All three TRANSGLOBE yachts have now crossed the finish line in New Zealand and are on their way into Auckland harbour around 100 miles away.  The RAF, after their successful Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, has taken line honours, followed by the Navy and the Army.  The Royal Navy yacht, Adventure, has a damaged spinnaker pole that needs to be assessed on arrival in Auckland and it has clearly been an eventful and memorable trip for all concerned judging by some of the blogs received.

Owing to severe restrictions on bandwidth for the yachts to send their blogs back regularly, the Gosport-based HQ has only just received the daily blogs in one hit. The final entry, received last night from the RAF yacht, sets the scene as the three yachts started to eat up the miles to the finish which was on a line projected north from Cape Reinga, the North point of North Island, New Zealand:

Exercise TRANSGLOBE’s 13-stage adventurous training exercise for the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force has left  Cape Town for Perth.  The latest crew contingent has been kitted out with their Gill technical sailing clothing and Crewsaver kit and everyone is up to speed on how to use the Raymarine navigation equipment on board each yacht.

The three yachts representing the Navy (HMSTV Adventurer), Army (HMSTV Challenger) and RAF (HMSTV Discoverer) each has a crew of 14 comprising Skipper, Mate and the remaining crew is divided into either two or three “watches”, each of which has an experienced ‘Watch Leader’.  Each Skipper must hold a Yacht Master Ocean qualification, be fully trained in dealing with medical emergencies (MFAS/MCAS) and formally authorised by OIC JSASTC.  The Mate must be at least a Yacht Master Offshore and also hold the MFAS/MCAS qualification. Watch Leaders must be a minimum of RYA Day Skipper qualified.  Of the remaining nine crew (using a 3 Watch system) there is a wide range of capability on board ranging from complete novices to RYA Competent Crew and higher.