Crew Blog

Fog, festivals and finishing

06 June 2008

Thick fog has encircled Jamaica since we slipped our lines from Manhattan Island. Our departure from New York under a thick band of fog, causing the photo shoot of the fleet sailing past the Statue of Liberty to be abandoned, couldn’t have been more different to our arrival; under a clear night sky we passed under the Verrazona Bridge to see the Statue of Liberty lit up on the horizon and the New York skyline flickering in the distance. Arriving on Manhattan Island at night and mooring up alongside the skyscrapers of the World Financial Centre a few hundred yards from Ground Zero was a thought provoking and memorable experience.

After a whirlwind stopover with sightseeing, corporate sailing (Nick pictured by the Statue of Liberty), a Jamaica Day festival and a few wee drinks, we were back onboard ready for a sprint to Halifax. A sprint in a yacht race needs the help of the wind, on this occasion it has not obliged. As we lined up for the start of the race the wind disappeared and Yankees were changed for light weight spinnakers and then for windseekers with each yacht trying to seek the wind regardless of direction with several yachts doing 360s. We did well, changing sails quickly and sailed into a narrow second place. This race has then played out like the last 2 with the whole fleet close together, positions changing quickly and timing of sail changes and tacks critical.

Its now 12hrs to go until the race finish and we’re pushing as hard as we can to get up the fleet with Liverpool on the horizon and only 8 miles between us and second place; all tall order maybe but we’ll keep trying. 

One love

JB