The wrong tack west

Nick Bubb recounts his disappointing second leg of the Mini Transat

It is not so easy writing this report as so much of it happened such a long time ago. 

A lot has gone on in the last three weeks but I will not burden you with it all. Instead I will try to take you through just some of the highs and lows I experienced during this amazing race.

After the great efforts of the Quantum Sails UK team and Geoff Sinton, I was all ready to go with my sails. The only major damage from leg one was back in one piece and re-measured just in time for the start.

It was great to see some old friends the Dearlove family also out in Lanzarote, preparing for the ARC in November. I knew the pressure was on to pull off a good start with their critcial eyes watching me from on the water!  Luckily I did not disappoint and once again managed to out manoeuvre the other 70 odd boats to cross the fleet on port tack, again a great boost and fantastic way to head off to Brazil.

The fleet was split in their decision as to which way to pass Fuerteventura and I chose to go to the west as part of a long term strategy. Along with Yves Le Blevec, Phil Sharp and Adrien Hardy (all top ten finishers from leg 1) I spent the first night firing along on port tack in great spirits.

This strategy was formed with Tobias Hochreutener, Phil Sharp and Jaime Mumbru. Along with Clemency [Williams]'s general advice, we decided to invest in some specific routing advice from a ‘top' American weather routing company. The plan was get quickly out to the West to find some stronger more favourable winds, before we hit the northeast trade winds a few hundred miles south. Unfortunately the trades could be found a lot further north than was thought: any possible advantage we could of had was totally negated.

To add insult to injury, as we were heading West, I made the bold decision to try to pass between Gran Canaria and Tenerife (a notorious wind acceleration zone). This was due to the wind at this point having more south in it than expected. I would still be going west but would also be on a better heading towards the finish than the other guys.

I was prepared for the strong breeze and started the 40 mile passage through the channel well, making good progress. Then as I slammed off a particularly large wave the system to cant my daggerboard broke (this is attached up forward to the base of a stanchion). Consequently the board was smashing around in the boat, hitting the side of hull. The broken stanchion was also letting a lot of water into the boat.

As I set the pilot and went forward inside to try to fix it, I got hit by several huge waves and the boat was laid on her side. Stuck up forward and inside, it took me a while to get out. By this time several of the intermediate sliders had come off the mainsail track and my wind instrument was no longer working.

I managed to drop the mainsail, turn downwind set the pilot and then temporarily fix the daggerboard system.

The next big issue for me was that Tenerife is a very high island and that Phil (who had followed the routing exactly) had passed some 25 miles north of it to avoid a wind shadow from the southerly wind. As I had already headed hard south, I was basically heading back away from the finish. I decided to pass around 10 miles north of Tenerife in order to find some shelter to finish my repairs. Inevitably I also got stuck there for a lot longer than I needed and then suffered even more as the wind was light and extremely variable in direction for the next 24 hours.

I think it was day three by the time I eventually escaped the Canaries and then found the start of the north easterly trades. It had been a complete nightmare and I knew it. To hear I was 68th from 70 and over 200 miles from first was not a huge surprise but still I was totally devastated. Sent completely the wrong way by the ´experts', then in hindsight an ambitious call to head south early resulting in gear failure. What a nightmare.  In a game where your mental state is crucial I was at a low ebb.

For me this was where a new race began. I had a pick myself up quickly and start fighting. With nearly 3,000 miles to go there was a lot to play for and I steeled myself for a determined effort.

The rewards were not quick and it was very hard work but gradually I picked my way through the fleet. As we reached the Cape Verdes I heard over the radio that I had got back to the mid 20s and was now only 150 miles from the front - fantastic news, the first of this leg!

As the days went by I really enjoyed myself. With nothing to read, no music, no company, I focused on what I was there to do. For the first time I found myself really 'at one' with everything.

The next challenge was going to be the Doldrums and I knew it was a possible big passing place, with unpredictable light and then squally conditions. Over an area that expands and contracts in size anything could happen. I was hoping the leaders would park up and with luck I might find a lane of breeze and slip though.

Unfortunately the leaders arrived at a time when the Doldrums where very small and hardly stopped, whereas the middle group that I was in slowed for three days and occasionally drifted.

I realised that any small chance of glory was gone and a top 20 overall was now my realistic goal. As we left the Doldrums hard on the wind on port tack now in the south east trades, I battled hard with those around me and passed several more boats (but again the progress was not quick enough).

As the wind went slowly to the east we quickly counted down the miles towards the finish. I had some small worries over my rudders as one worked loose. Also the canting system for the keel broke three times (each time a different sizeable shackle breaking): a sign of the huge continual load a boat this powerful is continually under. These repairs were carried out efficiently with little loss of time. As a result of the wind going to the east, the sailing became quicker. Consequently those at the front got richer and richer and the gaps at the finish don't really reflect how close the race really was before that point.

The last two days sailing were magnificent in clear warm water with blue skies, 15 knots downwind and the finish within reach. I was greeted by Paul Kowalczyk (part of the original build team) who came out with some locals.

I crossed the line in the middle of the day local time. My hard work throughout the later stages of the race had boosted my overall position to 18th from the 72 starters (at the moment it looks like well over 60 boats will make the finish).

It had taken a little over 28 days to race the 4,500 miles from La Rochelle to Brazil, not bad for a 21 footer. It was not the result I had dreamed of but considering what happened early on, I was pretty satisfied.

Big congratulations to Alex Pella, winner of leg two and to Corentin Douguet, the overall winner. Both these guys are previous competitors, both mid 30s and very experienced, racing on perfectly prepared boats with great sponsors and funding. This is what it takes now to be winner in this class and well done to them both.  It was a fantastic effort by both, over a very long time.

For me this chapter is now closed but who knows what the future holds. I suspect that in the not to distant future the lure of the Mini will call me back to try and finish this particular job properly as a winner.

It has been a fantastic four years in the Mini class and just to finish the Transat caps a memorable time. This boat has now been sold to Andrew Wood (an extremely experienced offshore sailor) who chartered an older generation boat this season and I wish him all the best.

Thank you to all my sponsors, friends, family and everyone who made this race happen for me.

Nick Bubb
Bahia, Brazil