Race 3 - Day 9
Crew Diary - Race 3 Day 9: Cape Town to Fremantle
09 November
Southern Ocean!
It has now really begun to show up to its rumour! The first couple of days out of Cape Town, we all wondered, "Is this real?" Fair winds, sunny, almost warm days, more as we had expected the Doldrums, close to the Equator...
But since then, wham! Front system after front system with wind forces strong enough to whip up seas, first like a small house and later more like mountain ridges. Every now and then they, the waves, stand up in front of us like big walls, but Garmin is a good climber and floats over that one and the next one. However sometimes the other side of the mountain is a bit too steep and we land with a crash that makes us all shudder and wonder.
We did try the spinnakers a couple of times, when the wind was right, but only hours - sometimes minutes - later they had to come down again, twice with very minor tears in them.
Little fixing jobs that normally would have been done in half an hour took much longer time as the workplace onboard is a bit congested. Sitting with a normal cutting board in my lap as a workbench, half the sail scrunched up under my chin and the other on floor in front of me, putting patches on both sides and then stitching them on as extra strength, at the same time as holding on, not to be thrown across the area takes some skills I did not know I had!
Life in general onboard has also got harder as we are on a steady lean and all movement has to be very carefully planned and executed. There are lots of handles and safety ropes everywhere, but sometimes you find yourself just hanging there when your feet are swept away by a sudden 'jump' in the ship's movement. I guess that we all have found new places on our bodies to get a bruise or a soar muscle...
But every cloud has its silver lining! Like early this morning after 4 hours in the wet, windy outside, coming down to your free watch, being met by the smell of newly baked scones!
Bill had made the almost impossible possible and made up a batch and was now giving us this fantastic treat, scones and jam for breakfast (or maybe it was an evening meal as it was now time for rest in the bunk).
I feel very lucky to be on Garmin because of the good camaraderie we have onboard! Even when life onboard is getting tough, there is laughter and giggles and if there is a hard word uttered – it is not aimed for a person – it is aimed for a wave that just broke over your head or something similar.
The albatrosses follow us closely and probably wonder why we are here in their domain. Sometimes they are almost caught in the rigging as they are gliding so close.
In the 'old days', the seamen did not like them as the belief in those days was that they were the 'souls of drowned seamen, lost at sea' flying around, homeless out over the ocean, but now we just adore their majesty and flying skills!
Life is beautiful and has so many different sides to it – and it takes them all to appreciate them all!
Next stop Australia!
Bye for now, from Erik