Race 3 - Day 21
Crew Diary - Race 3 Day 21: Cape Town to Fremantle
21 November

It's the final push and we are all holding strong as we near Fremantle, Australia! Just under 600 miles to go and we're currently navigating tricky wind conditions in a battle to remain in the leadership position. But fear not, morale onboard Sanya Serenity Coast is high and our will to win is as strong as ever.

Much has changed since my first blog at the end of week one, in a very good way. The seasickness has passed and the daily boat routine of Eat, Sail, Sleep, Repeat is in full swing here on week 3. The 2am watch is not as bad as it sounds and I'm always looking forward to the 6 hour break, which is usually spent reading, typing some quick emails to family and friends (a love note or two to my pretty lady back home) and sleeping in my bunk.

After 21 days at sea, it looks like we are 3 days away from arrival and I am exhausted and slightly beat up with a dislocated finger, a black eye early on in the race and some bruises here and there. Rather minimal compared to what we've managed to do to the boat in the last 36 hours. Let me get to that shortly... we do many sail changes and constantly trim sails to help us get a fraction of a knot faster to edge out the competition. There's also the less sexy stuff like emptying the bilges as all the sea water on board is heavy and slows us down.

So what happened in the last 36 hours... well, we knew there was a wind hole up ahead and we wanted to gather as much speed as possible to help us pass through quickly and effectively. Sure enough we went fast, but not without passing a few speed bumps first:

- 2 failed back-to-back spinnaker hoists which means, drop it back down, pack it back up and re-hoist. A process which can take up to an hour, and more in a storm;

- Shredded our Code 2 spinnaker (medium weight/medium wind strength kite) but manageable to fix once we hit land;

- Ripped our Code 3 (heavy weather kite) but successfully patched it up on board for another hoist;

- Lost a spinnaker sheet under the boat and it wrapped around the rudder which meant the boat had to stop so we could wrangle the sheet out of the water;

- Three broaches in a row. This is where the boat heels over about 90 degrees and happens when sailing fast downwind with spinnaker flying a strong gust blasts through (40 knots in our cases) and takes over the control of the boat. Exciting once its over and no-one is hurt!

So after that eventful 36 hours, we are now racing steadily towards Fremantle, Australia. Our crew is very close and tight. I'm very happily surprised that we all get along so well with great communication, shared laughter and a love for sailing!

This whole race started out with excitement which quickly turned to seasickness, and then for week 2 was all about adjusting to a new routine while giving your 100% to the speed and effectiveness of the boat and crew. Now, I look back on my 3 weeks onboard Sanya Serenity Coast, and I can't help but smile. This adventure will stay with me for the rest of my life and provide for endless stories to friends, family and loved ones. What an adventure and I feel extremely fortunate to be here, right now, typing this blog as we close in on the final miles of our leg 3 adventure from South Africa to Australia, crossing the mighty Southern Ocean.

Cheers!

Thanks for reading and supporting team Sanya Serenity Coast,

Damien