Race 5 - Day 17
Crew Diary - Race 5 - Day 17
08 January

Late afternoon, somewhere off Fraser island, I’m in my port side bunk, drowning in perspiration, the galley is an inferno… Swiss Watch leader, Thierry is making rosti for the evening meal: three crew spent an hour grating potato for this delicacy?

It’s the international day on Imagine your Korea: for lunch, Chae made Korean noodles with kimchee; I’ll be having kimchee on my rosti!

Tomorrow is likely to be my penultimate day on IYK as we scoot, spinnaker ballooning, across a flat sea towards the Whitsundays, the finish line and the end of Leg 4.

I carefully descend the Everest high bunk to join Rolex Watch for dinner and then on deck for the sunset watch, we will be back at 2 am for the sunrise watch.

This is my first and last blog for team Imagine your Korea, for my Leg 3 and Leg 4 experience. The extreme challenge aside, I chose these legs because I wanted to see the Southern Ocean, to surf the roaring forties and see the wandering albatross… to be able to tell tall tales of seafaring, of ‘making the easting’ from Cape Town to Fremantle then around Tasmania to tropical FNQ. For me, it has been relentlessly challenging, extremely fatiguing and exhilarating I wanted it to end and I wanted it to go on forever. A massive learning experience in ocean racing and a master class in helming in extreme conditions.

Our achievements of Leg 3 are now legendary… to come back from some disappointments, a broken rudder, take on a new Skipper, repair the Code 2 four times at sea, and get three third placings (scoring gate, ocean sprint and overall) was fantabulous.

What I find most rewarding is the camaraderie of the crew, an extraordinary ability to work right now we are hopeful of some success in Leg 4. Together facing the multiple daily demands of on board life with humour, empathy and tolerance, to look out for each other and ensure everyone has the same experience and be safe about it.

And there are some characters too! A crew member like Frank, the master trimmer; Kate, gadget girl, whose cry of ‘GRIND’ still echoes in the ears of us mere mortals; Nick, the assassin and head graffiti artist; Kahlid, who no matter how many falls and bruises he suffered, always struggled to his feet with a smile. Dr Knot, twitcher and human encyclopedia, the safety conscience of IYK; Chardonay, who calls a spade a shovel; Jonny Vin Rouge, a name that says it all, and Norfolk, the Yoda of Grump. Richard and Brains and Gill... just a few of a crew, where each contributes in unique ways to sail IYK across the vast Southern Ocean and up the east Australian coast. It is the friendships built here that I will cherish the most, the memories of the hardships and successes shared.

It is mid-morning, still drowning in perspiration, I am unable to sleep. We have crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and are now in the Coral Sea, closing in on the passage through the barrier reef to the Whitsundays. Being the only ‘local’ on board, I am considered an expert on all things Australian… what they don’t know is that what I don’t know I make up! However, I fear I am in danger of being sacrificed to Huey, the wind and wave god: my forecast trade winds, southeasterly at 15 knots, have not materialised… I hope I make it to the passage.

See you in Airlie Beach, Brino

Brian Anderson