Race 3 - Day 19
Crew Diary - Race 3 Day 19: Cape Town to Fremantle
19 November
Two and a half weeks into one heck of a roller coaster. Emotions have ebbed and flowed from euphoria to the disappointment of the damage to the rigging and the impact that has had on our ability to compete in the race to Fremantle
I thought I would share some of my reflections as a “legger”.
Helming – it has felt to me that I wasn't as prepared as I could have been. We spent a great deal of time in training managing the sheets and the halyards which is essential. Arriving on the boat I quickly realised that with the numbers on watches and the numbers we are down, we had to step up and helm for several hours a day. The boats, seas and winds in particular have a mind of their own and the gusting winds have made for challenging helming conditions. The need to fully appreciate the apparent winds and true wind has been a fine line and is essential to ensure we run effectively
Night helming has been an even greater challenge which, when we had a moon and stars to follow, it was all very exciting but as soon as the clouds appeared and the stars disappeared, and the compass light had a hiccup it became helming on instinct. You have to feel the sea under the boat and the winds and when you cant see further than the mast, that is a challenge. It has to be mastered but at night it does feel as if it is the equivalent of driving along the M4 at night, without lights and without my contact lenses in a hurricane. Managed to get up to 17.1kn, which is exciting but by heck, quite a thrill! Thanks to Paul, James, Nano and Graham for pointing me literally in the right direction
Mother Watch – I hadn't realised that doing the mother watch, cooking for the day, entitled you to a shower, what a bonus. The only challenge is the shower is within the heads, toilets, and that is the size of a small portaloo. Then imagine the portaloo at 35 degrees being shaken violently. The only spare wall to lean on is the canvass entry sheet which if you fall through will leave you in the dry locker. What do you do?, sit on the loo and spray the shower in your general direction and hope some lands where it was intended. A real treat and a relief for all.
Also baked my first bread during mother watch. I am sure Liverpudlian Paul Hollywood will be supporting the boat but I wouldn't get a hand shake! I have sat in the room during Bake Off for years and didn't know whether you kneed the bread for air or to smash it to with an inch of its life, I chose the latter, seemed to go down well on the next mornings toast run, so a minor success.
Sailing has been great, and Lance and James have done an incredible job repairing the issues with the rigging, without their efforts we would be in a sorry state but we remain competitive and are focused on Fremantle. It feels as if the fleet will arrive around the middle of the anticipated arrivals dates. The weather has been strangely stable, the sea state has been consistent but the winds have been the challenge. They change by the minute dramatically which can make you look foolish when helming.
The team is in good spirits with everyone mucking in with duties and nobody has been late for a watch yet which says something about the commitment to the race and the team as a whole
I think we sit about 7th currently but with the last week of racing to go we are determined to maximise every point for team Liverpool 2018.
See some of you in Fremantle and everyone else back in the UK soon
Written By Gareth Osborn