattered crew onboard Global Yacht Racing Incisor brought home their Corby 45 to a very respectable finishing place of ninth on the water. Andy Middleton’s team have battled through some horrendous conditions in the Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race as well as some frustratingly light breezes on the final stretch so there was a palpable sense of relief onboard having completed this coastal classic race. Stepping ashore briefly at the new Trinity House landing pontoon on the Parade at Cowes, the crew received their well-deserved bottle of champagne from the RORC before heading home for some long hot baths and dry beds!

7th August - Race Start
The Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race got underway on a glorious Solent evening with grey cloud cover atop a smooth sea state and a gentle north-easterly force three to four. The twenty-eight competing yachts from around the world had a busy pre-start as they jostled for position on the Royal Yacht Squadron line with the making tack being port as they headed out to the eastern Solent before coming back down the back of the Isle of Wight and along the South Coast of England. Bang on time at 1800, the starting canon fired from the Squadron hustings with Ger O’Rourke’s Cookson 50 ‘Kingspan – Chieftain’ tacking beneath Global Yacht Racing Incisor of Andy Middleton and quickly seizing control of the opening minutes of the race.

New flyer available to download
The summary poster/flyer on the homepage has been given a facelift by Greenhouse Graphics, and is now available to download here, to send on, or print out and place on noticeboards at work etc

Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race minisite & race tracker
All of the yachts competing are being fitted with tracking devices so that you can follow the progress of all of the competitors online. The official RORC Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland minisite is now available, where you can find out more about the race and see information about the yachts entered, or you can go straight to the yacht tracker page.

My diary is now online!
This website has been specially designed to be updated on a regular basis, and now has a diary page which I will be writing during the training and whilst we are racing. Along with the trackers fitted to the yachts you will be able to follow my progress all the way round Britain and Ireland.