Longest leg so far

Due to likely problems of getting through the last of the locks, competitors were required to be on our boats this morning at 6am. It was a thoughtlessly early time for people about to race.

Once we could get into the lock, we moored alongside Garmin. The crew were eating sponsored porridge and taking pictures. Fine for them, but we didn't start the race until 10am. For us, we had a long time to wait and that was frustrating.

Eventually the race started. We decided to begin at the back of the fleet so we could get a better idea about the way the slower boats performed. But we were impatient to get going properly, yet once we did, the motion on Black Gold became really awkward.

Usually against the wind but downhill, the ride on Black Gold is quite good. Yet this morning, she is lurching about. It's worrying when right at the start things go badly. You wonder what's about to happen - on top of the very discomforting motion throwing you about.

However, once round the corner, the sea became much calmer and our jolting passage eased. The sea adopted a large swell and then, as we approached Edinburgh, a more traditional chop.

We saw a few boats struggling in that moody sea. Swipewipes, so effective in the Irish Sea, and Team Jersey, were travelling mysteriously very slowly. And from RB3 class, John Caulcutt in Carbon Neutral, was having our Optimax problems.

There must be a fundamental design error which causes the oil level to go down in the engine-mounted reserve oil tank. So like Carbon Neutral, we stopped and removed the housing and bled it through ourselves.

Considering that Mark from E P Barrus had kindly checked it only yesterday, this can't be right.

Bothered by the quirkiness, perhaps, we made a slight navigation error just before the finish which left us fighting both wind and sea to get into the Firth. Boats which ran along the shore enjoyed calm water and less upwind work.

Five hours racing a small and light Rib can be very hard work. It's hard to imagine how challenging it is if you haven't experienced it. Even drinking from a water bottle is almost impossible.

So Roger and I arrived in Edinburgh a little worn ... but after an hour with the Sports Physio we returned to good shape, ready for our run down to Newcastle tomorrow.

The results put us 3rd in our class today. Nothing like that sort of news for toning up enthusiasm for the next leg.

- Gavin