Race 3 - Day 13
Crew Diary - Race 3 Day 13: Cape Town to Fremantle
13 November

The Middle Watch

“Are you awake?” “It's that time...”

That's what you hear in the darkness of the upper port side coffin bunk at 23.30 ready for the midnight watch change.

Now the hard part, leaving the warmth and comfort of your thick sleeping bag and exposing yourself to the cold atmosphere of the southern ocean.

Once out of your bunk, time is the master as boots, foulies, life jackets and water bottles are donned and filled while a queue forms at the bottom of the companionway steps as the Starboard Watch leave the bowels of the boat to relieve Port Watch.

Climbing the companionway steps, out into another world through a 3' by 2' hatch into darkness and a cacophony of noise – Fully awake!

Assembly on the highside of the boat, clipped on ready for the next 4 hours; helming, cleaning and navigation duties to perform.

Sitting on the high side peering down to the low side, the companionway hatch glows red from the night lights below, beneath the boom the boat is spewing a veil of white foam as she cuts knife-like through the rolling seas pushing waves aside with back-wrenching jolts, 10 knots under Yankee 2 and 1 reef in the main at 35 degrees lean.

Shadowy figures move around the boat, a sentinel stands over the helm guiding us on our course, giving the boat her head but reining her back as she always wants more. Helming in these seas is like manoeuvring the boat across a 25' moving Mogul ski course.

Lastly - Mariah the wind, she screams banshee like across the boat howling at 40 Kph against the sails, steel shrouds, halyards and sheets of the boat, a constant noise in your head causing the watch to communicate in some basic sign language to get tasks done.

Wet and cold after 4 hours, the red light from below is almost fire like welcoming you back below to shelter from the conditions above, bed then breakfast beckon before morning watch at 08.00.

JC