Hello all

Landship discovery is on it's travels again to where ever the Ice is good enough for the European  DN Championships  at present they look like they will be west of Tallin in Etonia. As you know in ice sailing that could change. As normal all the packing is done including the Kitchen sink etc etc. the day before I was planning to leave I realised that the new phone I had had not been used on the laptop. A quick scrabble round in the bottom draw for those CD's that  comes with the phone had the software loaded. 

As well as having the DN I have a new "ice" Version of the Potty yacht to unveil. It has wheels as well so at least I can buzz around any car parks, the ice runners ae dinky little things, less than a foot long. A good sail on the ice should prove if it is enough. At least it should provide a talking point with the DN sailors

Chris Williams is already over in Sweden after having six windless days with the British Juniors on Lake Siljan.  Gareth is on the ferry Newcastle to Gothenburg that sailed Monday 15.00.  Gareth was originally booked on the Wednesday ferry, Harwich to Esjberg with Neil Marsden. Going that way through Denmark to Stockholm meant that there was not much time to get to the ferry to Tallin. Neil hopefully has his dad to help with the driving so Gareth moved the crossing to Monday.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 - Time 15.36:
The Trip from Home to Newcastle was not pleasant as it was thick fog most of the way. Leaving 90 minutes early was just as well as the traffic was busy on the A1 north. There were some nasty accidents south bound and on the radio heard that there were problems northbound at Catterick.  Jumping off the A1 and taking the A19 proved worthwhile as the traffic was lighter and the fog not too bad near the coast.

Arrived in Newcastle with time to spare. With the tickets in my hand I gave Tallink a call to book the ferry Stockholm to Tallin for Wednesday night.  That was fun and games as you have to pay two days in advance, explaining that you are on a british ferry did seem to help, as the Swedish girl said "but you have to pay" they don't take Visa so she said go to the bank or send a fax, Well banks and fax machines are in short supply on the River Tyne so eventually she realised that I was on the end of a mobile phone holding to the ship's railings and that was that. So I got my booking number and promised to make best speed to Stockholm.

The weather looks depressing outside as leaving  Newcastle you were surrounded by fog. Kristiansand in Norway was Dull overcast and misty and no wind!! I am writing this up on the Kristiansand/ Gothenburg leg and it's just the same out at sea.  I suspect it will be similar on arrival. I then have to decide to Glogg it to Stockholm or spend the night at some road hostelry.


WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26 - Update 12.45:
Came of the ferry into the Gothenburg rush hour traffic, was planning on going on the E6 then cutting across on the E40 but ended up on the E20 to Stockholm.  As it went dark the fog closed in as well and it was a horrible drive in thick fog as far as Mariestad then it was patchy. The new lights on Disco are now fully tested. As the bit of masking tape on the dip beam light (they throw the light to the left) reduce the light the front fog light really cam into play. Depending what traffic was around and the density of the fog I could switch from a amber light to a blue/white light, after the fog thinned after Mariestad I could use the three big lights on the front, they can be switched from full on to a dip beam, but the spread is really good as the each bulb is 130 watts, you just have to remember to turn them off well before you meet anything as the poor bugger will be blinded.

Made my way to Orberbro and as it was 8.30pm decided to book in a Scandic hotel as the eyes were getting tired from the foggy drive.

Suitably refreshed it was down for Breakfast at 7am and the obligatory doggy bag.  Back in the E20 made good time in hazy sunshine to Stockholm and the Ferry terminal. Paid my money and made my way To Hans Adolfson's house in Arsta, southern Stockholm.  Driving alone in a foreign city now has no fears for me as with route 66 down to street level I am able to navigate via the GPS and follow the roads to Han's front door. Sure has help saves stopping and fiddling with maps, even if you had one detailed enough. GPS only let me down once when the power lead fell out and at a critical junction the little arrow on the screen disappeared. A quick pull in at a service staion had me upand running again.

So we are of for some lunch.

SATURDAY, MARCH 1:
Hello all
Not much to report as there was no wind!

SUNDAY, MARCH 2:
Went down on the ice to get the yachts ready for a midday start. With no wind it did not look good anyway. There was a committee meeting for each country, since our representative (Chris Williams ) was on his way home I was voted as a coop as the UK rep unopposed after a quick show of hands from Neil and Robin. At the meeting there was a discussion about the safety on the ice as the snow on top covered a thin layer of soft ice that made steering very difficult. Also talked about moving the ice sailing to Poland or Sweden. Poland was possible at Gdank but a 16 hour drive would put many off and Sweden meant a ferry crossing. Various discussions ensued and finally Sweden came out best so Hans Aldofson had the difficult decision to make as time was absolutely critical as it had to made so that we could get the evening ferry from Fallin to Stockholm. There was 80 car spaces left, just about enough for the whole fleet. The ferry from Paldiski to Sweden was full at 21.00 so we packed up and back to the hotel to pack up. At the ferry terminal there was chaos and mayhem as a fair few pilots were unable to get on the ferry, one hapless fella who will remain nameless was arguing the fare while another 8 bookings went though, them time was up and the boat was full. Hans and I only just made it back to Fallin with 10 minutes to spare, we had managed to phone and change our booking that was originally for Friday, but it took 20 minutes on the phone to do it. Those pilots who missed the ferry have to drive back and forward between the two ferry terminals in the hope of getting on a ferry, other wise another option is to sail to Finland and take a Finnish ferry to Stockholm. At least the sailing has been put off till Wednesday so it should give enough time for the Russians to get their visas and the others stranded to get over to Sweden. Seems there is good black ice on the sea near Bjorvik some 18 miles east of Stockholm on the rout 222, that could change!! I have never seen such thick ice in the Baltic, the ship sailing at night had it's search lights on looking for leads, had a few beers and watched the dancing girls!! Took a few photos of fellow ice sailors and slept till.

MONDAY, MARCH 3: (my birthday)
Hey party/party!! Made good celebrations on the ferry as we had the pleasure of gaining 1 hour from estoian time to Swedish. The ferry arrived 10am Hans Aldofson was with me so we drove to the new site for ice. It's on route 222 then turn off at Gustavsberg to Brunn arriving at Bjorkvik. Car parking might be a problem tomorrow when the rest arrive from Estonia. Also the accommodation is sparse as it mainly a summer house place, the few hotels are filling very quickly and they are not cheap. I am in Hotel Bla Blom Gustavsberg, a nice family hotel www.blablom.se There were 63 rooms at a conference Hotel Djuronaset also room for campers but it's a fair drive from the ice as it's on another peninsular. We went there with Hans to find out info, I collared the internet to upload some pics, it's a expensive hotel but has all the goodies, swim pool etc. the other hotel is in Nacka, I expect the grapevine to be singing as people scrabble for rooms, what the second group arriving from Estonia do tomorrow I do not know! From there it was a drive back to the ice to inform the guys there of the options and prices. I then drove Hans back to Stockholm and his home I then brushed the rush hour at 5.30pm and navigated my way with the PC moving map and GPS, arrived at hotel feeling knackered from all the driving. The reports are coming back from the ice that there is good ice out in the archipelago, miles and miles of it. Mind you they have been reporting on the radio that a ice breaker has made a channel out there somewhere and was warning the long distance skaters in case they got cut off.

At least we have no racing tomorrow, weds midday is the action. The logistics of moving such an events to another country across the Baltic makes the mind boggle, thank god for mobile phones and follow the leader, which with Hans in the car was me in our group, main problem is getting info from the sailing site about accommodation and so on, my mini office came in useful as I printed out directions and a map in the car deck before we left so it could be photocopied on board so thos with maps could find the ice. At the ice drawing pins and tape left the info on the side of a large metal rubbish bin that is used as a roundabout at the end of the road. Hope to update Tuesday.

TUESDAY, MARCH 4:
No need to have an alarm clock! The lady owner makes here own bread, so the smell of freshly baked bread wafting though the floor boards past your nose wakes you up. Down at breakie it is good stuff as well, slighty sweet, but went down well with some ham and cheese, fresh orange juice and decent coffee that did not dissolve the spoon.

Another day of drama, quiet a few Germans and the Brits, Neil & Robin Marsden had to move out of the hotel because of a pre-booked conference. Think the Brits have gone to the other big conference hotel some 40 miles, there were only 9 rooms left out of the 60 the other night. Hans has found an ex-prison that is being converted for 300kr a night in Stockholm, not sure if Neil has gone for a night in clink or go for the manicure, massage, sauna and swim!

Talking about clink, nearly landed up there myself this morning, was up and about, had breaky and had to wait till 10am for the banks to open, I decided to drive down and was pulled in the local police, usual routine, paper/papers and blow into that! Came out clean (shouldn't I?) then had quite a long chat about ice sailing to them. Finally made it to the bank and was solvent again. Half hour drive to the ice and I thought I found a nice parking place just off the harbour road in some deep snow (sort of thing LandRovers like) walked through some reeds and onto the harbour, Hans turned up and his ear was finally unstuck from his mobile phone, the local ranger turned up and while Hans was asking if there were any toilets available we were told that we could not park there. I found another safe place in deep snow in the yacht club, any 2 wheel drive car would be in real trouble. I then collected my yacht and finished rigging it and off I went out onto the ice, think wife will think I am bananas as it is over a week of travelling from the UK and this is my first decent sail!!

The ice was worth the extra trip, good black ice and enough to put a large course on and be capable of shifting course if the light southerly changes, sailed a fair few miles and had a max speed of 33mph. at 3.30 decided to go and have a late lunch, good job I did as what little wind there was died, arrived back at the car to find my thermos had failed, somewhere the stainless had leaked and the insulation lost, so only hand warm soup!

Back at the hotel now editing the pictures, having a tinny and the hotel has something that had four legs and is woolly for dinner. Will let you know how I get on.!!
Time 18.42

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5:
With little wind it was a drag out to the ice for some. First race - Bronze Fleet (that's us) - started at midday in a light wind. 16 minute timeout on 3 laps. Made it in 12 minutes. Winds would shift on the course seeming to favour the middle. The wind turned for Silver Fleet and the course had to be relaid. Wind filled in a little then some more for the last two Gold Fleet races of the day which were around 4.30pm. The ice although nice and flat and in good condition seemed to have a softish top layer, I was told it was the salt in ice coming to the surface. I took the lead from some of the better guys and dulled my runners a little as that seemed to what should be done. Damned if I know but we need to watch and listen if we want to get anywhere. I left the ice after seeing Ron Sherry win the second Gold Fleet of the day, just as well as the sun descending in the west took the wind with it.

Wednesday's race results
BRONZE FLEET - First Race and Qualifier:
Could not find results (sorry)

SILVER FLEET - First Race and Qualifier: 1st C6
2nd C36
3rd O3
4th O3
5th C46
6th G666
7th S510
8th P74
9th G936
10th P234

GOLD FLEET - Race 1:
1st G107
2nd S580
3rd P679
4th C6
5th G666
6th H313
7th S5
8th H633
9th P114
10th US44

GOLD FLEET - Race 2:
1st US44 Ron Sherry
(Unable to say more as I left for hotel - half an hour's drive from race site!)

THURSDAY, MARCH 6:
Haken Andersson txted me to say we would have more wind today, about 12 metres per second. He was spot on and it made the racing very very fast. Even getting out on to the racing course was fun. The boat was going like hell and you had all the rope out and the front runner was none too happy steering. Physically stopping in a controlled manner was hard, add to that that the ice was rock hard and felt fast. The dulled runners went out an in came some sharper runners to at least try and get some control. Think Neil was having the same problems. We decided from our experience and wish to live another day that racing for us might not be a good idea. A couple of runs out were frightening. Upwind was fine but turning down and doing over 80km and hour trying to get some steerage was a brown trouser event.

At least the race committee asked us at the briefing if we wanted to race, think most were non too keen, so we went back to the cars and waited a few hours. I the afternoon the Race Committee decided we would race so out we went and raced. For me it was on the start line and hope for the best. Sailing up wind to the top mark was fine, then you turned down wind and the yacht took of like a rocket, down at the bottom mark ran straight down wind to kill some speed the dump all the rope you had and try a round the mark in a controlled manner, then pick it up the other side and do it all again. Not sure what happened to some of the other guys as I was too busy sorting myself out, but I think there were some spin outs etc. I went to the top mark for the gold race and was privileged to see the gold fleet round the mark in strong winds, of the mast angles looked extreme as the boat rounded the mark fully loaded, a very impressive sight! Took some nice pictures then made my way back to the start line.

FRIDAY, MARCH 7:
The wind had moderated a little so Haken hit it on the nose again with 7 to 11 metres per second. It was an eventfull day as the memory of 4 races merged into the day, it was drama for our Norwegian friend as he was "torpedoed" by a yacht that lost control in front of him. A very bent runner (45 degs) and broken axle bolts meant a long walk back for more parts. The ice was still very very fast and each race had its thrills and spills. I remember rounding the top mark in the 4th race and as I turned down wind I was met with shattered bits of axle strewn on the ice, I then took a frantic look round to see where the rest of the yacht was.

At the last race of the day it was announced that the championship was over, it was then pack yachts up and off to the Skippers Dinner that was hastily arranged at a very nice country house. I think it was better than a proposed beach party with burgers and hot dogs. Neil decided to cut and run and drive overnight back through Denmark to get the Esjberg ferry Saturday night.

SATURDAY, MARCH 8:
I slept well at the hotel and drove the 6.7 hours back to Gothenburg to try and find the ferry terminal as I have never returned this way before. It was really difficult to find as there were no road signs. You eventually located where you wanted to be but couldn't find a road that took you there -- most frustrating! Then when I did find it there was not a single person around. Mind the ferry was not due till the next day (Sunday), so I backtracked into the city and got lost again trying to find a Scandic hotel. Eventually found one after backtracking down some tramlines that I don't think I was meant to! With the headlights shining into the bar windows the receptionist said there was parking in a multi-storey round the corner. A quick pull to one side changed her mind as I did not want the DN on the roof to be match wood. Needless to say it stayed there the night.

SUNDAY, MARCH 9:
Driving out from the city in the morning was interesting as I drove out into the main station and at 8am Sunday morning there was no traffic to give me clue where to go in the maze of tramlines and tarmac. Anyway made it through and got on the ferry for the way to home to England.

Regards
Gareth Rowland

RACE RESULTS
www.eissegeln.de/dngermany/results/ec03.htm

Another site of interest:
www.isaf.co.uk/