Transat Race - 11th May!

The Transat race is held every 4 x years, and is made up of 30 or so yachts sailing solo across the Atlantic from Plymouth to Boston - so far the shortest time has been 12 days to complete the distance. It started in 1960, when the first inaugral race was won by Sir Frances Chichester in Gypsy Moth III in 40 days. It is often referred to as one of the toughest race due to the solo conditions and prevailing winds across the North Atlantic to the USA. During the week before the start of the race on 11th May, all the Transat yachts were arriving in Plymouth to prepare for the event ... they were looking very colourful in Sutton Harbour. The place was full of tanned, muscular Frenchmen sitting cross-legged on the quay, playing with ropes of various colours, or climbing up masts ... sacre bleu!! As you can imagine, several trips to the Harbour were made ...

At the time, we had Julia staying with us, as well as Clive and Mandy. On the actual day, we managed to get seats on a charter boat which was going out to view the start of the race from amongst the yachts. It was a very hot day, and we had not got time to go back home to collect suntan oil/hats, but there was plenty of bottled water for sale, and luckily we all had our cameras, so had a wonderful view of all the Transats as they prepared for the start of the race. We saw Gypsy Moth IV as well, which made it all the more interesting (see the nearest - and smallest! - yacht in the picture below).

The build up to the start was very exciting - all the Transats had to move themselves as near to the start line (marked by 2 x warships about 1/2 a mile apart) as possible, and the ones which were nearest when the start gun went off would be lucky. We were allowed to get fairly near them (us and several hundred other boats of various sizes!) up until the last 20 minutes, then had move back away from start line area so the Transats could start positioning themselves. There were boats of all kinds jostling for the best viewing position, including a pirate boat!!

The Transats started moving out to sea very quickly, closely followed by helicopters taking aeriel shots (must have been a fantastic view). They looked magnificent with their massive sails blowing in the wind, there was also a lot of turbulence caused by all the boats rushing to get a better view.

It did not take long before the boats gradually disappeared from view, and we had to turn back to Plymouth ... we did ask our captain to take us on to Boston, but strangely he seemed a bit reluctant! Still, it was a fascinating and unforgettable experience.

Boat trip from Mayfair steps ...

Whilst Tricia & Campbell were here, we went on a short boat trip, right from the Mayfair steps (see photograph above), following in the Pilgrim's footsteps (but we were coming back!). The trip lasted an hour, the commentary was excellent. It took us past Drakes Island, to the military docks, then part way up the River Tamar which divides Devon from Cornwall. If you have a few million to spare, Drakes Island is for sale, you will then need another couple of million to start any kind of development. We went quite close to the military docks, where there were several warships "parked up" (not the correct nautical terminology I know!), and a close view of a submarine, as well as the tugs which they use to escort the warships/subs. The dockyard has now been made earthquake proof, and we also saw the huge crane which is used to lift nuclear flasks from or into submarines (see picture below with old sub parked underneath!).

A crash barrier was built around the central area where the submarines were dismantled, which was apparently to stop "ships crashing into that building" and releasing radiation. Plymouth residents are also alarmed about plans to allow radioactive tritium to be discharged into the Tamar river, I would share their concern. Some of the warships viewed at close quarters are huge, particularly the one below with the helicopter pad!

Barbican (the Plymouth one!)

We are lucky enough to be very near the Barbican, which is the area they refer to as the "Jewel in Plymouth's Crown" ... actually, they could be right. Situated there are the Mayfair Steps, which is the location from where the Pilgrim Fathers left Britian on 6th September 1620 to settle in the New World - and they didn't need their passports then! The Barbican has a strong feeling of history, and indeed has not greatly changed since people like Sir Francis Drake, Oliver Cromwell and Captain Cook, to name a few were here themselves, although the cobblestones make navigation a little difficult. However, they did not have such an extensive choice of eating places as we do now ... the top picture is actually now full of outside seating areas (and people!!). There are a lot of shops and businesses around, including the Barbican Theatre which we will try one day ... there is also a gypsy fortune teller's shop!!

The Barbican is still a working harbour, and there is still a lot of activity around as small fishing boats and trawlers arrive to offload their catches (some of which go straight to the nearby seafood restaurants ... wonderful!) The rest go to the fish market which is now situated the other side of the harbour - it was originally on the site of the current Dartington Glassworks gift shop.

Most of Plymouth has been refurbished courtesy of Hitler's Luftwaffe, but the Barbican survived, thus the medieval narrow streets remain much the same as during Tudor times, as well as many of the buildings. This includes the site of the Plymouth Gin Distillery, which of course we will be visiting soon!