Willy Bissainte and Benoit Reffe's Class 40, Tradition Guadeloupe were rightly proud as they crossed the finish line in the early hours of Sunday morning, having spent five nights at sea. A large contingent greeted Tradition Guadeloupe including Elizabeth Jordan, Commodore of the Antigua Yacht Club and Ian Loffhagen, RORC Racing manager. Every yacht competing in the RORC Caribbean 600 was welcomed back to Antigua, regardless of the time. Jonathon Cornelius and his ABSAR team was on call day and night through out the race and piloted every yacht into Falmouth Bay.

"We were never going to retire," said Willy Bissainte dockside. "The RORC Caribbean 600 is a big part of my training for the Route de Rhum, which I will be racing solo, later in the year. We always had at least a little wind, we kept going all of the time. It was great to have such a reception from the Antigua Yacht Club and the RORC. We will only be staying for a short while though, we must go back to work in Guadeloupe in just a few hours."

Willy Bissainte and his co-skipper Benoit Reffe picked up the Concise Trophy for the best Class 40 and the class trophy for IRC Zero. After a quick shower, the two sailors who defied the unusual weather, set sail for home.

The last yacht in the 2010 RORC Caribbean 600 was finally accounted for.

Although several boat are still racing, Richard Bamford's Swan 38 Dolfijn retired this morning which means that at tonight's prize giving Karl Kwok's Farr 80, Beau Geste, will be awarded the RORC Caribbean 600 trophy for best yacht overall under IRC, the line honours trophy for monohulls and Class trophy for IRC Super Zero.

"I have never cleaned up as well before so it feels really good," smiled Karl Kwok upon hearing the news. "There may have been a lack of wind but we kept on going all the time and when the wind was with us we had flat water and some fantastic sailing. Beau Geste has a great spirit, I have been friends with Gavin Brady for two decades and we sit down and decide who we will have on board. Friendship is very important to me, we choose the best sailors but also the right people. I have to say a big thank you to Gavin Brady and the two watch captains, Jonno Swain and David Endean but all of the crew did a great job.

Beau Geste races all over the world and I would like to invite all of the competitors we come across to do this race. The sailing is as good as can be and I have enjoyed it immensely."

Winner overall of the CSA division and second place overall under IRC is Richard Oland's Southern Cross 52, Vela Veloce.

"We had a close battle with Privateer who beat us by less than a minute in our last encounter, so beating them this time was a bit of payback," admitted Richard Oland, skipper of Vela Veloce. "Privateer are good sports and I am sure we will share a beer with them tonight. Although I have done a lot of cruising here, this is the first time I have raced in the Caribbean since the 60s. The boat comes from New Brunswick, Canada and it amazes me why people don't come down here and enjoy these water.

With heavy hearts, the crew of GBR90 40 degrees announced its retirement from the RORC 600 Caribbean race at 0800 on Friday, 26 February 2010 off the North coast of Guadeloupe with some 140 miles to go.

Another mariner wrote of the wind that, "to be rich is a fine thing, to be poor is a fine thing, but to be prospectively rich, that is a torment." Such a notion summarises our last five days: we spent a fine and glorious two days in rich winds, a calm and engaged day in poor winds, but we have since been tormented by the prospect of rich air amidst our windless poverty.

Last evening passed with more great beauty, as we made a sunset round of La Desiderade and began what we hoped would be a 90 mile run North West to Barbuda. After a number of fruitless but energetic sail changes, we had leisure to enjoy the splendour of the evening, as the sailing (or floating, more properly put) did not demand the strictest attention. Short-lived gusts of 6-7 knots gave our optimism cause to ignore the more common 2-3 knot wind speed average. When rosy dawn awoke, her brilliance reflected cleanly across a glassy sea. This utter calm made clear that we would not finish the race before Sunday or Monday. This reality, a fate leading some to consider putting Michael out to sea with an albatross about his neck, was as unacceptable as the alternative of retirement. Caught between our own emotional Scylla and Charybdis, the crew held together and in fine spirits decided as a team to retire. This challenging decision gave way to much banter, raucous humour and a soul and body cleansing swim in the deep and still azure below. The stunningly clear water (1500 feet beneath us) gave a view of the beautiful keel and rudders of 40 Degrees, and the sight of such a fine boat lying so motionless was grave indeed.

Thus determined, we have begun to motor home to Falmouth Harbour and the warm welcome of the peerless RORC team and the embrace of the homely Antigua Yacht Club. Niall has kept our spirits up by describing menus of future meals that will hopefully best our biscuits and peanuts fare of last evening. Inevitably, our focus must move to shore matters, such as where to see Ireland beat England at Twickenham tomorrow and how many rum punches it takes to transition from amusing companion to slobbering idiot at tonight's prize-giving party

Our first task ashore will be to sign up for the next running of this magnificent race and to thank everyone who so kindly made our participation possible. Our boat captain, our mermaid, Miranda Merron, is top of our list of admiration and appreciation for her supreme skills, endless patience and constant good humour. We are also grateful to Peter Harding, who kindly lent us this stunning vessel, and to Sam Goodchild who had her in immaculate condition.

Thank you to you all, our faithful supporters and interested readers.

Congratulations to the first-to-finish Region Guadeloupe and Beau Geste and to all competitors - finishers especially.

Thank you especially to Niall Dowling, our inspiring leader, and John Patrick Cunningham, our poet and philosopher. You have proved true the saying of La Rouchfoucauld, we think it was, that '... the land divides, the sea unites'.

Michael, Niall, John, Miranda

We had another long day today, the bulk of it spent in French territorial waters on the South coast of Guadeloupe. We had a visit from a smart naval vessel to prove it. We left you yesterday morning after doing our four pirouettes in the vortex currents off Les Saintes in Guadeloupe's South West corner. Two more 360s and 24 hours later we have left the South coast at the island of La Desirade and are heading for our penultimate corner, the second rounding of the North Sails inflatable mark, just South of Antigua's sister island, Barbuda, 90 miles to the North. Thence, it will be to Redonda and the finish at Antigua's Fort Charlotte.

We have had more challenging light airs, a mixture of beating, running and plain doing nothing - waiting for wind to relieve us from the merciless sun - and the pain of watching the boats catch us from behind, including our Class 40 sole remaining rival, the two-man Tradition Guadeloupe. At one stage, we had been 22 miles ahead of her. She has a formidable reputation and her crew and auto pilot have clearly been working hard.

Other low moments included the calculation of an estimated time to finish of 12 March - a fortnight hence! This was the result of the GPS's extrapolation after a slow hour and has triggered a discussion our food and drink supplies, on the fate of the prize giving party and our rum punches, on the obligations awaiting us on our originally scheduled returns home and on whether we should join our other rival, Ocean Warrior, as one of a number of retirals. John Patrick has a speaking commitment in Cambridge on Saturday night and a Friday night flight to meet it. Niall must be back at work on Monday - the FTSE has taken a dive in his absence. Boydy, unsympathetically, says that he never retires... Miranda is a mermaid and blissful at sea. Meeting adjourned whilst we await the arrival of Miranda's improved weather prediction.

We note that the sailing instructions state that there is no time limit and no facility to shorten the course. We speculate about the possibility of a future discretionary course - allowing the Race Committee to drop or add whole countries as course marks - ' ...it's too light, forget the second circumnavigation of Antigua' or ' there's plenty of wind, shall we throw in Barbados, that'd be fun'.

Our highlights have included our still delicious Fusion freeze-dried food and yesterday's communion with some of the ocean's great creatures - a mother whale and her baby and a flock (correct collective noun?) of flying fish. The restless high-powered intellectuals on the crew have devised a unique system to overcome the vessel's prohibition on the use of the head and to obviate the need for the bucket and the less than attractive Tesco decomposable bags. This system, first prototyped during a cruise in Turkey, is not ideal breakfast reading but even the redoubtable Miranda is impressed, admiring the additional bidet benefits.

News trickles through from the outside world - of snow and no snow, of Ireland's shedding of Cabinet ministers, and, sadly, of the deaths of two very special people, of Sean in Ireland, son of RORC member Elaine and Stephen Haughey, and of Phyllis Mc Knight of Barbados, at the age of 96. We take time to send messages of love and sympathy.

We leave you on our fourth (unplanned) night, with still some 200 miles to go beating at 6 knots in a lifting breeze that, we hope, will allow us to free sheets for Redonda and to catch our close rival. Our track shows a pretty chain bracket to record a significant wind shift and tack. Tonight, Castor and Pollux, guide us North.

Michael Boyd020026 February 2010

Our high points have included our communion with the sea's creatures - a whale and baby this morning and flying fish tonight. Once again, the beautiful sky has unwrapped it treasures and Castor and Pollux have been guiding us tonight.

BLESMA stands for British Limbless Ex Service Men's Association. Based in the United Kingdom, BLESMA helps with the rehabilitation of servicemen and women proving there is life after amputation.

15 members of BLESMA are crew on board OnDeck's Farr 65, Spirit of Juno. The boat has not been modified to accommodate the crew, they have had to adapt to life at sea. Racing a Farr 65 requires a considerable amount of raw muscle power and a great deal of stamina; Shifting sails around and operating the pedestal grinders is back breaking work, even in light airs.

A key goal for BLESMA revolves around amputee helping amputee and sailing big boats is all about teamwork. For the crew of Spirit of Juno, the RORC Caribbean 600 is an ideal way to develop self-confidence and personal satisfaction. Few of the crew have much sailing experience but they are competing as a unit, sharing the burden, making the difficult task of racing over 600 miles achievable.

It is worth remembering that as servicemen, they were physically very active and racing in the RORC Caribbean 600 allows them to carry on competing in sport on a level playing field. They are taking on a challenge and getting a buzz from sailing in one of the most spectacular places on the planet.

The RORC Caribbean 600 attracts every type of entry from all over the world; family owned performance cruisers to high performance custom boats with professional crew. All are attracted to the challenge, the satisfaction and sense of achievement of taking part in a great yacht race. The BLESMA team is no different.

During our dual with Dolphin this afternoon south of Les Saintes some of our crew were seen giving them a helping hand.

Lets hope the wind holds overnight as we couldn't stand another wind less night

Danilo Salsi's Swan 90, DSK Pioneer Investments finished the RORC Caribbean 600 on 25th February 2010 at 11:25:41.

The magnificent Swan was the second monohull home and in the light conditions they were never going to beat Beau Geste to Antigua.

"It was more Mediterranean than Caribbean," commented Danilo Salsi , "because the wind was much lighter and the wind shadow effects are something that we have to deal with in the Mediterranean. It has been completely different to last year but we have enjoyed it as much. The 2nd RORC Caribbean 600 has been just as challenging but in a very different way."

DSK Pioneer Investment's Crew: Danilo Salsi, Lucas Brun, Niky Mosca, Vittorio Rosso, Andrea Scarabelli, Max Cavallo, Saverio Cigliano, Corrado Rossignoli, Alex Franci, Francesco Mongelli, Ricardo de Magistris, Andrea Casale, Mauro Melandri, Mike Brady, Fabio Pedretti, Claudio Garagagila

Day four of the RORC Caribbean 600 and the crew of Region Guadeloupe and Beau Geste will, no doubt, be trying to catch up on lost sleep having finished late last night. Meanwhile the yachts still racing are eager to make good progress. The good news for them this morning is that normal service has resumed. A moderate easterly breeze has developed.

Karl Kwok's Beau Geste is currently leading overall but it will be some time before the yacht from Hong Kong will know if they can claim the double win and add a handicap win to their monohull line honours.

The two canting keel Cookson 50s have had a tremendous battle around the course and their private duel is still very close. However, it is highly unlikely that Lee Overlay Partners or Privateer will finish in time to challenge Beau Geste for the overall title.

We are approaching the southern tip of Guadeloupe having suffered a very frustrating windless night only to be passed early this morning by Dolphin carrying her kite full and drawing with wind astern until she reached us and then parked. The wind is now from the south force 3 and we are screaming along at 5 knots over the ground !!!. Whoopee. These Caribbean trades are perfect for sailing so we hear! So far they have been as elusive as Lord Lucan.As the night progressed we followed the results page watching our position slip from 5th to 14th as the lareger boats cleared the south of Guadeloupe.

We have just completed the long 160 mile beat to the island of Les Saintes off the SW corner of the French Department of Guadeloupe. Our spanking SSW breeze of most of Wednesday has been replaced by virtually no wind since sunset and we have been inching forward or and stopped for prolonged periods. At one stage we did four 360s when trapped in a strong eddy. What a contrast with the regular 12-15 knot winds of the first two days!We must now sail the best part of 50 miles NE to reach the next significant corner of La Desirade, passing Marie Galante and the nature reserve of Iles de la Petite Terre. Last year, sailors faced a long tough beat into 25 knot winds and large seas on this leg.Sailors don't enjoy these light conditions - they are frustrating and enervating. We are discombobulated by the long nights and our two hours on/two hours off rolling watch system. We are exhausted after the exhilaration and hard work of the first two days and disappointed that it cannot be sustained. We know that offshore races are won and lost in these trying night-time conditions and we are preserving our good humour and patience until stronger breezes return.

054025 February 2010Michael Boyd

Finishing 25th February 00 01 13
Elapsed Time: 2 Days 11 Hours 21 Minutes 13 Seconds

This was the first time Karl Kwok has sailed in the Caribbean and by the smile on his face it won't be the last. "I really enjoyed it, great sailing except for the long beat to Guadeloupe which meant we had no chance of beating Leopard's record but this is a great race and well run by the Royal Ocean Racing Club."

Helmsman Gavin Brady was very impressed with the race course as he explained dockside. "This race has something for everyone, certainly a race course where you have to concentrate all the time. I sailed in shorts and T-shirt the whole race, even though the wind strength got up to 20 knots. That's something you don't say very often after a 600 mile classic."

Beau Geste crew:
Karl Kwok, Magarete Chan, Cowen Chu, Bill Lo, Gavin Brady, Cameron Ward, Guy Endean, Heather Flick, Ryan Houston, Andy Meiklejohn, Jan Majer, Jamie Gale, James Baxter, David Endean, Jono Swain, Justin Clougher, Steve Calder, Matt Black Rodney Daniel, Peter Pendleton, Chris Larson, Alaster Campbell, Tom Addis

Claude Thelier & John Burnie's ORMA 60 trimaran, Region Guadeloupe, finish RORC Caribbean 600 on Wednesday 24th February 18:49 03

ELAPSED TIME: 2 Days 5 Hours 59 Min 03 Seconds

John Burnie, skipper of Region Guadeloupe spoke dockside in Falmouth Harbour. "This year's race was more difficult in many respects, especially tactically because of the wind coming from the South. In 2009 we rarely deviated from the rhumb line but in this race we were constantly having to alter course to avoid wind shadow from islands and areas devoid of wind. We got caught in the wind shadow of St. Kitts and Beau Geste caught us up, we were swapping gybes with them for some time before they too hit a quiet patch and we wriggled free".

Day three of the RORC Caribbean 600 and Richard Bamford's Swan 38, Dolfijn is the new overall leader. The elegant Swan 38 has classical lines but Dolfijn has some excellent racing pedigree including; the 2008 Rolex Middle Sea Race and the 2009 ARC.

The majority of the fleet, including Dolfijn, is unusually on the wind, heading towards Guadeloupe. This morning they had a southerly headwind of about 14 knots but the wind is forecast to fall later today and rounding Guadeloupe may well prove to be a critical part of this race.

At 0800 local time, Region Guadeloupe had rounded La Desirade on the South East tip of Guadeloupe and was heading back towards Antigua at speeds of over 20 knots. They were135 miles from finishing the RORC Caribbean 600 and are conserving both food and water for the extra time at sea. The giant multihull should be back in Antigua by tonight.

ETA somewhere around midnight at this stage - a bit slow at the moment but that should improve with distance from Guadeloupe.

Yep, bad memories of the parking lot were whisked away quickly with a nice 18-20kt reach across the bottom to Desirade - that and the sight of others doing it just as tough or tougher than we had it. It was very hard to deal with the corner at Les Saints - very few options of how to attack it other than close your eyes, plunge in and wiggle through as best you can with a rough sketch of what you think is happening with the breeze in the back of your head to make it easier to make the decisions as they thrust themselves upon you!!

Back into some spinnaker work now as we come up to Antigua for the 2nd time this race - will have to keep an eye out for any swimmers on the boat!

Tom

We have had a good night progressing at around 8 knots on a course of 160, clearing Antigua to the west. Weather reports suggest a wind shift to the west later today then going light which will favour the larger boats again. Saw two more whales but no further sighting of Doljphin since St barts!!! We can now see a Coyote though!! This is turning into more of a Wild life safari!!

Approaching the saintes after 140m dead nose beat Looking forward to goingnothh Adrian Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

We left you last night with dolphins, somewhere off St Kitts. Since then, we have been busy on our sightseeing tour (thank you to RORC for providing such a scenic course!). We continued our downiwnd run to Saba, arriving just after dawn, and rounded quite close to the spectacular, steep-sided island. The peak, Mt Scenery, is over 900 metres high, which creates quite a wind shadow. We were allowed to pass without slowing down too much.The next leg to St Barts was a fast reach, and once past the southeast corner, we were treated to some exhilirating downwind sailing, with the wind gusting to 25 knots from time to time, flying along at 15 knots to St Martin, which we rounded to starboard. The final mark in the northern part of the race course is the island of Tintamarre. All good things come to an end, and it was here that we began the long upwind slog to Guadeloupe.We are now about half way, and the wind has gone into the southwest, so our course to Guadeloupe is quite respectable at the moment. However, the wind has dropped, which is hampering progress as the boat slams gently into the oncoming waves. We must avoid the wind shadow and volcanic ash of Montserrat.We are not sure of the whereabouts of our fellow Class40 playmates. A few miles away, we hope.

Miranda Merron030024.02.2010

0300 on Wednesday as we beat South into light winds. Earlier the pressure was up to 15 to 17kts and EH01 was trucking, but in the lighter stuff we have now we've slowed quite a bit. The crew are tired from lack of sleep, its so hot below that only around this time of night can anyone bear to be down here, so they rest as best as they can on the rail.We had a small drama around the top of St Maarten when a sea cock pipe failed and we took on a fair bit of water before we found the problem. A few hot sweaty hours followed pumping the boat out so as well as warm below she's also damp; not a pleasant combination!Still we are upbeat and enjoying the sailing immensly, although we have lost sight of our friend the J109.

Going on deck to cool down now....

Andy.

Please don't reply but send a new message instead. Likewise, don't send attachments with your messages. Thank you. We will post regular updates at http://blog.mailasail.com/EH01

Things are a little different for Tom Addis this February. In 2009, Tom was in huge seas, monster waves and freezing cold temperatures, on route to Qingdao, in the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race.

"We were a man down with Bouwe confined to a bunk and we were taking a pounding. It was the most brutal conditions I have ever experienced,"  commented Tom.

Back in February 2009, it was a case of survival mode but with impeccable boat handling, true grit and determination, Telefonica Blue made it to China. The Spanish entry was not only intact but also winners of Leg Four of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009.

Right now, Tom is about as far from Qingdao as you can get without being in outer space. The Australian navigator is aboard Karl Kwok's Farr 80, Beau Geste racing in the RORC Caribbean 600. The race starts and finishes in Antigua, after 605 miles of ocean sailing. There are 14 tropical islands on the race track and warm Trade Winds supply some fantastic conditions, both day and night.