Below are stories in the SendtoNews archives that indicate Sailing as their primary category:
You may be interested to hear of the events of a short sailing trip that was made from Plymouth to Southampton on one of the BT Global Challenge yachts. These boats are designed for sailing around the world including through the notorious Southern Ocean.
Anyway, the crew arrived at Plymouth docks to the news that there was a storm gathering pace and heading in the direction of the south coast. As a result many of the 30 to 40 foot yachts were making for the safety of the harbor.
However, in view of the conditions the BT Global Challenge yacht is designed for it left the safety of the harbor and as soon it crossed the break water the conditions deteriorated. The vessel was crewed by amateurs with varying degrees of sailing experience supported by a professional skipper.
As darkness set in, the storm intensified and the wind speed increased substantially resulting in huge waves breaking over the deck. At one point, the helmsman looked behind me to see a 30 foot wave approaching the sailing boat and braced himself for the onslaught of water. However, as the wave reached the boat the wave went underneath the vessel causing the sailing yacht to rise and then drop into the trough below.
Apparently, many of the crew were sea-sick but all still felt the trip was the most awesome experience of their lives. As it turned out the crew were later informed by the skipper that they had been through a force 9 gale.
