Following a penalty handed down by the Fastnet Race jury, Pamela Lee of RL Sailing tells her side of the story

Not until the late morning after our finish, after celebrating and being interviewed for our win, did we get the news through text message that apparently we had a time penalty from a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) infringement. I was extremely shocked and in denial, because I specifically remember watching our track closely while going around the TSS to make sure we did so correctly, I was even sure that I saw other boats take an inside track from ours. I remembered it so vividly...

Straight away I went to the race office to investigate and inquire where the grounds for the penalty came from. I was shown our recorded Yellow Brick track that indicated us going inside the TSS corner. Still shocked by the claims and what I was seeing, I explained that I was certain we went outside the TSS and that I had the track on the boat computer to prove it. I was recommended to lodge a hearing request with the Protest committee, which I immediately did.

Pamela Lee and Kenneth Rumball are celebrated after crossing the iine. Many hours were to pass before they were made aware there might be a problem.

At that stage, I had a very short window of time to gather all the information I could to argue our case before the International Jury. The boat was also being prepared to depart immediately to head South for the start of La Solitaire Du Figaro, so there was real-time pressure to get what I needed from the computer.

I retrieved the recorded GPS track from the Adrena Navigating Software on the boat computer, which clearly indicates our GPS recording our track well outside the TSS. I also checked all the coordinates of the TSS against the racing instructions to make sure I had the correct area in, which I did.

All their own on-board data indicated they’d been clear outside the TSS - Here the Adrena software track (green line) shows RL sailing outside the TSS. Screenshot RL Sailing

A screenshot of RORC's Fastnet Race GPS tracker showing the no-go traffic separation scheme in red tint and the track of RL Sailing. Source: YB Tracker

Something to note, and that came into play for this entire episode although at the time we did not know it, is that during the race, when we reached the Fastnet Rock (after the alleged TSS infringement) our onboard GPS lost signal and we were forced to round the Rock completely blind in what was a pitch-black night. This in itself was a stressful and nerve-wracking experience as we had to furl the Code 0, avoid the lights of other boats and the rock itself without really knowing where we were. Once we rounded the Rock I was able to re-boot the computer and eventually our GPS signal came back. Strangely, our computer recorded an incorrect track of us going inside the rock, which didn't happen. The Yellow Brick track recorded us going around the rock.

A GPS Track black out at the Fastnet Rock. Screenshot RL Sailing

Subsequently, after that and through the rest of the race our GPS signal went a number of times and computer re-boots became the norm. From this post-analysis, a possible conclusion could be that our GPS was giving us the wrong information in the period before arriving at the Fastnet - potentially telling me I was somewhere I was not, or mixing up the information all together. This is disturbing on many levels as early in the race I had taken our navigation very close inshore to get out of the current, unaware of any potential GPS issues.

Redress request

I went into the hearing with the international Jury to request redress of the 10% penalty for infringement of the TSS on the ground that our GPS track showed us very clearly going outside the TSS. One of my witnesses was Yale Poupon, the skipper on the second Figaro, who came to second our story, saying they witnessed our GPS malfunction at the rock and even called us on the radio to check-in and that if such an infringement occurred it was to no gain and should not cause such a penalty.

I sat in front of an international jury of five men and talked through a presentation of our GPS track illustrating the fact that as far as we, and our boat knew we were well outside the TSS. However, it was one GPS word against the other, and as to be expected the Yellow Brick RORC GPS won. On denying the redress, the head Juror hastened to offer that they agreed the 10% time penalty was somewhat archaic and overly harsh. I think that's a slight understatement when over 5 days 10% equates to about 12 hours, so even with over a 5-hour lead we still could not hold on to our position, even though with a conflicting GPS track the infringement was questionable.

Anyway, it is what it is and this, unfortunately, is one of the factors of yacht racing we need to live with and take on board (pardon the pun). I'm choosing to fill you in on this story, not to grumble in grievance, but to highlight an aspect of offshore racing that is really important for navigators, skippers and all racers to learn from. It is not as simple as getting around the course first, there is so much more at play in every race, as well as before and afterwards.

Not a sob story

I am also very conscious for this story not to be turned into a dramatised 'sob story' as I know, through the supporting messages and following we received that many Irish sailors followed our race and may have been motivated and inspired from our success - I hope in particular the younger generation, particularly the female sailors who aspire to skippering and navigating has been so.

For us, we have worked hard to take some key learning points from how the result has unfolded. These include the importance of awareness of the potential weaknesses and faults in your onboard technology, it is easy for us to become reliant on our instruments, but we should always question them and always check them. It has illuminated even more the use of backup GPS programs and to use them even when everything else seems fine and fully functional. It also highlighted to us the disadvantage of having to rent a boat intermittently, which means you do not have ultimate power over-controlling and regulating the functioning of the equipment on board, it also meant we had less time to prepare the boat prior to the race and really test all the equipment. Time in offshore racing is important, not only on the water but all the time beforehand and having the time and the budget to work with your own equipment is just as important as being able to use it to win a race on the day. Going forward, these aspects will take a stronger precedent in my campaign priority's and I hope one day to have enough budget to run my own boat for an entire season and more - and you can be sure any navigation going forward will have threefold GPS signal access and back up!

At the end of the day we are lucky it wasn't more serious, a questionable infringement that lost us the best race of my life so far......still much better than hitting a rock, or another boat. It is character and experience building and I truly believe that to improve at offshore sailing you need to build, build and build on experience.

Awesome race

As far as we are concerned, we raced an awesome race that put us across the finish line over 5 hours ahead of the next competitor in a one-design class. We sailed the boat fast, we pushed hard and we made smart navigation decisions that paid off. Not for a moment in that race did I stop thinking about 'the next move'. We battled to the end and even then took places on the finish from a double-handed boat sailed by sailors we revere such as Alexis Loison on Leon and Shirley Robertson Swell! Above all, we had fun and capitalized on our hard work and training from the season. Even with all that happened and after six days of no sleep - I was still ready to go out and do it all again the next day! I hope that everyone watching took this away from the Fastnet 2021 and we will see even more Irish sailors on the start line and the leader board next time.

RL Sailing, the shorthanded, offshore sailing team made up of joint skippers Kenneth Rumball and Pamela Lee have signed up a new sponsor for their next race in the 2021 competition calendar – the Tour de Bretagne à la Voile and, later in the season, the Fastnet Race in August. 

RL Sailing Team competes in the Beneteau Figaro III racing circuit, known for its intense level of competition, high-calibre of sailors and gruelling races, which see the skippers alone at sea for several days and nights at a time.

They will be the only mixed Irish team lining up on the start line. 

“We have a history of backing Irish teams and sportspeople to accomplish the impossible. We give them the support to channel their own energy and try to realise their dreams. We sponsor many different Irish sports, both teams and individuals, from grass-roots right up to elite internationals – endurance is a common theme across them all and the values align closely with our business. We have a keen interest in Irish sailing and understand the level of work, preparation and sacrifice associated with the sport.” – Kim Madden of Hanley

As regular Afloat readers will know, Hanley Energy also supported Gregor McGuckin in his Golden Globe Race round the world bid in 2018.

The upcoming Tour de Bretagne à la Voile for Rumball and Lee starts on the 3rd of July and will see over 30 international teams race in a series of offshore courses along the French coast. It will be a test of sailors’ tactics, navigation, stamina and endurance. Spectators will be able to follow the competition through live tracking devices on each boat and the team will provide race reports in between each leg.

“It’s extremely motivating to have an Irish company like Hanley Energy onboard with our project. They really understand and support the hard work we have put in and are encouraging of our dreams and ambitions to represent Ireland on an international level,” says Skipper Kenneth Rumball.