Crew Blog

Switch into drive

14 April 2008

Getting to the top of the leaderboard is one thing. Staying there is another matter entirely.

As we jumped from third to first the weather was balmy, the seas flat, and the wind blowing nicely for some rare (for this leg) downwind sailing. The chilled out conditions led to such highjinks as a chubby bunny competition in which irrepressible mountain man Andrew bested the more scientific technique of ‘Doc’ Brendon to win honours for the mooses and the addition to the helm of a modern day figurehead complete with red-painted fingers and toes and the crowning jewel of an orange cupped delicately in an alabaster palm that would easily find a home at the Tate Modern.

But now the weather has turned grey, the seas rough, and the wind frigid, mirroring the increased tension aboard as we endeavour to keep our first-place position. Some crew members are even reporting difficulty sleeping because of the adrenaline pumping through their veins.

Adding to the challenge was a bitter squall first thing this morning which necessitated splitting the watches and keeping only the helmsmen on deck for the first time since leaving Qingdao. While the squall abated, the seas did not, and there was much nailbiting as fears mounted that the seas which were hindering our progress would also negatively impact our position. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, when, at the 5 p.m. (boat time) scheds we were still 12 miles in front of Singapore, 37 in front of New York.

Skipper Rob remains undaunted, confident in his crew and their
ever-increasing speed on sail changes.

Meanwhile down in the galley we battled incredibly steep angles which
prevented the bilge pump from working correctly and kept the bathroom sink overflowing until intrepid engineer Paul drove a stake into the heart of the beast.

For now we’re California dreamin’. Only 569 miles away…

Andrea and Catherine