Crew Blog

Ride ‘em cowboy

08 February 2008

Greetings from a wild and windy area north-east of Taiwan, where we and the boat are being tested by high winds and seas. It’s only now we realize how easy life was when we had a mere 20 knots or so on the nose. Now it’s more like 30 to 40 and the boat is bouncing about like a bucking bronco, intent on shaking us all off. The angle has increased to the extent that we can’t adjust our bunks far enough, so on one tack we have to sleep braced in or hanging on, for fear of falling out. On the other tack we are plastered against the bulkhead, not comfortable but definitely preferable. We don’t move on deck without being clipped on, a necessity as the water sweeps over the deck with great regularity. Thankfully the sea remains warm, in contrast to the rain showers which have been hitting us for the last couple of days with great force.

Two days ago we had some excitement when two Clipper boats (New York and Hull & Humber) appeared on the horizon and approached us. We engaged in a short tacking battle (with 900 miles still to go to the finish!) and then settled in formation for the next few hours. We had to break out of that formation when the Yankee sheet broke (the first of three such breakages so far), followed soon thereafter by the staysail halyard. Since then we have been kept busy by a variety of lines breaking, thankfully nothing that we couldn’t deal with (hopefully not famous last words). Strangely the majority of breakages have happened when C watch were on duty, so it looks like we are the self-elected “Disaster Watch” for this race.

Below decks is as interesting as ever, with duty in the galley a minefield of dangers (from hot pans leaping off the stove to the contents of cupboards making a bid for freedom either singly or collectively), particularly when we tack. We have rigged safety lines in the saloon and bunkroom to give us extra handholds and prevent us from bouncing from bulkhead to bulkhead. Wet clothing adorns all the bunks, though the chances of it drying in the humid atmosphere below are minimal. Despite the conditions spirits remain high, although we are all looking forward to a safe arrival in Qingdao.

Claire