| UK. Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland: Unlimited Sailing John Merricks Crew near the finish |
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| Friday, 18 August 2006 | |
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Myrrh Walker & Helen King: This afternoon, 18 August, Unlimited Sailing / John Merricks is finally expected home, after a gruelling 1760 mile journey in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. The Farr 45 will be the sixth boat to complete the race and is estimated to come in at 14:30 this afternoon. For the Volvo RYA Keelboat Programme crew, a select group of young amateur sailors, crossing the finish line in Cowes, Isle of Wight will mark the end of an adventure that they have been working towards for the last 18 months. This morning Nigel King, who has been mentoring the best of Britain’s up-and-coming keelboat talent, gave his final report from the boat which was becalmed last night. “We were forced to drop our anchor last night to keep our position when the wind died. There was just this tense feeling on the boat of people wanting to get to the finish, but not being able to do anything because of the lack of wind. “At about 6:30 this morning the wind filled back in and now we have 18 knots and are moving again at just over ten knots.” King, from Cowes, also spoke about the atmosphere on board, where spirits are up and the excitement of getting home runs high. “We passed Beachy Head at 8:30 this morning and are now starting to see familiar bits of coast, which just fuels the crews desire to get home. “We are all looking forward to getting back onto dry land and off of the boat which has taken on a bit of a smell. ”The crew have done a fantastic job through out the race, everyone pitching in and pulling their own weight. They should all be proud of the way they have sailed and of what looks to be a very respectable finish time.” Unlimited Sailing / John Merricks will finish the race after 14:30 this afternoon and head for the Island Sailing Club pontoon, in Cowes, to celebrate their success. ‘Unlimited Sailing / John Merricks’ crew Nigel King, East London - Skipper Rob Hoey, Newton Abbot - Co Skipper/Bowman Jamie Holmes, Bath - Boat Captain/Trimmer Nicky Macgregor, Poole – Watch Leader/Trimmer James Roche, Southampton – Watch Leader/Trimmer Ed Hill, Guildford – Watch Leader/Trimmer Jeremy Fowke, Weymouth – Trimmer Charlotte Lawrence, Lymington, Edinburgh University – Trimmer Nick Cherry, Southampton – Helm Jonny Marshall, Lymington – Helm Connor Myant, London – Helm http://sevenstarrbi.cyca.com.au/ www.rya.org.uk/AboutRYA/programmesinitiatives/volvoryakeelboatprogramme/johnmerricks/ |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 18 August 2006 ) |
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