Race 6 - Day 17
Crew Diary - The Sounds of Sailing
08 February

Heather Broadbent

A poet, I am not, but here is my attempt at poetry for 2020:

The Sounds of Sailing

Swissssssshhhhhh water rushes past our hull,
SWISSSSHHHHHHH faster, louder still, we pick up a surf,
Creaking, crunching, clicking, sheets tightening on winches,
Constant hum, fans struggling to move the fetid air in the ghetto,
Background chatter, crew in the galley, sweating over the stove,
Occasional shout “BEAR AWAY” or “COME UP”
Eeeee Eeeeeee Eeeeee, easing sheets on winches,
Laughter, chatter, singing,
Groaning, the boom at the gooseneck,
Thud, thwack, thump, feet on deck,
Constant yet unpredictable grinding and clicking,
Clip, clunk, clatter, clip, clip, safety tethers clip on, move, clip on,
Incessant ticking of winches,
Flogging sails, whipping sheets,
Scrunch scrunch roll tie, packing the code again,
Then GRIND, all hell let loose, ALL the noises simultaneously.
Off watch try to sleep, eyes closed against the day, body tired, ears pricked
I will never sleep with this noise, too hot, too bright, too much motion, then
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, exhaustion takes you in an instant, until the next watch.
Repeat.

Champagne sailing this is not, the constant noise on a Clipper 70 racing yacht is something that takes some getting used to.