Race 9 - Day 23
Crew Diary - Race 9 Day 23: Qingdao to Seattle
15 April
Silence after Storm and the Drysuit Experience
Hello Everybody,
Not long ago, we have been sitting in a storm, with gusts of more than 74 knots shaking our boat around and filling our minimal sail plan, with three reefs in our mainsail and our storm jib up. Both sails look ridiculously small, compared to our full sail plan but believe we have been happy having it reduced wisely before the climax of the winds affected us. With the increasing winds and waves the movements of the boat become more and more abrupt creating a feeling down below much more like being in a roller-coaster than on a sailing yacht. Unlike on a rollercoaster, there are no shaped seats with safety belts on it, but everyone’s own interest to keep proper hold, especially while getting out of your warm bunk, leaving your cosy sleeping bag (it is probably the only dry place on board, so we all take utmost care of it!!!!), or struggling into your drysuit to prepare for the next watch. Not to mention about the feeling visiting the heads. Best advice: avoid them during stormy times!!! But still, down below it feels relatively calm compared to what the ambience is up on deck in hurricane force winds.
The watch pattern goes on, regardless you feel like coming up on deck or not, the boat must be sailed and not a single one of us hesitates to get up, because the leaving watch is impatiently waiting to be relieved from their wet and cold duty. So once fought yourself into your damp base layer, your wet mid layer and probably soaked wet ‘waterpoof’ socks, ‘Drysuit’ and boots, lifejacket on, make your way up the companionway, get the protective rubber flap aside and enter the cockpit. Immediately there is a cold and wet welcome from the spray permanently blown across the boat and the fierce roaring of the wind in the rigging. No need to mention, that there is no doubt about being clipped on permanently and even double clipped on with your safety tether once you are in your position.
Before I thought the nights would be scarier, because you don't see what's going on, but in fact it is the opposite. At times it's better not to see everything around you. Especially when you are on the helm, during daylight, don't look back, not to be scared by the big waves catching up on you from behind. These massive waves (according to satellite pictures up to 14m in our area) first pick up the stern, lift it up, causing the bow to point down into the trough of the wave and then the boat starts to surf it down at an incredible speed. Our boat record: 35,3kn. This causes an impressive spray on both sides of the bow, massive amounts of water coming over the boat and an incredible roaring noise. Challenging not only the people on the helm, but everyone on deck to keep proper hold but at the same time fulfilling their specific tasks. A great challenge, demanding rewarding, exhilarating, creating great smiles.
Especially during night times, some waves can be particularly nasty, as you don't see them coming, causing massive lurches of the boat and throwing not only dense spray, but considerable amounts of water over the crew on deck, what caused several of our automatic lifejackets to open. As well as that causes some fright, it causes laughter, as you can barely move any more, and have to struggle your way back down to repack your vest.
Still feeling safe, a unique and very intense experience.
Now the weather calmed down considerably, moral is high and although it seems to be a hopeless task, we try to dry out at least the most essential parts of our kit. Basically, nothing stays dry. No matter how much you pay for it, by the time water finds its way and can be poured out from the most expensive GoreTex boots as well as out of rubber boots, gloves become soaked wet from inside, should it be rubber working glove, sailing, or neoprene diving gloves and Drysuits might be waterproof and fully sealed, but they also get wet from the inside no matter how much your care for them and so they should more likely be called waterproof wetsuits.....
But all that is part of the challenge we signed up for! So, heads in the game, trying to catch up on the fleet ahead of us, looking forward to a fast approach towards Seattle.
Our very best wishes to all our beloved ones, friends and family at home,
The goal is the journey, Seattle our destination.
Stefan