While lying in second place on the Shetland Round Britain and Ireland race earlier this week Nick Bubb and Pete Cumming’s 30ft trimaran, Kenmore, lost its rig. Fortunately the team were able to limp ashore without assistance into Barra, on the Outer Hebrides, and are now working against the clock to repair the mast in order to restart the race see previous news story here. Here’s Bubb’s latest progress report?

Since breaking our rig, in moderate conditions, on Monday 19 June just south of St Kilda off the Hebrides, we have been pretty busy. We eventually got back unassisted until the final few miles to Castlebay, Barra in the early hours of Tuesday 20 June. Since then, despite a gale blowing around the bay, we have transferred all the parts of the mast onto the shore, sorted out the boat, made some small repairs, arranged for replacement rigging, sent the sails off to Oban to be repaired, set up a workshop up in the hills and got all the mast pieces up there.

So far it seems that the whole of the local community has been involved and we are immensely grateful, especially to Ronnie and Anne MacNeil at our B&B who have arranged everything as well as kept us fed and watered. An initial survey of the rig seems to indicate that the laminate around the intermediate diamond terminal failed. Therefore, we have decided to not only repair the mast with the use of an inner sleeve and external wraps but to also ‘beef up’ the composite at all the terminals. Our sponsors Kenmore have been fantastic, offering us all the support we need to get things sorted. Alex Hewitt of Ocean Endeavours is currently on his way up here with all the equipment and materials and we are doing the preparation work.

We hope to be ready to restart by Tuesday 27 June, which still gives us an outside chance of making the time limit and beating one or two of the slower monohulls home. At the moment the weather looks promising with moderate winds from the south but there is another depression lurking so we are in the hands of the gods. A strong forecast and we would be fool hardy to go, as hard as it may be, we will be guided by our heads not our hearts! If the conditions are not suitable then we may well opt to return to Plymouth via the Irish Sea and have to settle for a Round Ireland. Fingers crossed ands good luck to the rest of the fleet battling their way round Muckle Flugga.

Many thanks to all our sponsors who have stood by us in this difficult time: The Kenmore Property Group, Kenmore Homes, Aggmore Commercial Property, Flexistore, Gill, Element Eyewear, Plastimo, Seamark Nunn, Tacktick, Quantum Sails, Ocean Yacht Systems, Burgess Salmon, Green Design and Harken.

Nick