Race Leg 2
Cherbourg - Solent
The race start was at 1400 - 1415 hrs (BST) just off the port of Cherbourg.
Lord Nelson crossed the start line at 1401hrs. Tenacious crossed at 1409hrs.
Both are racing North in light Easterly winds with the ships very evenly matched.
Track the ships here
Watching them on the AIS tracker is quite interesting as they are currently about a mile and half apart and seem to alternate between who's the fastest. This is the first time they've had a 'drag race' as tactics for the first leg were very different. I'm not sure which way they'll be heading after the first waypoint, so we'll see the race unfold on the screen.
There's two finish lines, one just off the needles, the other off the Eastern Solent. I've no idea which ship is heading to which finish line, my gut feeling is the wind will push them to the Needles (Western Solent), but Captains do like to prove me wrong.
It's now 1830 on a Friday and I'm still in the office, so I'll sign off and go the the pub now and dream up some daft prizes for the ceremony on Sunday at 1200 in Southampton.
Cheers
Andy
Race Chairman (and thirstyoff to the pub bloke!)