Crew Blog

Looking forward to the challenges ahead

18 June 2008

After our stopover in Halifax, where we had time to sample the local seafood fare, we set off on a special race to Sydney, Nova Scotia. This did not count as points towards the RTW yacht race, but was to celebrate the 250 years of democracy in Canada. The first day’s sailing was fairly benign with up to Force 4 and we were all relaxed and enjoying the conditions. However, overnight conditions changed to Force 8 on the nose, temperatures dropped rapidly and large volumes of water headed towards us over the decks. Sadly these conditions floored a few of our new leggers who thought they were over the worst of their seasickness, not to mention the various dignitaries and journalists spread throughout the fleet. At least it gave them some of the RTW experience!

The stopover in Sydney was short and the weather fairly cold, so the golf channel covering the US Open had a couple of hundred more viewers. In addition there were a number of local cultural activities, such as aboriginal Canadian blessings for the fleet, and live music to keep us amused. Many people came to see the boats and we were frequently stopped in the street by interested locals.  And the start of the race did not disappoint; probably our most exciting yet with the wind on the nose, all 10 boats had to tack in very close quarters for 3-4 miles with numerous near misses and positions constantly changing. We then had a day of enjoyable force 3-4 sailing before the wind died.  We are now in force 1-2 force with next to no wind. The wind is constantly changing direction - in the last 4 hours it has been WSW, ESE, SSW, N & E. No sooner have we set the sails than we have to change them again. Added to this, we are also in dense fog and have New York and Glasgow: Scotland with style Clipper 1-2 miles away, but we cannot see them.  We are operating a constant radar watch with someone shouting after each manoeuvre where the nearest boats are. The fog is so eerie we fully expect the famous ghost ship ‘The Flying Dutchman’ to sail across our bow.

We still have not cleared Newfoundland, but once passed this we will be on iceberg watch - which should be interesting.  Currently the nearest ‘berg’ logged by satellite is 40 miles away. Iceberg watch will be taken very seriously as many of us visited the Maritime Museum in Halifax from where the rescue and recovery of the Titanic was coordinated and the cemetery where many of the unidentified victims are buried. We are grateful for the satellite information coming in, and the radar on the boat.

We still have a long way until we are clear of land and in the expanse of the Atlantic, but we are all looking forward to the challenges ahead in this race. Although mid summer approaches, it is still far too cold for any mid-summer shenanigans....

Mandy & Steph