Race 5 - Day 20
Crew Diary - Race 5 - Day 20
11 January
Blue Latitudes on the Big Blue Boat
It’s now Day 20 on the Big Blue Boat with the Unicef team, and over a week since we rounded Cape South of Tasmania and entered the Pacific Ocean. The temperatures have been increasing daily and our foul weather gear has been gradually making place for beach attire as it’s HOT on board. The Clipper 70s are made for racing and not for cruising so ventilation down below has not been part of the design criteria.
The Ocean is now deep blue as I have been used to living in Fiji and it’s nice to finally enter a more hospitable climate. Perhaps I’m the one least accustomed to the cold after living in the Pacific for so long, and I’m glad that the temperatures are up although it sometimes looks like you’re in a Swedish sauna.
We have made excellent progress since leaving Tasmania behind us and the Skipper Ian’s cunning strategy following the currents have paid off as we have caught up with many in the fleet based on elapsed time. We may even be able to achieve a podium finish, who knows? It all depends on the wind over the coming days. As the Unicef team, we have generally not been too bothered about the standings thus far, as we were confident we could have a chance to catch up from eleventh place. As we near the finish line the excitement has been building and everyone is doing their best to make the boat to go fast and even faster. Even the bilges are now pumped every hour to get as much speed as possible, but the wind has proven to be fickle with a continuously changing forecast. Even though the wind is from the back, keeping the giant Code 1 Spinnaker sail optimally filled is a real challenge.
Under a bright full moon glistering in the water, an unexpected visitor hopped aboard last night with a juvenile red-footed booby landing on the guard rail at the stern. The ocean bird was sitting quietly for hours and not bothered by our proximity and was quickly adopted on the boat as ‘Ernie’. During our trip we have had other creatures passing including a big shark, a pod of 100 spinner dolphins, whales, as well as some others entering the boat including a squid that landed in the sail and a flying fish landing in the cockpit after what must have been an impressive 3-meter jump.
SO, (only) some 180 nautical miles to go! Although no land is in sight as of yet, the crew have enthusiastically been contemplating arrival times, Prizegiving ceremonies and the parade through Airlie Beach town. As we departed 48 hours after the main fleet it looks like we will miss the parade on Sunday 12 January so the Unicef team’s participation in cyan blue budgie smugglers will have to wait for the Aussie leg in the next edition of the Clipper Race 2021-22!
Whatever the outcome of the race, the Unicef team can be proud of their achievement in this leg, and it has been a pleasure to get to know everyone on board and do some fantastic racing under the great leadership of Skipper Ian and First Mate Mike. There will be several new team members joining the round the worlders and they are lucky to join this great bunch of people. It’s great to see both the on and offshore support for the racing team as well as the work of Unicef.
As I return to work next week in Harare at Unicef Zimbabwe I will make sure to share the commitments of this team for the cause of Unicef, also with all my colleagues at Unicef Pacific who have been following the race. To all my friends and family in the Netherlands, Fiji and elsewhere on the blue planet, thanks for your support that allowed me to participate in the Clipper Race. Together with my family, I will have to close the Pacific chapter for now and say goodbye to the Big Blue with a great Isa Lei. Love to you all! Satotale.