Left Brighton after a great night out with all the lads.Set of to meet up at Lulworth Cove but had to change at the last minute after being told that we were about to sail into a gunnery range!

It was suggested that we go first because the smaller boats could hide behind us when the shells started flying ,we told them not to be southern softies and just zig-zag very fast.

We arrived safely at portland to a great reception,we left the fleet there after saying goodbye to
lots of new Friends .Many thanks to Patrick Byrne for doing a terrific job of organising the rally,as he said more people have climbed Everest than have sailed a small power-boat round the British Isles.

We have arrived back at Falmouth after crossing our track .Thanks "Bluewater Raven" for taking us safely on an experience of a lifetime, now just the small task of getting back to Fleetwood for unloading then on to Cushendall . We will have covered the best part of 3000 miles

Mike Thornton

Left Suffolk for the run down to turn the corner into the English Channel.This turned into a great leg flat seas and lots of sunshine .Entered Brighton Marina ,never seen as much money on the water in my life! Well one more leg to go and then back "Up North" to feed the ferrets and whippets

Mike T

Beachy Head

Ther'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of dover

felixstowe

A Seahound on our tail

Goodbye Scotland,hello England

Left Stornoway had a long leg down to Newcastle, seas fairly kind following but a bit lumpy.
after 255 mile we were glad to step ashore and book into a Premier Inn ( we ate at 10-15!)
After the highs of Ireland and Scotland this was a bit of a boring run,we put into Peterhead for much needed loo's and a break. The harbourmaster said it was a bad place for 8 months of the year , the rest a the time it was bloody awefull.

Left the river Tyne and cruised down past North Yorkshire ,Norfolk and on to Suffolk saw some very contrasting scenery .we are now at Suffolk Yacht Marina and looking forward to turning the corner into the English Channel
Mike T

After leaving Oban we headed for the Kyle of Lockalsh for lunch. When we went under the Skye road bridge the waves really picked up an we had a rough crossing to Stromness on Lewis.

The fleet scattered and we were alone at Stromness. We set out to go round the North -West of Scotland past Cape Wrath and hit the biggest seas that any of us have been in before,good fun ,
but glad to be out of it,we estimate the wave height to be 25ft above the boat ,thank god redbays are built like brick s--te houses!

On to Stromness and glad to report all the boats are safe with little damage if a little wet

Mike T

Old man of Hoy, Scapa Flow,Orkney

A rough passage around the aptly named Cape Wrath

Feeling lonely at Stornaway

Sky road bridge

Oban

As you can see from the photos below i'm back on line. My English dongle didn't work in Ireland.
We have had a great trip so far the scenery has been stunning and we have all been an a steep learning curve . the boat whilst not being the fastest in the fleet has kept going . We have lost two boats so far , but as I write we are the only boat so far to have made it to Stornaway. The weather report for tomorrow (Saturday) is not great 20/24 miles per hour winds from the north and we have to face the top end of Scotland,better go easy on the single malt tonight. Will post as and when I can but you can follow other posts on "the great british rib rally" or "Biboa" web pages
Mike T

Gordon Compton in the self built "My pleasure 2"
great boat

At last i'm not the slowest boat in the fleet!

Trinity off the Aran Islands

part of the fleet after the bashing in the Celtic sea

Skellig at Fasnet

Ross's hidehole

Lundy Island Bristol Chanell

We have arrived safely in Falmouth and are berthed in Mylor Marina awaiting the arrival of the rest of the fleet. We had a great sail down from Milford Haven ,following seas all the way.We passed close to Lundy Island ,it's a lot bigger than I was expecting and very dramatic. We rounded Lands End with a fair offing ,it was a bit lumpy. Mylor is a lovely marina but we couldn't find any accommodation so we took a taxi into Falmouth and have treated ourselves to a couple of nights in a decent hotel,had a great night out in a local pub with two fabulous folk musicians,had to put Wayne to bed. I cannot post any photos yet i'm on the hotel computer. Off the Ireland tomorrow,Bring it on!!!

Well here is the motley crew about to leave Fleetwood. We had a good sail down to Milford Haven (following sea plenty of surfing). We stopped at Port Dinorwic in the Menai Straights for bags of chips for lunch. We are just waiting in the Lock to go into the Marina, lets see what delights Miford Haven can offer! then on in the morning to Falmouth ,with a quick look at Lundy island on the way.

Mike

Well we're all packed and stowed and ready to go .We will leave Fleetwood at 0900 and make for Milford Haven Via the Menai Straights. The wind should be behind us so we might do a bit of surfing! Bet we forget something vital, so long as it's not the credit cards. The weather forcast is looking quite good for the West coast of Ireland,I hope it's accurate because the scenery should be stunning round there

Mike