Idea of London - VQ race team update 4 Sun Dec 1 17.30 UST

Thump.. thump.... thump.... thump.... from down below the impact of IDEAsmashing into waves at 15 knots shuddered through the boat. Sleeping trickyonce again - either thrust up against a wall on the low side orclinging onfor dear life to prevent falling out of bunk on the high side.Up top, nicesteady breeze, great driving and a few shooting stars to keep usentertained. Having had a few hours to sort out the boat yesterday, we weresomewhat out of the shift routine but over today we're back on track.Todays highlights probably culminate in me (Ben) preparing what can only bedescribed as the best tomato salad for an 800 mile radius, almostundoubtedly the most delicious meal we've had since we left.In fact i'dhave written more tonight but have been so busy preparing this veritablefeast of. read more...

Idea of London -

A final push towards st lucia, only 150 miles to go, would the last night at sea deliver the usual array of shooting stars, phosphorescence and idle chat between the changing watches? No, it wouldn't. At 2am a squall had developed and all hands were required to pull down the the flogging kite, having blown one in similar circumstances two nights previously the pressure was on to move fast. The team pulled together yet again to pull off a flawless sail drop in rising wind and pouring rain. The rest of the night had each watch receive a soaking under incredibly tricky sailing conditions, dawn was a welcome sight, although the lack of food (down to a few boil-in-the-bags and, rather strangely, a hugh quantity of manchego cheese) had the team thinking. read more...

Idea of London - VQ race team update: knock out

A chair, Michelle Pfieffer, shower, glass of wine, bed, cooked food, fresh fruit and a strong gin and tonic. A small sample of the key things people would like to have on arrival.I'll take all of those, just adjusting the order a little.Sadly Michelle is going to have to wait a bit longer for our arrival. Early this morning we were knocked down by a sudden huge gust of wind. All hands appeared on deck in various undress to find the boom in the water, the mast on the way in and the spinnaker blown. We got the boat under control, salvaged the sorry looking spinnaker back into the bow, took headcount and damage check. Rupert had been 'on watch' at the back and close to the rail when it happened. The sudden violence and angle had forced him tumbling down toward the ocean. Unfortunately he. read more...

Idea of London - VQ Ocean Race Update - the heat is on.

So, it's day eleven on the big brother boat and our intrepid sailors continue to impress (themselves, principally) by staring endless tuna and tomato salads head-on.As I write, Ben is expirmenting with beetroot and sardines, so I for one am looking forward to dinner tonight with a relish that borders on the homicidal. To wash things down, we have Ig's 'eclectic' choice of beverages from the Carrefour spirit isle (Baileys, Limoncello, Honey Rum and Vodka) as the last few cans of beer sink without trace. Lucas 'I've only had four cans' Bertrand claims no knowledge of where the rest of the beer has gone.Below decks, the temperature is rising and it's not because Al Mac has his special pants on.No, as we head relentlessly toward the Caribean (or towards Brazil when Lucas is at the helm) the. read more...

Idea of London - vq update - IDEA

VQ Ocean Update - boat water has run out now (still lots of drinking water in bottles)...means no hot water for our tepid coffee and boil in the bag.Ru and Lucas tried to cook some eggs and prawns by leaving them on the engine block - no success. Boil in the bags now laid out in the sun on deck...looks like tuna salad and ham and cheese sarnies til we get to St Lucia - food hallucinations starting already and even the smelly flying fish we find stuck to the deck in the morning starting to look appealing.We held our midway party yesterday with everyone dressing up for the occasion and the After Eights broken out. Ig i think wins with his full Fu Manchu costume. Ed came as superman, Ludo and Almac as rather convincing ladies of the night, Ben as some random rocker, Ru in nappies, Tom in. read more...