Race 7 - Day 8
Crew Diary - Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat
02 March
What a day! We had been careening towards the Eastern Scoring Gate, and in our first place position things were looking great. We only had to worry about Unicef who has been hot on our tail for ages. In the last day or so we had completely annihilated the Code 1 spinnaker in a rapid deceleration from smashing into the back of a wave, and our Code 2 spinnaker had ripped a bit after somehow getting wrapped around the tack line, so we were flying our last spinnaker: the Code 3 (nicknamed the ‘Cat’ or ‘Franken-kite’ on account of its numerous repairs). Needless to say, we were all a bit on edge while the other sails were getting repaired, taking great care to fly that kite right. All throughout the morning hours we had vigilant eyes looking above. Thankfully, the Code 3 was flying like a dream, and we were making excellent progress towards the Eastern Scoring Gate ahead of Unicef and the rest of the fleet.
There was some talk about what to do next; do we head straight toward race finish or do we attempt nabbing the second scoring gate and risk losing our first place position? Given all of our strenuous days and nights changing headsails and staying ultra-focused on the race around the clock, it seemed a bit risky. But we are team Qingdao, and we do not shy away from the competition. A look at the weather forecast showed us there was a chance we could actually make it happen and still have a decent shot at the first place finish. It didn’t take much convincing; we decided to endure the inevitable ire of the rest of the fleet and go for it!
Shortly after watch changeover, lying on my bunk, I could hear cheers above deck as we passed through the Eastern scoring gate and executed a gybe towards the Western scoring gate. We didn’t know whether Unicef would follow our lead or take a shot at the first place finish, but given that Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam is our main rival in the overall race, we would have accepted a second place finish to Unicef. To our mild surprise, Unicef changed course after going through the Eastern scoring gate too. The race to the Western gate was on!
After a restful sleep, when it was time for watch changeover after lunch, our watch came up on deck just in time to assist with another gybe towards the Western scoring gate. We were not far now, only a few miles away, and we could see Unicef very close behind us. This gybe was to be an important maneuver for us to make the Western scoring gate before Unicef, and we had to get it right. The call ‘helm to weather!’ was made, and away we went. That is, until all hell broke loose.
In the next moment, we could hear shouts from the foredeck; the Code 3 was hourglassed around the forestay, and getting worse by the second. Frantic shouts from the skipper to ease the halyard and grind and ease the spinnaker sheets rose above the fray and the clinking of winches and hum of lines being eased responded. But it was too late. In less than a couple minutes, the Code 3 was fully wrapped around the forestay. We could almost hear the shouts of triumph from Unicef who had undoubtedly witnessed our unfortunate snafu just two miles from the Western gate. In a mad rush almost the entire crew stampeded to the foredeck to salvage the Code 3 and get another sail - any sail- into the air before Unicef passed by us. With half the crew wrestling the Code 3 off of the forestay, and the other half hoisting the Staysail, we actually managed to rescue the Code 3 and limp a little faster towards the Western gate.
In a brilliant stroke of foresight, the skipper and the previous watch had lifted the Code 2 spinnaker (now repaired) on deck hours earlier, and in the heat of these frenzied moments, the Code 2 was beckoning us to raise it. The skipper heard its call, and the order to raise to Code 2 was shouted from the helm. In short order the foredeck team plugged in the Code 2 and, to Unicef’s horror, in minutes our next kite was flying. We were back in the race, only 10 minutes away from the Western gate. As long as we could manage to avoid any further catastrophes, it seemed like we had snatched a scoring gate victory from the jaws of defeat.
Other than the snake pit crew and the mother watch, nearly the entire crew huddled behind the helm anxiously watching the navigation screen and periodically turning back to watch Unicef close behind us. It was definitely a nail-biter. What horrible failure was going to happen next? Murphy’s Law, right? And then, the countdown… 3...2...1… we made it!! The Qingdao chants rose as we confirmed we passed through the second score gate! Wow. A minute or two later the call was made to take down the Code 2 and raise the Yankee headsail for the final push to the race finish. We’re on our way now towards Subic Bay in excellent spirits, in a great position, flying fast, and absolutely ready to win this race! Qingdao, Qingdao, Qingdao!