Race 7 - Day 6
Crew Diary - Race 7, Day 6
29 February
Well the crew have just held a consensus, and it’s finally happened. I apparently have lost all credibility as a professional. Why? You ask. Because my sunglasses took a tumble on Day 1 of this race, and lost an arm. Of course, this hasn’t stopped me from wearing them – and according to Stuart, apparently my fashion sense does not fit in with Dare to Lead’s standards.
Much to my stomach’s horror, we have also been beating upwind for quite a few days now. For those of you who haven't had this experience yet, I want you to imagine that you’re on a train. This train however, is going in a nice figure of eight at 11 knots, and every few seconds slams to an emergency stop. You, your cup of coffee, and the breakfast you just ate goes flying forward a few meters, and you’re left with just enough time to recover before the next bashing comes your way. This morning we all woke up with a sigh of relief as the wind finally turned to the beam and we could see a Japanese island off to port – a sign that we are turning the corner on Mark’s avoid-the-coronavirus race loop.
Aside from the unbearable heat and Swiss cheese-like windholes, it’s a joy to sail this part of the world. The stars that blanket us every night are unbelievably beautiful, you can even see the full arc of the milky way. The boat leaves glittering trails through the water with phosphorescent splashes sprinkling over the deck – it really is quite beautiful. To top it off, we were visited by a gorgeous Sperm Whale the other day. However, as you will all have guessed by now, by the time I had fallen ungracefully out of bed – grabbed a camera and stumbled onto deck – the whale had seen me coming and gave us a teasing wave goodbye as it vanished into the turquoise depths.
Race wise, we ran into a few wind holes at race start, which put us towards the back of the fleet. There was an ironic moment where a piece of discarded packaging floated past us with large imprinted letters spelling ‘SPEED,’ - moving, yes you guessed it, much faster than we were. The crew have been great at chasing the leading boats down, inching forward, and I’m sure the last dash back to port will reshuffle the whole fleet in the most frustrating way possible. Nothing gets the blood boiling quite like being stuck, completely stationary, within sight of the finish line – and watching the competing boats, only a few nautical miles to port, steal past you during the night (A large thank you to WTC Logistics for giving Visit Sanya, China this particular pleasure on Race 6.) If I’ve got this crew right, I’m pretty sure a few bets have already been made. The going currency for bets is currently a limited supply of 7 Up, and judging by the large ‘whoop’ that Cecelia gave at precisely 12 o'clock today, she’s in the lead.
Our recent stop over in Subic Bay has made us all keen to come back for round two, although I personally will be returning much heavier than when I left. To all the new crew joining Dare To Lead for Leg 6 – you’re in for a treat, as the food has been nothing short of spectacular. I personally have no self control any more – especially when it comes to Jim’s pancakes or Stuart’s raisin bread. As I’m typing, I’m getting wafts of cinnamon and nutmeg, which can only mean that Kate has started the rice pudding for tonight. The stocking up for our impending North Pacific crossing is going strong.
That’s all for me, love to all back home
- Cherie