Crew Blog

Ladies’ night - oh, what a sight

06 October 2007

We are expecting to cope with little or no wind once we reach the Doldrums, but we’ve just had an early taster of the frustrations to come. The last few days have seen us trying to blow into the spinnaker to keep it filled. No one wanted to be responsible for stalling the boat, as trying to get a 35 tonne yacht moving again in 3 knots of breeze is a nightmare. A bit of extra pressure for the helm…

But the wind has thankfully picked up again and Jamaica has been hooning along. Sailing under spinnaker has been exhilarating. Our first ever ‘all hands on deck’ cry was to retrieve the lightweight spinnaker after the strop holding it up broke in a truly attention seeking style. It got a few people out of their bunks in a hurry. Luckily both crew and kite remained unscathed.

Night sailing is a delight. It is now warm enough for shorts and t-shirt nearly round the clock, and the skies are just crammed with stars. The local wildlife seems keen to introduce itself at the moment. I stepped barefoot on a squid which had landed on the deck last night, squirting ink everywhere. Graham spotted a turtle yesterday and we’ve all been fighting off attacks by flying fish. Three people have been hit so far, but only Lucy managed to get her glasses knocked off her face. The screams even woke the skipper!

‘Ladies’ night’ on Jamaica was organised by the two girls and saw all crew invited to ‘show us your feminine side’. There was an accompanying questionnaire to test their feminine knowledge and then judging from Lucy and I for the title of ‘Biggest Girl’. This year’s ‘Biggest Girl on Jamaica’ award went to ‘Francesca’, who appeared on deck in a dress complete with bonnet, knee high boots, handbag and lipstick. Trimming whilst doubled up with laughter was difficult, but we’re racing!

Claire