3 March 2010
The Great British RIB Rally – Scorpions make up most of the fleet.
Eleven RIBS set out from the new Portland marina at the start of The Great British RIB Rally on Saturday 12th June. Not all would complete the 12-day circumnavigation of the British Isles that would make it the World’s longest endurance RIB event covering nearly 2000nm, but all anticipated a great experience along the way.
The Rally was the brainchild of Patrick Byrne, the owner of Lymington-based Scorpion RIBs and a long distance RIB enthusiast. He managed the Rally in co-operation with BIBOA. The event was open to all RIBs over 7.5m and from the initial 29 expressions of interest only 11 made it to the start. Those on the start line were an 11.5m Goldfish, two 11m Redbay cabin RIBs; one 10m Wahoo, six Scorpions from 10m to 8.1m and a home built RIB on an 8m Osprey Hull.
The Goldfish retired on reaching Ireland, the 8.1m Scorpion retired having completed the Irish leg when its 250hp Evinrude engine gave up the ghost. The 10m Wahoo , Cool Running , sustained damaged to its bow and retired after two days but managed to rejoin the rally for the final two days. Evolution a 9.2m Scorpion, was delayed for two days with an injury to its Skipper and had to put into Cork but caught up and rejoined the fleet in Bangor.
Every day threw up a new challenge, not least the weather that proved a good mix of rough with the smooth. Fortunately the weather allowed the fleet safe passage around the wild and wonderful West Coast of Ireland and we even enjoyed some beautiful sunshine in the Western Isles. But, needless to say, not all was plain sailing. The passage from Falmouth to Baltimore in Ireland, with nearly 200nm of open sea, was into deteriorating head winds and growing seas. Despite a 0630 start, some boats didn’t reach Baltimore until 2200hrs. The North West corner of Scotland and Cape Wrath were in fine form, with the first boat around Cape Wrath Bluewater Raven (11m Redbay) finding itself in 25 ft breaking waves coming from all directions! Mike Thornton, the Skipper, said,
“ In 50 years on boats, I have never seen or experienced a sea like it. Waves came from all directions and we thought we might be knocked flat, thank goodness we were in a RIB.” Fortunately his warning to the rest of the fleet, saw the bulk of the boats following close behind and giving the Cape a good three miles clearance. Unlike with the trip to Ireland, the weather was improving and the last boat that followed four hours later managed to run actually quite close to the Cape.
A rally of this nature is a unique experience for all taking part. Every day was different and new friendships were forged and, with such a tight timetable, such as the 500nm run from the Orkneys to Suffolk in two days, there is very little respite for the RIBs and the crews. The two 11m Redbays performed admirably but with a slower cruising speed than the rest of the fleet, they either left earlier or arrived later each day. The rest of the fleet was capable of cruising at 35 knots in reasonable weather but the stars of the trip, which may not be surprising considering their outstanding track record and their growing reputation as an outstanding offshore powerboat - were the three Scorpion Stings.
Seahound, built in 2002 and current holder of the London to Monte Carlo and Round the British Isles world speed record, did not miss a beat and the crew slept and bathed on board every night. They also carried the most cold beer which they frequently distributed amongst the rest of the boats. Grey Ghost, a 2009 stepped hull 10m Sting designed with endurance racing in mind, was hard to hold back. The boat was consistently faster especially in the rough and often running at over 40 knots when the rest were down to 30 knots, and interestingly using less fuel than the standard hull. Finally, Trinity, a 2009 standard production Scorpion Sting, which had secured 4th in the 2009 Cowes-Torquay-Cowes powerboat race only a few months earlier.
Bright days on the West of Ireland, and in the Western Isles brought out porpoises in their hundreds dancing around and chasing the RIBs. There was even the odd whale, one which very nearly surfaced directly underneath Grey Ghost, and of course we enjoyed watching the thousands of seabirds, Gannets, Puffins and Terns.
Safety for the event was designed to rely on the experience of BIBOA in organising many RIB cruises and the vast experience among those on the rally; RIBs buddied with each other and everyone generally kept a look out. Daily briefings supported the event, providing information on sites of interest and weather reports but with some nights the fleet split between ports, information had to be relayed by phone. In Baltimore, for example the weather had split the fleet between, Baltimore, Kinsale and Cork.
However good the photos, nothing is better than being there. The Rally was demanding on both RIBs and crew but it is a special and personal achievement to have rounded the British Isles in an open boat.
