Andy Lane & Amadeus

I was very sad to read this morning that unfortunately Andy Lane & Amadeus are no longer competiting in the Jester Challenge. I for sure, and I know Rory feels the same way......would much rather have Amadeus & Andy ahead of Cookie than not in the Challenge at all.
I feel for his lose but I am happy & relieved to hear he has been picked up safely, as I am sure his family are. Here's hoping that Andy makes it to the start line in 2012!

Short report below:

"Andy’s yacht was holed today (15th June) and following activation of the EPIRB and his SPOT, he has been rescued by a Belgian ship, having got to 40N 51W in good time and order.
He will get to Antwerp early next week. Amadeus has been abandoned at sea. Mr. Andrew Lane is currently on the M/V Courage and will remain onboard until they reach Belgium. Mr. Lane will then catch a train back to France. (US coastguards)

15/06/10 22H41
I have just had a call from Falmouth Coastguards to say the Andy has been picked up by MV Courage en route to Antwerp and will arrive on Monday evening – Amadeus dis-masted and hull holed, so likely lost. He has just rung my Dad and is in very good spirits, but paradoxically regretting the loss of the unopened bottle of Drambuie Dad gave him for his 60th on 7th June!
We so appreciate all your efforts and no doubt will see you for 2012!
Fair winds to everyone still sailing!
The Lanes"

15th June 2010 Position Update

19 years ago today a little boat went afloat for the first time. Many thought she was too small to sail around the world, but how wrong were they! She is one tough Cookie!
She is still out there battling against the waves and keeping Rory safe, so from one tough cookie to another.....Happy Birthday Cookie!!

Here is her latest position.....she still chasing those boats in front!!


Rory's Spot
Latitude:39.31137
Longitude:-50.50621
GPS location Date/Time:06/15/2010 13:26:19 BST


http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0eU7hBIn3zf3pdPunKi3eP4m0RUyAZreC


Ocean Race Track:

http://www.oceanracetrack.com/raceplayer/raceplayer.aspx?event=34


The Sir Francis Chichester Trust

If you are enjoying the blog, please think about making a donation of any size to the Sir Francis Chichester Trust, so that Rory can try to reach his goal of 5,000 pounds. The Trust allows disadvantaged youths from Devon to attend Outward bound courses to discover themselves through adventure and personal development. This is perfectly in line with his aims to motivate young folks to "reach for their dreams". Come on guys............let's do it!
PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY, Thanks - Rory & Cookie.

P.S. If you have already made a donation.........BIG heartfelt thanks!

14th June 2010 Update

Great chat with Rory this evening. He said an hour after I spoke to him on Saturday, the rain came in…..and he managed to catch 14 litres of water off the mainsail. This is brilliant news, as due to a miscalculation, he had been rationing his water (he hadn’t registered that some of the bottles the kids filled were actually only one litre bottles, not two litre!!)

"The winds started picking up, reaching about 30 knots, so triple reefed the main, set Harry up....and got some sleep. With the triple reefed main, Cookie sails along steady enough for me to rest.

Sunday was a bumpy day with southerly seas peaking in all directions, and waves crashing together constantly. Really uncomfortable aboard, worse day to date, and stressful just physically hanging on. (120 miles on day 21

Steady easterly, force one, this morning (Mon).....nice high pressure coming in. Tacked across and hove-to & decided to get everything up from down below....... towels, clothes, sleeping bag, pillow etc & hoisted them up into the rigging, to dry out! It is great to get the boat back in order, and although initially I felt like I had to keep pushing on, calm seas really are a great respite and an opportunity for me to recoup and recover! I even cooked a loaf of bread today!! Sailed 114 miles today and estimate I have about 1300 miles to Newport.

30 knots of south westerlies right now, and Cookie is jogging along happily, which means I can grab some sleep."

It was great hearing Rory so upbeat and back to his usual self. Last few times we have chatted, he has sounded very weary and tired.

Rory's Spot
Latitude:39.05022
Longitude:-48.26292
GPS location Date/Time:06/14/2010 13:29:11 BST

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0eU7hBIn3zf3pdPunKi3eP4m0RUyAZreC


http://www.oceanracetrack.com/raceplayer/raceplayer.aspx?event=34

13th June 2010 Position Update

Rory's Spot
Latitude:39.14708
Longitude:-45.67401
GPS location Date/Time:06/13/2010 13:42:08 BST

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=39.14708,-45.67401&ll=39.14708,-45.67401&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1


http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0eU7hBIn3zf3pdPunKi3eP4m0RUyAZreC

Ocean Race Track:

http://www.oceanracetrack.com/evtChart.aspx?id=34&ent=663

12th June 2010 - Update from Rory

Quick update from Rory yesterday:

“Best day’s run of the trip, so far, on Saturday……….168 miles!! (Whoop whoop Rory & Cookie…..go…..go…..go.) The winds were up, but nice calm seas, so put a reef in the main and set “Harry” to work!
Rors decided he would treat himself to a new set of dry clean clothes and then snuggled down in his sleeping bag.
Felt great to be in clean, dry clothes but….was short lived!! Huge wave crashed over the dodger…….straight in over his sleeping head, pillow and dry fleece. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr……have been grumpy for the rest of the day.
He managed to finally fix the leak, where the compass is bolted on, which had been dripping on everything down below, but the boat is still very wet below with condensation raining down. So the first five minutes down below, he just sits and waits for the water to stop running off him, before he can attempt any task…..such a chart plotting etc.
No ships spotted for the last few days, but lots of dolphins still swimming alongside.
Also two more turtles spotted, one teenie tiny one drifted underneath the nets, and then a larger one, about 2ft with white & brown markings.

Another low pressure heading their way, and when we spoke Saturday evening (8pm BST)
Rory said the seas were beginning to build and the sky was full of low cumulus clouds. Maybe time to batten down the hatches? I guess time will tell.

12th June 2010 Position Update

Rory's Spot
Latitude:38.82599
Longitude:-43.32012
GPS location Date/Time:06/12/2010 13:07:43 BST

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=38.82599,-43.32012&ll=38.82599,-43.32012&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1


http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0eU7hBIn3zf3pdPunKi3eP4m0RUyAZreC

Ocean Race Track:

http://www.oceanracetrack.com/evtChart.aspx?id=34&ent=663


Will post more news later today!

11th June 2010 Position Update

Rory's Spot
Latitude:38.94173
Longitude:-39.83776
GPS location Date/Time:06/11/2010 13:25:12 BST

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=38.94173,-39.83776&ll=38.94173,-39.83776&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1


Ocean Race Track:

http://www.oceanracetrack.com/evtChart.aspx?id=34&ent=663

9th & 10th June - Update from Rory

Well not much to report this evening as Rory
decided to take the day off for good behaviour!!
(guess we have to take his word for it.....)

He is finally out of his drysuit & boots, and beginning to dry out and 'unwrinkle". Down to t-shirt and Musto trousers, and bare feet :)

He is convinced the same dolphins are following him, they race alongside for 10-15 minutes, swim off, only to return several hours later.

Few more jobs done on the boat today. "Harry" (the windvane) has several more screws holding him safely aboard. Dodger sprayhoods needed a few extra stitches to stop water getting in, and some additional stuffing added to the cushions....cos Rory has a sore backside!!! (It's all that sitting around he does!!!)

Celebrations tonight............when we spoke, he was eight miles from the "half way" point! (Yippee guys......well done!) So he will be celebrating with a bottle of beer (which his brother in law, Phil, bought for him in the pub before he left.......which is another cause to celebrate....but that's another story!! :) And the KP nuts are coming out, followed by a sumptuous meal of rice & beans, that he cooked up last night.

They have had two nice days of high pressure, sailing 135 miles yesterday, and 95 miles today.
So I guess we will let him have a day off........but back to work tomorrow!!

(NB: Old photo from circumnavigation days...but figure this is what he would have been doing today!!)

10th June 2010 Position Update

Rory's Spot
Latitude:39.10603
Longitude:-36.8926
GPS location Date/Time:06/10/2010 13:04:11 BST

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=39.10603,-36.8926&ll=39.10603,-36.8926&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Message:Rory is sending you his current position. Where in the world am I now??


http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0eU7hBIn3zf3pdPunKi3eP4m0RUyAZreC

9th June 2010 - Position Update

Good evening folks, here is Rory's latest position:

Rory's Spot
Latitude:38.85267
Longitude:-34.90155
GPS location Date/Time:06/09/2010 13:16:58 BST

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=38.85267,-34.90155&ll=38.85267,-34.90155&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Message:Rory is sending you his current position. Where in the world am I now??


http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0eU7hBIn3zf3pdPunKi3eP4m0RUyAZ



http://www.oceanracetrack.com/evtChart.aspx?id=34&ent=663reC