Clipper Round the World 09-10
What mad fools sail to northern China in the middle of winter, and then decide to head off across the north Pacific to the US? Other than us, not many in sailing boats! After two days of beating into Force 6-8 winds with the winds reaching up to 40+ knots and then running downwind with a Force 10 gale behind us - with the winds gusting up to 55 knots - you can see why!
The first couple of days were a miniature rerun of the run up from Taiwan, with the big blue canoe launching itself off waves to land with a jarring crash in the trough on the far side, bunk-based bodies airborne and tensed for the landing, those on deck looking for the next wave. Sleep was fitful and although few were seasick the relentless pounding was taking its toll as weary bodies pulled themselves on deck to stand the next watch. The grey, wet weather, written about in the last blog adding to the pervasive dampness.
But, to coin a line from a great band, we can see clearly now the rain has gone. It's a bright, bright sunshiny day! The winds came round and blue skies emerged. The winds did not relent though and continued to build. As they reached gale-force 10, the seas heaped up and wind-blown spray streaked the surface of the ocean as far as we could see. It was an amazing sight, full of power and beauty. We reduced sail area to cope with the increased wind speeds until at one point we were running with just a tiny scrap of mainsail, reefed right down as small as it could go, and no headsails at all and still we were making good speeds at 10-12 knots over the ground!
Now, the winds have come round to the north, and the winds are down to the mid-30s. The sail area is increased and our good speeds continue as we head towards our first key waypoint since leaving the coast of Japan. The scoring gate. It lies around 1400 miles from our current position, still around six to seven days away but we're making good progress in the right direction. As the winds come further round to the north, so we should be able to reach across them and so increase our speeds that much more. At present we're lying in the top half of the fleet and hope to build on that over the next few days. After the scoring gate lies the key milestone, groundhog day, the day that repeats the day before, the International Date Line! Something we're all looking forward to.
Mind you, even as the winds gradually reduce we still have the odd moment of excitement, as a squall comes through taking the wind speeds up from 35 to 49 knots in an instant, the boat heels over, hard-pressed, sail area is rapidly reduced, the main is let out, before the winds die away again and we come back to a normal angle of sail.
Unfortunately, though, all is not well on Cape Breton Island. Our water maker is struggling to create water, providing just a low flow. Moreover, when it was first malfunctioning it produced salty water which has contaminated some of our water tanks. So, now we are limiting our intake and getting used to the taste of slightly salty water. Reminds me of drinking salt tea in Tibet! Oh, and the real hardship is that we can't find the cake mixes, Katharine has put them somewhere safe...so, no puddings following dinner until we find them!
Despite the hardships, the trials, the tribulations, we're having a lot of fun out here. The sea continues to be a source of beauty, the sailing is fun, albeit sometimes a little exciting and often challenging and the company is great. Whilst San Francisco still seems a long way away, it's now getting close to the 4000 mile mark, we're at least a quarter of the way through, and perhaps even a third in terms of time. Talk has not yet turned to the foods we're all looking forward to, but the word steak has been heard mentioned a few times! The big blue canoe continues her progress eastwards towards the rising sun, looking forward to the dawn of each new day.
Cape Breton Island standing by...
It's a bright, bright sunshiny day! - by Adrian Healy (Cape Breton Island)
11 March 2010
What mad fools sail to northern China in the middle of winter, and then decide to head off across the north Pacific to the US? Other than us, not many in sailing boats! After two days of beating into Force 6-8 winds with the winds reaching up to 40+ knots and then running downwind with a Force 10 gale behind us - with the winds gusting up to 55 knots - you can see why!
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Rain, rain go away - by Eleanor Gough (Cape Breton Island)
10 March 2010
Despite being just one short week away, race start day in Qingdao feels like a very very long time ago. The bright, clear and sunny morning, whilst very cold, would be a welcome relief from the wet, soggy and grey conditions the Big Blue Canoe has been battling for what feels like forever.
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Getting ready for a blow - by Elisa Jenkins (Cape Breton Island)
09 March 2010
After two full days of beating into 30-40 knots of apparent wind, we thought Cape Breton Island rode out the rough weather. Not the case.
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