Race 3 - Day 8
Crew Diary - Race 3 Day 8: Cape Town to Fremantle
08 November

Rowena Verity
Rowena Verity
Team Garmin
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Life On Deck

I'm guessing you've already clicked on that addictive tracker to see where Garmin is as we sail towards Fremantle. You saw our position and probably wondered what it was really like on deck right now. If only we had a webcam, I'm sure it would get lots of hits. So let me take you on a journey to reality and share a picture of what you'd have seen if you were viewing the webcam of our last watch...

The time is 04:00 on Tuesday 7th November. We should be swapping watches but there's a sail change. Yankee 1 down for Yankee 2 – that's the big sail at the front of the boat. It's not quite daylight but the moon is bright. The wind is gusting into the twenties with waves crashing over the bow. Our Skipper GT ensures we take good care of our sails and is proactive with sail changes as conditions can change very fast here and safety is paramount. Luckily, we have two watches available on deck. The outgoing Starboard Watch, led by Mike T, has the new sail hanked and ready to raise. The current sail lowered with the agile strong crew members being there to pull it down and secure it on deck. It's a physically demanding task in these conditions where the boat is on a heal and waves are constantly crashing over the bow. The only way to complete this challenging task is through teamwork. The pit crew lower the halyard that holds the sail up and control the sheets (lines) to try and stop the sail flogging. The bow crew need muscle power determination and coordination to get the sail down safely. They secure it to the deck with sail ties. Moments later the sheets are switched to the new sail and, with coordination between the bow crew sweating the sail at the mast and the pit crew working the winches, the new sail is raised. The outgoing watch leave the deck as they must sleep now before their next shift. The incoming watch now oversee the packing of the sail.

The thing is that packing sails on deck is physically demanding and extremely difficult when conditions are tough. It's a very large heavy wet sail made of thick material and it needs to be flaked before it can be packed and handled through the sail locker hatch. Imagine 5 crew members clipped on the jack-stays that run along the bow moving rarely to ensure they're safe as the boat bounces through the waves on a 40 degree heal at times with waves spraying the deck. Loud voices and clear direction is needed to communicate over the noise of the sea and wind. The watch leader Mike B is on the helm keeping a careful eye on the crew on the bow as he steers the boat. He makes the call for more hands and Sammi leaves the pit to wake up Emanuele, our assistant watch leader, who is due a night's rest after a day as chef in the galley. Not tonight. Ema is strong and agile. We need him to join the bow team and help bag the sail. The waves are not on our side and the crew can't make much progress with the relentless spray. Mike B makes a decision to ease the main sail to flatten the boat a little to help the team achieve the task and minimise the time they're working on the bow.

Finally the sail is bagged and three of us go into the sail locker and open the hatch to receive it. Again, it's teamwork and coordination as the crew on the bow heave together moving the heavy long sail bag across the bow to the hatch. Those in the sail locker have their arms raised to receive it in a controlled manner. In the meantime, the waves play with our open hatch drenching the sail locker crew as the sail bag is lowered. Finally the hatch is closed and the bow team retreat to the pit, as do the sail locker team. There are smiles of satisfaction that the task is finally complete though there are words of frustration at how difficult it was to bag a sail. Well, that's sailing. A straightforward task on land, a complex and demanding task on high seas where safety needs to be paramount. I'm sure watching that sail change on a webcam would have been just as addictive as the tracker and I expect you'd have been late to bed yourself so maybe it's just as well we don't have one fitted!

Sending love to Cameron Fraser and Sophie Louise and Paul.

Rowena Verity