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John Mactaggart, Tony Leighton and skipper Mike Foreman. To buy: c40blu01 |
HAVE you heard the one about the Englishman, the Irishman and the Scotsman? The joke is on us because on Tuesday morning when the rain was bouncing off the roads in Campbeltown and people were putting out sandbags as parts of the town began to flood, the three were setting sail from Campbeltown Loch for the warmth of the West Indies.
On a wretchedly wet morning, skipper Mike Foreman, the Irishman, aged 63, from Carradale, and his crew Scotsman John Mactaggart of Campbeltown and England’s Tony Leighton from Grogport began their voyage south to join the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers.
‘We’re having what we called a ‘three-quarters’ life crisis’ and we’re off to the West Indies,’ said Mike.
The three friends will cross the Bay of Biscay, head down the coast of Portugal, and then on to the Canary Islands. Once there they will join the annual transatlantic rally, which starts this year on November 23 in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. ‘The Rally is the largest trans-ocean sailing event in the world,’ said Mike. This year 225 yachts have entered from all over the world and Blue Tarn has the honour of being the second smallest yacht in the event.’
Satellite Phone
Blue Tarn is a Nicholson 35 Yacht and the three have been working hard getting her ready for the voyage. She has extra water capacity, and a new engine and a satellite phone have been installed and she has a new sail.
‘The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers has very strict safety and equipment rules and all boats have to comply,’ said Mike.
At 35 ft in length it is going to be a bit snug for a crew of three on such a long voyage. Together the yachts all set sail for their Caribbean destination of Rodney Bay in St Lucia, one of the most beautiful islands in the Lesser Antilles. It is a 2700 nautical mile passage on the NE trade wind route ‘It should take us between 21 and 28 days,’ said Mike. They plan to return by air to the UK for Christmas and the New Year. Mike added: ‘We will then return to the Caribbean which we intend to fully explore before sailing back via Bermuda and the Azores, arriving back in Campbeltown in June 2009.’ Their families are also thinking of flying out to join them and if this week’s weather is anything to go by, it should make up their minds to go.
