Race 3 - Day 14
Crew Diary - Race 3, Day 13
04 November
Green dawn
As I write this we’re busy trying our best to avoid Cape Town and for the entire watch have been neatly drawing an arc on our GPS trace, equidistant from our goal. Helming at the moment is great fun as we bounce into and over waves like a dodgem car.
Yesterday, we spied our first Cape Fur Seals, three wallowing on their backs, flippers skyward, all separate sightings. We wondered whether they slept in this way. We too have been treated to a flock of around 500 seabirds following us to the finish and I kept a good lookout across our stern and port quarter watching them make their way upwind with us. Stuart and I are firmly determined to get a bird book on board for the next race. Here’s hoping I’ll be able to identify these retrospectively. We also watched as an albatross executed a “touch and go” skating briefly on webbed feet atop a wave it had underestimated the height of, before again peddling frantically down the backside of it until once again airborne.
Dawn two days ago was truly beautiful and I have decided to name it a “Green Dawn”. As the sky was mostly dense clouds, the sun’s light wasn’t it’s usual golden colours but the full palette of greens and blues due to a late appearance much higher in the sky. Spotlights of lime-green sunshine lit the grey glittering sea all adding to its majesty. It appeared is if a movie colourist had changed the colours to atmospherically match the start of a crisp, cool day.
Fitz and Iain have outdone themselves this morning and have treated us all to French toast and honey and/or maple syrup.
Yesterday was Lucia’s birthday and we sang her the “birthday song” countless times all day long. Stuart baked her a cake using muffin mix and cranberries which we all enjoyed last night.
We all eagerly long to arrive in Cape Town and wish both Duncan Paul and the recovering squid that Dan abused speedy recoveries.
On Dare To Lead, we feel empowered by Skipper, Guy and Mate, Hughes to race her ourselves as they keep a watchful eye on us from below decks. On the helm in the moonlight, I imagined myself alone as my crew mates huddled down low in the cockpit and out of the cold breeze, merging invisibly with its outline. I knew too, that a crew mate had my back, quietly out of sight on my left shoulder to be instantly relied upon … just in case.
Right now there is talk of us, off to find those elusive penguins and icebergs yet again but somehow think our best chance still lies off Boulders beach and perhaps the bottom of a whisky glass.