Race 6 - Day 16
Crew Diary - Yacht gymnastics
06 February

We are now into some interesting sea conditions, quite different to the distant memory of the calmness of the Doldrums. This brings with it, some rapidly changing angles in which to live in and on our floating home.

Below decks, we have various sail ties and hand-holds arranged around all walkable areas, including the ‘bowling alley’ Notorious for flying dives from one side of the boat into the wet-locker on the other if due care and attention are not adopted, as just demonstrated by Rick (n harm done!). There are also strategically placed grip strips up walls and other flat surfaces to assist with tasks such as getting onto an over-hanging top bunk whilst the boat heels over; a task not made any easier by the lack of hand-holds with which to pull oneself up into said bunk. Once in a bunk, the lee cloth is the only aid which might mitigate the risk of flying out of the bunk. This involves tying knots in the stings of the lee cloth to D-rings at either end of the bunk, to tighten and lift the cloth and hold it in place. The risk of lee cloth failure is directly proportional to the quality of the said knots, so if anybody falls out of bed they only have themselves to blame!

Once on deck, it’s a case of trying to find somewhere to sit. When on watch, there are various tasks that require specific positioning of ones body in order to reach winches, coffee grinders and various sheets, but when not directly working on a task, we have to find somewhere to perch without being in the way or being at risk of damaging oneself. Bearing in mind the heat in the 32 degrees midday sun, without any shade, these spots are few and far between. The cockpit edge is slightly less scorching on the derriere compared with the grippy surface of the deck, so it is ‘normal’ to be found perching with the minimum amount of body contact with any surface, just shoes, the smallest area of ‘butt’ and hands on ropes or jack stays which do not incinerate skin quite as quickly. It is possible to lie down on the deck with just shoe, hat and life-jacket the only contact points on the deck, but this is limited to the time it takes to manipulate the spine into an unnatural configuration by the lump in the life-jacket. Then it requires a quick manoeuvre to sit up and place ones knees under the chin to rearrange the spine back to where it should be. It certainly gives the balance reflexes a work out and the word is out that everyones’ basic hip flexibility has improved.

Another health and safety consideration is the necessary perpetual application of Factor 50+++ sunscreen over all reachable and remembered areas of the body. The most common evidence of failure to apply all over is the life-jacket-shaped white patch surrounded by red skin and the various degrees of non-contagious ‘croc pox’ on feet!