Tales of the Round the Island race - part 1

madforsailing's team took part in the event on a variety of boats. James Boyd sailed on Gartmore

It is not often that you get asked to go sailing to stand in when Charlene Spiteri the Scottish pop icon and lead singer of the group Texas is unable to make it due to an unavoidable live TV appearance. Such is the reach of Josh Hall's Gartmore Open 60 campaign.

Cowes is a second home for the Around Alone/Vendee Globe skipper who has spent many summers carrying out endless corporate charter work here. He seems to have countless friends around the town, many of whom were sailing on Gartmore today. Our nine crew included Doug Peterson, not the Prada designer but the owner of Hall's regular haunt, the Alamo restaurant and bar on the High Street ("we haven't got Texas, but we've got a Texan" comments Hall). In addition there is Tim Headington of crew wear manufacturer T&G, a local property agent alongside Hall's regular crew. Despite the sponsorship there is not a corporate suit in sight.

Hall's approach to sailing has become very French over the years. Over the course of the day he shows huge competence and seamanship with his boat - after all he has sailed singlehanded around the world one and a half times in this boat alone - while remaining very laid back with his crew. His girlfriend is French as are two of his crew, while our navigator on board is Italian, the Southampton-based yacht design boffin, Paulo Manganelli.

In the RIB out to the boat Hall admits that it is the first time he has sailed since returning from the Vendee Globe. Since then he has been busy setting up his own sports sponsorship/marketing/PR company in France. The boat has had a minor refit at Marco LeFevre's yard in Caen, but is beginning to show its age. On the way across from France to Cowes the bulkhead dividing the water ballast tank on the port side broke and so for the race we are unable to use the movable water ballast at all. There also seem to be many other minors things wrong with the boat.

Continued on page 2...