0:00:02 > 0:00:03GULLS CRY
0:00:05 > 0:00:06WAVES CRASH
0:00:12 > 0:00:14This is Coast.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49You never master the sea, but you can work with her.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Rope and canvas can...
0:00:54 > 0:00:56can take you anywhere.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Every voyage...
0:00:59 > 0:01:00is an adventure.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Now, the Coast crew are casting off.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12While I soak up the drama of competition on the waves,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15historians Ruth Goodman and Nick Hewitt
0:01:15 > 0:01:18relive the sea's darker days,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22when our briny depths concealed weapons of war.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27There was a time when British waters were infested with German mines.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33This is a Soviet Foxtrot submarine.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35So, if the Cold War had gone hot,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37they planned to swamp the North Atlantic
0:01:37 > 0:01:38with hundreds of these boats.
0:01:40 > 0:01:46And I'm eating up the opposition in the toughest race of my life.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Unbelievable. Unbelievable!
0:01:50 > 0:01:53On this journey, we're all at sea.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I'm embarking on a circumnavigation.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05Not of the globe, but the Isle of Wight.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11This stepping stone in the Channel
0:02:11 > 0:02:15is the perfect base for adventures all at sea.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27The island's world-class sailing has a right royal reputation.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34King Edward VII became Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron
0:02:34 > 0:02:36while he was the Prince of Wales.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44Edward's mother, the Queen,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47had fallen in love with the Isle of Wight.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53"It's impossible to imagine a prettier spot."
0:02:53 > 0:02:55That's a quote from Queen Victoria.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59She and her husband, Albert, were so taken with this pretty spot,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02they bought the land
0:03:02 > 0:03:04and built themselves a summerhouse.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Built in 1851 in the Italian style,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Osborne House was the royals' holiday home,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24where Prince Edward got his taste for competitive sailing.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29And that's why I've come.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I'm told his mother's regal residence
0:03:31 > 0:03:34affords majestic views over the Solent,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37where my own sailing challenge awaits.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41That's the Solent,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45the stretch of water between the island and the mainland.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Very shortly, I'm going to be down there in a 40-foot yacht,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51taking part in the Round the Island Race.
0:03:51 > 0:03:56It's enormous. There are 1,600 yachts taking part.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59And unusually, amateurs can race against professionals.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I'm very much in the amateur camp.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I'm nervous and I'm excited.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07# Sailing
0:04:09 > 0:04:11# Sailing. #
0:04:12 > 0:04:17For over 80 years, on the last Saturday in June,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21crews have braced themselves for a test of skill and strategy.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Racing around the Isle of Wight, boats must battle each other
0:04:27 > 0:04:30and notoriously tricky waters.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35The course is strewn with navigational hazards.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39One of the first are The Needles, on the western point of the island.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42A jagged reef of rock protruding into the course.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Right at the end, there's a submerged wreck you've got to avoid.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Then it's down to the southern tip of the island,
0:04:49 > 0:04:50Saint Catherine's Point,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52where the waters get very churned up.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57So much so that they've ruined many a racer's chance of finishing.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Then it's around the eastern end of the island,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and then, just as you're entering
0:05:01 > 0:05:04what you might think is the final straight,
0:05:04 > 0:05:05you've got to avoid a sandbank,
0:05:05 > 0:05:11Ryde Sands here, before coming up here to finish at Cowes.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13And then, there's the sea itself.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17It's a complex puzzle of tides and currents
0:05:17 > 0:05:21buffeted by unpredictable winds.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Rocks, wrecks and ripping currents
0:05:24 > 0:05:28make the Isle of Wight a stupendous sailing challenge.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33With the race less than 24 hours away,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37I'm starting to realise what it means to feel all at sea.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54For me, taking the helm's a daunting prospect.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59But all around our shores, dazzling displays of seamanship
0:05:59 > 0:06:03are part of the day's work for hard-grafting skippers.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12From little coastal craft to ocean-going giants,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16boats buoy us up with the trade we desperately need.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27One third of all our food floats into Britain.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Strangle our shipping and we'd soon be on our knees,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36as our enemies have always recognised.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38FOGHORN
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Remarkable evidence of attempts to sink our sea trade
0:06:41 > 0:06:44survive in the Medway Estuary.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01Naval historian Nick Hewitt is stalking fearsome prey.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I'm here to track down weapons of war.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10This is a tale of two submarines.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17After the Great War ended in 1918,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21German subs were beached and sold for scrap.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25A few escaped that ignominious fate.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Now, after years studying them,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31I've got a chance to explore one of those U-boats.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Not in a museum, but buried in The Medway mud.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37CHORAL SINGING
0:07:37 > 0:07:40That is absolutely amazing.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Sitting here for 100 years.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57So, I never thought I'd get the chance to touch one of these.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01And that's still pretty impressively intact, the steel plate.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03It's hard to imagine now,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07because it's just sitting here, and it looks so decayed
0:08:07 > 0:08:10and quiet and peaceful, in a funny sort of way,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13but these things were such a menace.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15The Germans started their unrestricted
0:08:15 > 0:08:18submarine warfare campaign in February 1917,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21and within the first three months, they'd sunk 500 ships.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Suddenly, in 1917,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Britain seemed on the brink of losing the First World War.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Not on land, but at sea.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41Only putting cargo ships into heavily protected convoys saved us.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Still, by the war's end,
0:08:43 > 0:08:48over 3,000 Allied ships had been sunk by U-boats.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58This great big hole here, I'm pretty sure this is
0:08:58 > 0:09:00where they would have cut out the conning tower.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02When the submarines were handed over
0:09:02 > 0:09:05to civilian scrap merchants, they had to be demilitarised,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07which involved removing the conning towers,
0:09:07 > 0:09:09removing the torpedo tubes, obviously,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11so that it was completely harmless.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16I'm standing on a U-boat! Ha-ha!
0:09:27 > 0:09:31We saw off these subs, but their strategy to strangle Britain
0:09:31 > 0:09:34lived on into the Cold War.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36MUSIC: State Anthem Of The USSR
0:09:39 > 0:09:43This Foxtrot-class submarine was built in the 1960s.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Now, she's being restored
0:09:45 > 0:09:48to preserve a forgotten threat from the Soviet Union.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54They planned to swamp the North Atlantic
0:09:54 > 0:09:56with hundreds of these boats.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08What was life like for submariners preparing to wage war on our isles?
0:10:16 > 0:10:19This is something else.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Officer's accommodation.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24It may not look like much, but actually, in terms of habitability,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27these things were streets ahead of the German U-boat we saw earlier.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29At least there's some degree of privacy.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32And what you've got in here is the sonar fit,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34the famous ping of the submarine movies.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36REPEATED PINGING
0:10:39 > 0:10:43So that's the galley, the kitchen.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46I can't believe that all the food for 74 men
0:10:46 > 0:10:48was prepared in that tiny space.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54I've always wanted to do that. Ha-ha!
0:10:54 > 0:10:56And this is the nerve centre of the boat.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58All these bewildering instruments.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00This is where the boat was fought from, steered from.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Everything ran from here.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09Wow!
0:11:13 > 0:11:16This is what Hollywood has trained us to expect from submarines, isn't it?
0:11:16 > 0:11:19You can just imagine if the Cold War had gone hot,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21the Soviet submarine commander sitting here,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24his boat deathly quiet around him,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26all his men waiting for his orders,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28as he peers through his periscope,
0:11:28 > 0:11:33looking at a big fat merchant ship, about to give the order to fire.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38FAINT RADIO
0:11:44 > 0:11:47These subs have taken me back to a time
0:11:47 > 0:11:49when Britain faced down formidable foes,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51hidden beneath the waves.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56It may seem like the dim and distant past now,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59but when you consider some 90% of British trade
0:11:59 > 0:12:01still takes place by sea,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04it's suddenly a very clear and present threat.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16It's no pleasure cruise being all at sea
0:12:16 > 0:12:19when you're trawling for your life.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30An undercurrent of peril is ever present.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Never more so than for trawler men landing their deadliest catch
0:12:40 > 0:12:44during the Second World War at Milford Haven.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Ruth's discovering how unsung heroes
0:12:50 > 0:12:53foiled an enemy threat hidden in our seas.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00There was a time when British waters were infested with German mines.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06In 1940, Luftwaffe bombers and the German Navy
0:13:06 > 0:13:09were dropping mines into our harbours
0:13:09 > 0:13:11under the cover of darkness.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Ships were being lost at an alarming rate.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25The deadly mines threatened to sink Britain.
0:13:25 > 0:13:30Then, unlikely saviours sailed in from the Netherlands.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Dutch trawler men were bringing their fishing boats to Britain
0:13:34 > 0:13:36to take on the Germans.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Some 600 fishermen made for our coast in May 1940,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48after Hitler attacked the Low Countries.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- RADIO: - 'This is the BBC Home Service.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55'The German Army invaded Holland and Belgium
0:13:55 > 0:13:57'early this morning by land
0:13:57 > 0:13:59'and by landings from parachutes.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Before the Nazis reached the ports,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06the Dutch fishing fleet fled to Britain.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11One of those fishermen was Antoon van Gils.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17Now, his son Johan has returned to Milford Haven.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20It's more than 70 years ago
0:14:20 > 0:14:23since your father came along here into the harbour.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25It was safer than home here, but it wasn't exactly that safe.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28- He came here to fight.- Yes.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Using their trawlers, the Dutch exiles
0:14:42 > 0:14:46were assigned by the Navy to minesweeping duty -
0:14:46 > 0:14:51a deadly job that they had to learn quickly or die trying.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56How did the Dutch fishermen use their knowledge of the sea
0:14:56 > 0:14:58to fight for their land?
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Nick Hewitt is back to give me some naval know-how.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07What was it about the Dutch fishermen
0:15:07 > 0:15:09that offered so much for minesweeping?
0:15:09 > 0:15:12The techniques used in sweeping mines
0:15:12 > 0:15:15are actually very, very similar to fishing.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16The skills that they need,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19the way of driving a boat is exactly the same.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22And also, their boats are uniquely suited to it.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25You could just literally take the trawling gear off the back
0:15:25 > 0:15:28and put the minesweeping gear on instead.
0:15:28 > 0:15:29Is this what we're talking about?
0:15:29 > 0:15:32This is it, this is a contact mine.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35They're deployed off the back of a ship with a weight at the bottom called the sinker.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Takes it down to the bottom of the sea.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38Cable plays out
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and then the mine is set to hold
0:15:41 > 0:15:43just below the surface of the water.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46A ship comes along, the bow wave pushes the mine out of the way,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49and then it pendulums back against the side of the ship
0:15:49 > 0:15:51and explodes.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55So, how exactly does the minesweeping work?
0:15:55 > 0:15:57What they did was, if you have a look at this drawing here,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59you have your minesweeper,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01you have a long cable called the sweep wire
0:16:01 > 0:16:04that comes out from the back of it and is attached to a float.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06That's so that the wire goes out
0:16:06 > 0:16:08to the side of the boat and not behind it.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10The wire's serrated. It cuts through the cable
0:16:10 > 0:16:13that's holding the mine to the bottom of the water.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17The mine then bobs up to the surface. It's very simple then.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20They shoot the prongs with rifles and blow it up.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Minesweeping was fraught with danger.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33But Dutch sailors also landed a much happier catch.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Romantic entanglements weren't uncommon...
0:16:44 > 0:16:48..as Welshman Graham van Wert can testify.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50His father was stationed up the coast at Holyhead.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Graham's meeting Johan to share stories
0:16:54 > 0:16:59of what their Dutch dads did in Wales during the war.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00THEY SPEAK DUTCH
0:17:03 > 0:17:06That's a photo of my...my father.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08- Young man in a Dutch uniform. - A Dutch uniform, yes.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Oh, and there's yours, as well!
0:17:10 > 0:17:12This is my father.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15- Also in his Dutch naval uniform. - Yeah.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20It's been reported that there was over 105 marriages in Holyhead
0:17:20 > 0:17:22between local girls and Dutchmen.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Which...surprised me, because I didn't realise there were so many.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28It was quite a culture shock for the local people,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31because they hadn't seen foreigners like this before.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34And you have this influx of, as I was told,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37handsome, but rather on the wild side Dutchmen.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40And...the population thought a lot of them
0:17:40 > 0:17:43and brought them into their own homes.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Graham's father was one of many to tie the knot with a local girl.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50But Johan's father was already married.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54His wife stowed away with the fishing fleet.
0:17:54 > 0:17:55You were born here?
0:17:55 > 0:17:57I'm born here, yes.
0:17:57 > 0:17:58LAUGHTER
0:17:58 > 0:18:02So, you were here as a Welshman for the first few years of your life.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Yeah, yeah.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14The bonds of love forged between foreign lands
0:18:14 > 0:18:18were often torn apart in the cruel seas.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24The mines were indiscriminate killers.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Scientist Ewen McLaughlin
0:18:28 > 0:18:31knows the secret of how contact mines are triggered.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32If this was a real mine,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36this would be the mine casing, the outer steel shell of it.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Tucked in here, an enormous amount of explosives would reside.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41- ARCHIVE:- And inside is a load of mischief.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Maybe you'd like to examine this interesting toy in detail.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46This is the Hertz horn itself, which is made of lead.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49You need to give it quite a clout, but that will bend.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51When the horn is bent, the trouble starts.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54The whole of the intricate mechanism of the mine is set in motion.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57And inside, this is a glass vial, which would have acid in it.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59So, if anything hits that, that will crack
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and that will deposit all this acid into the electrodes underneath.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06The breaking of the glass container causes a solution to flow
0:19:06 > 0:19:09over the battery plates towards the electric detonator.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12It generates almost two volts and quite a hefty current.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15That's quite good for setting off a detonator circuit.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18I thought you'd prefer a small light to having the explosives.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Can we smash it?
0:19:20 > 0:19:23- LAUGHTER - I'll give it a go.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33# But now I've joined the Navy aboard a man-o-war... #
0:19:33 > 0:19:37A trawler had a fighting chance of avoiding contact with a mine.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39The boats' shallow draft
0:19:39 > 0:19:42meant they could glide over the submerged threat,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44if they were lucky.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47# Don't haul on the rope Don't climb up the mast
0:19:47 > 0:19:51# If you see a sailing ship It might be your last
0:19:51 > 0:19:55# Just get your civvies ready for another run ashore
0:19:55 > 0:19:58# A sailor ain't a sailor ain't a sailor any more. #
0:19:58 > 0:20:01So, it must have been dangerous here.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20One trawler that never made it home was the Caroline.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25On the 28th of April, 1941, she struck a mine in the Haven.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29All of the 15 Dutch crew were killed.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Come on, guys, we're just coming up to the wreck now.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39The wrecked trawler is a poignant sight for Johan.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Today, Johan and Graham pay their respects
0:21:10 > 0:21:13to those who risked their lives to keep our shipping safe.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Their fathers survived,
0:21:15 > 0:21:20but thousands of their Dutch and Allied comrades did not.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38These were young men, stripped from their homeland by war,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42using those skills in seamanship they had at their fingertips
0:21:42 > 0:21:46to save ultimately their own land and ours.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58We're all at sea.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10And for one weekend in June,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14there's nowhere more exciting to sail than the Isle of Wight.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I'm pretty nervous. This is my first ever sailing race.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21And for reasons I'm beginning to wonder about,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I seem to have chosen one of the most challenging in the world.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26It's going to be a really big test.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32I'll be crewing on the yacht Ortac.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Our skipper is Richard Webley.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Competition will be fierce.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45One of Richard's biggest rivals is Tom Farnworth on Nereus.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49We've got two competing skippers here.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Richard and Tom, adjacent boats.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54You're pretty equally balanced in terms of your boats.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55Yeah, very equally balanced.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58- It's all down to crew, skipper and tactics.- Yeah.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02- Who's got the upper hand?- Tom's got more experience of the race,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04but I've got the best crew.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06LAUGHTER
0:23:06 > 0:23:09- There's only one way to find out. - There's only one way to find out.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Richard thinks we have the best crew.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19A crew which includes me.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21I've got a lot to live up to today.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31We're now out on the water, moving off towards the start line.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35There are boats absolutely everywhere.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45- Must be just a few seconds, five or six seconds.- No! Wait for it!
0:23:49 > 0:23:50CANNON FIRE
0:23:50 > 0:23:52That's the start! We're off!
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Really good blow, helicopter hovering overhead.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Unbelievable. Unbelievable!
0:24:03 > 0:24:05The first leg of the race
0:24:05 > 0:24:09runs southwest from Cowes to The Needles.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12The start is chaos,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16every yacht competing for water, wind and tide.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21It's a case of getting out quick and avoiding collisions.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28That was my first hands-on, proper tack, and I didn't muck it up!
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Breaking free of the pack, we've stolen a march on our rivals.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Yes! LAUGHTER
0:24:38 > 0:24:40That yacht over there with a blue hull is Tom.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44We're about that far ahead of him.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47That's how close it is!
0:24:58 > 0:25:01We're doing well, but obstacles await -
0:25:01 > 0:25:05The Needles and the wreck submerged just beyond.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10Sail close and you shave off valuable seconds, but it's a gamble.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13We've cut it a little bit fine.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17But we didn't run aground.
0:25:17 > 0:25:22- And now, we can get ready to bear away to St Catherine's Point. - Big wave!- Wave!
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Richard's nifty turn around The Needles
0:25:28 > 0:25:31keeps us in front of our rivals on Nereus.
0:25:33 > 0:25:34We had a reasonably good start.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38We were ahead of Ortac for the first half of the windward leg,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40and then Ortac seemed to overtake us,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44and we've lost them somewhere over there.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49Our next gamble is to come wide.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Further offshore, the winds should be stronger.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56But it means battling against stronger currents.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00I'm at the helm, trying to follow Richard's plan.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02At the moment, we're right on the outside of the fleet.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05We are. Most of the people have gone shallow.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08We're on the outside, doing a straight line.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10As with all these things, it's a compromise,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12and we'll see how it pays off when we finish.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23We're making for the exposed headland of St Catherine's Point.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Then we'll have the strong south-westerly blowing behind us.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31It's a key turning point.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33An opportunity to race harder.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38What we've decided to do is to put a bigger sail up, the spinnaker,
0:26:38 > 0:26:40as we go around the point
0:26:40 > 0:26:44to give us extra speed down to the eastern end of the island.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Spinnakers catch huge amounts of wind, boosting speed.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51But they're risky.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55The sails are unwieldy and can destabilise the boat.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57I'm manning the spinnaker rope.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01Another of my big moments. I've not done this before in my life.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- Ease that sheet. - It's eased, it's eased.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Get that sheet over there, through there and up to that winch!
0:27:13 > 0:27:15It's caught around that block!
0:27:15 > 0:27:18One of the ropes is stuck. We can't rein in the sail.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22I'm ready! You're ticking in?
0:27:25 > 0:27:27The handle has come off!
0:27:27 > 0:27:30The boat keeps going over, or broaching.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32On the right-hand side of you!
0:27:32 > 0:27:37We had trouble getting the spinnaker up, we just broached three times.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39It's gone right under.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42One on the left. The green one!
0:27:44 > 0:27:47- We're trying to regain control of the yacht.- I need you now!
0:27:47 > 0:27:49- Nick!- Sorry, you're going to have to stop.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52- I need you now! Can you get that... - 'No time for talking.'
0:27:52 > 0:27:55That's on the...on the winch.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01We have to free the rope, get the spinnaker down,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03or our race is over.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06OK. Ease! More, more quicker.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Yeah. More turns off. Two turns on. Yeah, ease quicker.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15Let it go! Can you help get it down the hatch?
0:28:15 > 0:28:16Get it in! Quick!
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Is it up? Is it running?
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Yeah, it's running, it's running, it's running.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21- Well done, guys!- OK.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Right, spinnaker's down.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27HE SIGHS
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Big, big drama.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Well done, guys! Good job!
0:28:34 > 0:28:37Our troubles with the spinnaker have cost us dear
0:28:37 > 0:28:41and allowed our rivals, skippered by Tom, to overtake.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45But we're still in with a shout.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49I've got a feeling the adventure isn't over yet.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53# Sailing
0:28:55 > 0:28:58# Sailing
0:28:59 > 0:29:03# Sailing
0:29:03 > 0:29:05# Sailing
0:29:05 > 0:29:07# Would you believe it?
0:29:07 > 0:29:09# I'm sailing... #
0:29:09 > 0:29:12We've been at sea six and a half hours,
0:29:12 > 0:29:17one of 1,600 yachts competing in the Round the Island Race.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Among the competitors, there's one rival yacht, Nereus,
0:29:22 > 0:29:24that we're determined to beat.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31After the turn at St Catherine's point,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33we've rounded the eastern tip,
0:29:33 > 0:29:37approaching the home stretch to Cowes.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Nereus is just ten minutes ahead.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45Now, the whole fleet is funnelling down for a sprint finish.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47Our skipper's Richard Webley.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53So, it's just a drag race. Who can sail the fastest
0:29:53 > 0:29:55in the cleanest air to get to the forks,
0:29:55 > 0:29:59and then it becomes a fight up to the finish.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03We aren't just battling other boats.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08We're also fighting the full force of wind and tide,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11straining hard on the rudder to steer true.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16There's one last hazard to surmount.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19Ryde Sands lie just beneath the waves,
0:30:19 > 0:30:23waiting to scupper any yacht tempted to take a short cut home.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29To avoid the sandbank, we keep one eye on the depth gauge
0:30:29 > 0:30:31and the other on our rivals.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37But there's one threat we're not looking out for.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41We've lost rudder!
0:30:46 > 0:30:48The rudder linkage has snapped.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51The sails take over steering.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55We're not just helpless, we're dangerous.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57We've lost rudder!
0:30:58 > 0:31:00We've lost rudder! Clear off!
0:31:01 > 0:31:03A missile guided by the wind.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08We need to get that under control! Let's just try and bundle that up.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Can we get the main in, please?
0:31:18 > 0:31:20If you've got any control,
0:31:20 > 0:31:23if you just steer us out of this line of boats.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Big drama! Lost a rudder,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29which is about as serious as things can get
0:31:29 > 0:31:32when you're sailing pretty quickly in a big boat.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34And so, er...
0:31:34 > 0:31:39really effective teamwork getting the sails down rapidly.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50All our efforts blown out of the water
0:31:50 > 0:31:53by a single mechanical failure.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55Our race is run.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59So near...so far.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04We're travelling back to Cowes under motor without a sail.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09Ahead of us, yachts cross the finishing line,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13including our rivals on Nereus, skippered by Tom,
0:32:13 > 0:32:17who came home in a time of 7 hours 56 minutes.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Champagne for some.
0:32:19 > 0:32:24But for our brave team, the ending is a little less glamorous.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27We were sailing so well.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32We were ahead of many boats that should have been faster than us.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35The tactics that Richard adopted were brilliant.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40Then, in the home straight, the rudder broke.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46Richard's steering us back with a pair of rusty bicycle handlebars.
0:32:59 > 0:33:05Contests come and go, but the restless sea is eternal.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08We competed against the best,
0:33:08 > 0:33:13but ultimately, our destiny was decided by a greater power.
0:33:13 > 0:33:17It's wonderful, it's unpredictable
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and sometimes it's cruel
0:33:20 > 0:33:25but the sea's siren call tempts each generation anew.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30The one thing that all of us as islanders can share
0:33:30 > 0:33:34is the temperamental, seductive sea.