Race 2 - Day 2
Crew Diary - Race 2, Day 2
17 September

My last blog was written amongst the hype and excitement of the departure ceremony of St. Katharine Docks. It seems so odd that only two weeks has passed – we’ve crammed in such a lot in that short period of time.

I’m pretty sure much has already been written about the sail down to Portimão. For me, it was the longest time I have ever spent at sea, and it was certainly a tough introduction to ocean sailing. The journey out through the English Channel was harder than anything I have experienced before. Whilst the training is very thorough and teaches us the skills and techniques to sail a Clipper 70, nothing really prepares you for spending days at 45 degrees – where climbing in to your bunk requires impressive acrobatic skills, preparing food for 21 people takes on a whole new dimension and lets not even start to talk about using the heads.

Luckily conditions improved, we levelled out and made it safely to Portimão – down in tenth place unfortunately – but all a bit wiser and slightly more experienced.

The reception we received in Portimão was fantastic – they really couldn’t have been more welcoming. The presentation ceremony was a fun night out (congratulations to Punta del Este by the way on winning the first race), and it gave the crews a great opportunity to let their hair down. Drinks receptions followed on the next three evenings, where we were able to sample some of the local food and beverages. Of course it wasn’t all about socialising – there was enough to keep us amused in getting the boat ready to sail again. Massive high 5’s to the amazing sail repair team who carried out some essential maintenance on a couple of slightly poorly sails.

I personally had a lot of fun speeding around town on the ‘cric’ electric scooters, and also managed to find some time out to watch the mighty Canaries on tv – defeating the current EPL champions in an encounter I’ll remember for a long time.

All good things come to an end – and we’re out on the water again. Just over 24 hours, but we’re making good progress – we’re currently parallel with Morocco, mostly flying the Windseeker and Code 1 Spinnaker so far, as we try to make the most of the light winds.

Despite the week on dry land it’s been a quick transition back in to the watch routine – on deck for 3 hours, 3 hours support, 3 hours sleep, on deck again for 3 hours and 6 hours sleep – and repeat (oh - and fit food in there somewhere).

Finally I would like to apologise to my fellow crew for the lovely coughs that have spread around the boat – it seems I have been identified as patient zero, so not the most popular person around at the moment. A special mention also to Emma Winchester who unfortunately wasn’t feeling well enough to complete the journey to Uruguay with us. I appreciate all the cups of tea you made – we’re all working hard to finish as high as we can.

Bye till next time – JP.