Team Philips and Club Med update

Goss and Dalton both sailing again on Saturday, 30th September

The preparations are over for Team Philips, and Pete Goss plans to leave Dartmouth Marina first thing Saturday morning. The forecast is showing a northerly wind direction, and although there will be a big swell running in the English Channel, Dartmouth should be well sheltered from its effects. The team's first task is to swing the compasses, and then they will haul up those sails and head west towards Plymouth. If you should happen to be out on the major headlands in the area during the weekend, like Start Point, you may be amongst the first to catch a glimpse of the monster machine sailing.

Pete Goss is hoping to be back in to Dartmouth by late Sunday night, but plans beyond that are uncertain, given a fairly evil looking weather forecast for the early part of next week. They still hope to embark on a trans-Atlantic crossing on Thursday, 5th October. Pete Goss commented, "The situation is extremely unpredictable. We are monitoring the situation constantly but the problem is that things are moving so fast because of the remnants of the hurricane, that it is difficult to forecast anything with any certainty."

Also watching the weather closely will be Roger Badham, the met man for Club Med. The boat went back in the water and the mast was stepped on Friday morning, in Vannes, France. Club Med has spent six weeks in the yard and been completely refitted and checked, after the mid-Atlantic breakdown. The bows - the part that failed - have been redesigned and reinforced. The boat is due to leave for Southampton, England, on Saturday morning. If the weather lets them get here, we hope to be sailing with Club Med on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Steve Fosset has confirmed that he will be extending the length of PlayStation, the boat will go into the yard for four weeks - and come out 120 feet long.