Race 10 - Day 22
Crew Diary - Race 10 Day 22 Q + A blog
18 April
How are the new pockets holding up? From Wendy Sperberg (Tyson's mum)
They are doing great – Thank you! All the lines are very happy!
These new pockets are a step up from the originals you made (and that’s saying something!) I particularly like the reinforced but open tops, which make flaking lines back in a lot easier.
Anyway, you can see them for yourself in Seattle in (hopefully) 9-10 days' time! :) - Eric
Hi Mom! - Tyson
What's been your favourite memory of the race so far? From Rhianna on IG
Hey Rhianna, thanks for the question. By far the best memory so far was the day that we were introduced to wave surfing! Basically, you position yourself at the crest of a wave and “surf” down its face. You can turn a 12 kt speed into say, an 18 kt speed for a short while, so much much cheering and dancing! Cheers. - Jaff
How's Paddy's snoring? From Patrick
Oh dear lord it’s something else! It’s either impressive or hilarious depending on whether you’re trying to sleep or laughing at the cacophony coming out of the ghetto. Sonorous doesn’t do it justice. I could probably add that it can make you jealous as he’s obviously having a belter of a sleep and you’re not. In Paddy’s defence, it doesn’t keep you awake as there’s a cacophony of noise that does that until you get the hang of sleeping through anything (other than Jaci’s chemical warfare, sorry, cooking!). - Oli
Are you allowed to use the Yankee 1 yet? From James Sedgewick
Hi James, glad hearing from you. Yes, we are flying all the Yankees as needed. Yankee 2 had to have some surgery though. There was a tear 2 feet long near the clew. It took us a night's work to sew it and it is still holding (knock on wood :-). Yankee 1 needed a major repair at the head hank. We could do it in Cape Town in a professional sail repair shop of North Sails. - Adrian
Which is best, 2 or 3 watch system? From Linda
Three watches by far! We are way more rested this way. Bob’s way is yet another improvement in that the times are fixed with 4- and 8-hour blocks instead of having varying shift lengths that move around the clock. We are settled into a routine and living on Qingdao time. Our shift is the same every day until we pass 2-3 local time zones and the job changes with the sun. Plus, we also have UTC time. So, three active times and three watches. It’ll make your head hurt until you are settled into the system, but it works really well. - Tyson
Eaten any good leftovers from the fridge Jaci? From Colby Allan
Colby! I miss you, girl! We don’t store leftovers in the fridge. Any food that is left over from a meal is up for grabs until the next mealtime at which, the previous meal is fed to the fish. It is amazing how much I don’t scavenge for left-over food when we prepare three complete meals, fresh baked bread, a cake, and have snacks (including a piece of fruit) each day! - Jaci
How is it going?! Leading, tougher weather conditions than maybe considered(different certainly) and a light crew - how is that going for everyone?! -From Katie Moran
Leading by 20 or 30 miles is a nerve-wracking time where you have to keep the peddle to the floor, but absolutely mustn't make any mistakes as you know there are boats just over your shoulder waiting to pounce. Leading by 200+ miles can be a bit more conservative during risky manoeuvres, but still always pushing to maximise boat speed and maintain and extend that lead. Every day we keep that gap makes the prospect of a comeback from the fleet less and less likely (but never impossible)!
But you’re right, pulling that off with only 14 on board is the real challenge. Long story short, we are all absolutely shattered. We are more prone to crankiness, and even unplanned deck naps. We just try to keep supporting one another, sharing the load, and finding new ways to summon the strength and energy to haul another sail up or down, or wrangle the helm back to course after a big gust or wave. Weather-wise we’ve seen it all, so mustn't grumble too much. Main thing is it’s all been pretty fast sailing conditions, even if some are more comfortable than others. Ya get what ya get and ya don’t get upset as Josh would say! - Paddy