Crew Blog

Screaming along….

13 March 2008

When we were screaming along downwind barely under control in a Force 10, my thoughts would turn nostalgically to those weeks of beating in Race 5, when the worst that could go wrong was a sheet or halyard breaking, rather than an accidental gybe, broaching, breaking a spinnaker pole, or nearly losing the mainsail during what should
have been a routine reef. Well, now we’re beating again, heeling at an
uncomfortable angle, slamming over or sometimes through waves, and I have the unenviable task of preparing dinner. I have already been called overcautious by my watch, after I called the skipper up on deck to ask him whether we should reduce sail (and for the record, I only wanted to make sure that leaning over on our ear was the most efficient point of sail possible at this time, I was not making a plea to slow down). As Ian is now trying to wash up at an angle of about 30 degrees, I suspect he is eating his words. The rest of the watch is tucked up safely in bed (although it is debatable how safe Lucy is in her bunk, as earlier today she was hit on the head by a bolt which should have been securing the bunk above her to the bulkhead).

Apart from the angle, the sailing is good, we’re making good speed
(unfortunately not quite in the desired direction), the sun is shining and the albatrosses serve as a reminder that we’re definitely not in the Solent.

We’re still waiting for Hawaiian temperatures and waterproofs continue to be the outfit of choice, but we no longer need the layers underneath them that were necessary when we started this race. Conversations now centre on when we will arrive and what we will eat when we get there. As vitualling in China was not the easiest task, noodles and tuna have figured prominently on our menus. Needless to say, the meals we are now fantasizing about do not contain either.

Claire

Attached Picture : Lucky camera shot captures the moment when the ondeck watch gets a soaking…