Crew Blog

To finish or not to finish that is the question – Race 11 a test of nerves.

01 June 2008

Race 11 from Jamaica to New York has been a very unusual race for the skipper and crew of New York. After a starting position of ninth we were all out to prove we could give the rest of the fleet a good race. The Le Mans start showed we were in fighting mood and were quickly in contention and settling in for the battle with the conditions and the other boats.

Most of the leaders had their spirits challenged by a squall and several hard won miles were lost going nowhere whilst the heavens opened and the boats and crew on watch got a quick rinse. As the entire crew settled into the task ahead the wind picked up and the race was really on - the nerve and stomach testing stuff that we were dreaming of when we signed on for this adventure so long ago. The crew of New York faced the prospect of a long hard race and one by one took on the challenge of overtaking the other boats, finding the extra fraction of a knot of boat speed when ever possible.

The wind gods seemed to be away on vacation as the winds became gradually lighter and lighter and more variable. Sailing in light conditions is more difficult than in a fair wind. Adrenalin flows when physically challenged but in these conditions concentration and determination are the key to maintaining every fraction of boat speed that you can.

We crawled our way up the ranking and the pleasure our finding ourselves with a small lead was immense. By now the fleet was quite well spread and we lost sight of some of the competition the poor winds and the need to get to New York was pressing. Our computers predicted an arrival date of December 13 for a while – I guess that did not quite fit the schedule that the organisers had in mind the race was going to be called at 00.00 on 30 May this was received with mixed emotions as we had all hoped for the exciting race to the line finish, this was not to be. We had around 18 hours to try and hang onto our slim lead, go at least as fast as our close rivals and most importantly not make any serious mistakes. Not sure who was where and how close we all were, the risks in changing sail or even tactic were large and could have been costly. Team New York took the decision to sail to win if at all possible and so sail changes went on with the usual speed and regularity and then the count down the last hour was tense and the final call to the race controllers at 00.00 signaled the start of the long wait and what a long wait it was – how hard can it be to get 10 positions and get a computer to work out who was nearest to the race finish? We sat around on deck for a short eternity all quietly working out could Liverpool 08 have crept up around the rest of us? Where had westernaustralia2011.com disappeared to? Could our slender lead of four miles be lost by another rival just getting a bit more luck (wind)?

After an age Duggie came up the companionway to tell the crew the news – we had won, kept our lead, broken the home curse and for some of us earned our first root beer just as soon as we can get ashore in New York. Our friendly rivalry with other crews will be renewed all over again in a few days ready for the next race, but after a race of mixed fortunes with such close results we know sailing at this level is not getting any easier!

We might only have three Americans on board but we are all ‘New Yorkers’ now – so watch out if you are in the nearest bar to the marina in New York a happy crew are on the way with some serious celebrating to do.
Y’all have a nice day.
Keith