Race 9 - Day 3
Crew Diary - The Heat Is On
12 March

Day two of Race 9 on the #BigBlueClipperBoat… The heat is killing me. I normally reside in Glasgow, a city renowned for its rain and lack of sun. I am unfamiliar with the yellow orb and just a temp in double figures is deemed as ‘taps aff’ (‘t-shirts off’ for the uninitiated). There was a good reason for signing up for a cold leg, so this precursor is a little unprepared for.

It is a constant battle between keeping cool on deck with the breeze, against burning my pasty skin in the unrelenting blaze, or melting down below and leaving an unsightly puddle. The need to cover up has resulted in a number of crimes against fashion that I am rather hoping have not been captured on film.

There are only two ‘noobs’ on this leg. Although others have joined for Leg 6, all are returning leggers. It is notable that only the noobs are the ones who are never very far from a bucket. There is plenty of empathy as many of the others have experienced the same, but are now more acclimatised to the conditions. It is always a gamble knowing what medication works for you, and juggling the side effects. In my case, being knocked out by the medication for about four hours – this is not practical at the start of a watch…

Race wise, after a great Le Mans start, we have slipped a bit in the tables and have constantly been trying to make any small adjustments to make the boat go faster. More breeze would be very welcome indeed.

The rest of life on board is steady, as all my training is starting to come back to me. My crew mates are helpful and there’s no such thing as a stupid question.

Right, as this is now eating into precious off watch time and the seasickness meds have kicked in, I’ll sign off for a nap.

Here we go!