Race 3 - Day 12
Crew Diary - Race 3 Day 12: Cape Town to Fremantle
12 November
Hallo!
Finally some news from the Belgian delegation on GREAT Britain. All good here on board, learning to adapt to living at various heeling angles. When I signed up for this, no-one told me that it would be closer to rock climbing than sailing from time to time. Making it from one side to the boat to the other, especially below decks, really needs planning, an itinerary including from which rope to swing to the next hand bar. So, Tarzan rather than Popeye the Sailorman!
Today we aimed for a top 3 place passing the Scoring Gate but the light winds had other plans for us. Skip Andy kept on motivating the troops, but with the wind decreasing every hour and with a windseeker failing to do its job, we crossed the gate as the 4th boat. But we are keeping our ambitions for a podium place in Fremantle intact!
It's remarkable to see how, even on a vast ocean, wind and swell come and go and that we are basically at the mercy of Mother Nature in our progress to Fremantle. I can imagine that for those following the Race Viewer at home, it might be a mystery why we are at times flying along at 12 knots and floating around like a rubber duck the next moment.
Nothing to do with us collectively taking a nap or going on strike because we are hungry - Pip is making sure we are well fed at all times of the day (not sure about the porridge though... guess it's a British thing) – but it is just the wind playing tricks on us. At this stage, the Southern Ocean hasn't lived up to its promise to offer a sleigh ride to Australia but we all keep high hopes.
That said the first bets on when we are going to make it to Fremantle are being placed. And the stakes are high. Rounds of drinks for the whole boat etc... As long as morale stays high, the bad jokes keep on coming (Paul: "what's a boomerang that doesn't come back? A stick..."). I'm happy to be onboard for a little while longer. Despite the cold, the hard work when sail changes keep coming and with the strange sleeping pattern, it truly is a great adventure.
A smelly hug to all my loved ones (wet wipe showers can only do so much) and big kiss from the Southern Ocean.
Jeroen