Thursday's lay day saw both Jonathan Napier's Team 747 and Jonathan Townsend's Swordsman craned out to attend to underwater damage sustained on the non-racing leg across Scotland.

JN had flown back to Hamble for propeller repair and to pick up a new shaft, while JT had bent both his shafts after contracting a nasty attack of rock rash and had to use a local engineering shop to bench press them back into shape.

The dental surgeon from Kent launched off at 17.00 Thursday, just as the Team 747 Spearfish completed its canal transit of 104 locks into the Muirtown Basin in Inverness and the strops had not even got cold before 747 was out and blocked off.

A night of re-aligning the starboard p-bracket, re-fitting the shaft and adding further auxiliary fuel tanks to cope with today's 210 mile hike from the capital of the Highlands to the capital of the lowlands only finished at 06.00 this morning (Friday), leaving the crew drained and concerned that there might be residual balance issues from the damaged repair.

All three Fairey boats took the start and as the day develops they will see how lucky they have been.

The fleet is now heading south to Port Edgar Marina at South Queensferry near Edinburgh, where Team 747 sponsor Bosuns Locker will be on hand to assist their progress.