Joanne Having just departed Javelin here are some thoughts from the past week for leg 1 of Javelin does Round Britain. Saturday/ Sunday - You would never have known that there was a gale force 8 going on the Solent, as there was bright sun in Lymington!!!! Spent mega money on a new set of ollies which was money well spent as they worked perfectly. The old ones are going back to Musto first thing Monday morning. Another difficult sail from Lymington, hoping to get to Weymouth, but ended up diverting to Studland for a night on the anchor. Always a pleasure to pop your head up the next morning after mooring at night to see exactly where you are and how may mooring buoys we managed to dodge on the way in, in the pitch black and exclaim afterwards, how come we didn't see them !!!! Piece of genious from Peter on that decision great morning view and less miles to catch up on. Long slog to Dartmouth and poor old Mrs H is not well again. Can somebody change the scenery, Oh look! Portland Bill and again Portland Bill and Oh look! Portland Bill from the rear view of the boat. Warships, helicopters and fighter planes escorted us across Weymouth Bay and warnings of live firing from HMS Illustrious got us on our feet, checking the lat and long postions to ensure we were not in the firing zone, Phew! Dartmouth was a sight for sore eyes very quaint, unfortunately the weather and the lack of time to explore was dissapointing, but note to self must go back. Thanks to Alex who liaised with the pub regularly on our ETA into Dartmouth meant we could get ashore for a Fish and Chip supper which went down very well, except for poor old Sue who had a bowl of soup :-( So off to Plymouth without Sue she has decided take public transport and leave her best friend blue bucket behind. Cracking sail wind behind us, surfing down waves at 8+ knots and Mr H managed to get the fastest boat speed down at wave at 9.14 knots. A bit of competition and a great sail has revived the crews spirits. Javelin was tied up in Plymouth before Sue arrived by public transport, which was mighty pleasing. If you are in Plymouth visit the Barbican Restuarnt, we all had an excellent dinner that evening, great atmosphere, service and the food was to die for. http://www.barbicankitchen.com/ Why does everyhting revolve around food when you are on a boat!!!! Left Plymouth at another ungodly hour for the next leg down to Newlyn and arrived to find the Inn was full!!! Had to squeeze in between two fishing boats. The harbour master and fisherman were all very jolly and helpful as they watched in amazement as we tried to park the boat side ways, got there in the end :-). Noisy night but to tired to worry. Awoke the next morning to find Seagull pooh all over the deck. Deep joy! That and the smell of fish from the fishing boats was not a good start for the stomach, knowing we had a 24 hour sail ahead of us. Left at around 5 am to catch the best tides round the Lands End. Only saw one dolphin and a few birds which was disappointing. Not to much motoring and managed to sail at a very reasonable pace. Came up on deck at midnight and the boat is flying, 8 knots of boat speed we were zipping along with the stars to keep us company. Arrived at the final Waypoint outside Milford Haven almost there just another 2 hours to go up the river to Neyland Marina. The entrance reminded me of a Christmas tree, all the cardinals and buoys flashing away lighting our passage. Woke up in Neyland Marina to glorious sunshine the day was spent just pottering, cleaning the boat, doing laundry until Trevor & Neil arrived. Thank you to Sue & Peter for the experience of being part of the Javelin round Britain trip. Plus special thanks to Skipper Peter for looking after us so well and I am sure he is ready for some male company after being on the boat with 4 women. The male bonding can now begin! Alex, thanks for being a brilliant First Mate and supporting all of us when times were tough. Alison I hope you next 2 weeks are enjoyable and hopefully not as weather challenging as this one has been. Sue I know this week has been a real challenge and thank you for looking after us. Heres hoping that when you get back on the boat at Oban week 3 is more enjoyable. Thank you Javelin crew number 1! Wishing crew 2 Bon Voyage for the next leg of the trip. Was hoping that the sunshine from yesterday would stay with you. Recommend you keep the chocolate tin and sweeties on deck and also stick a hotty hand warmer down your ollies if you start getting cold (worked for me) :-). Safe journey as the passage plan for today was working out as a 32 hours sail. Best Wishes to all the following crews. Happy Sailing!!! Jo x