Race 7 - Day 20
Crew Diary - Race 7, Day 20: Whitsundays to Sanya
19 February
Sanya is not far now, even though I feel it is the third day in a row I hear that we will be there in 3 days. I am almost running out of wet wipes and we are going all-in on the lunch preparation, fishing out the last tinned cans of vegetables we can find at the bottom of old day bags so I do hope that "we will be there in 3 days" is the real deal this time.
So, how was this "Forever Tropical Paradise Race" and what did I learn?
- Well, it was bloody tropical indeed: I have never sweated that much and never seen people sweat that much either, while the squalls were soaking us to the bones. So yes, I will try and spend my first hours in Sanya as near as possible to an AC machine set up on "max dry" and a hairdryer plugged in until my hair feels like dry hay.
- Helming is awesome and rather addictive. We keep trying to beat our speeds and get the best surfs, while watching the screens in front of the helms where we have all the wind data. Pretty much like a video game addiction really. I have to thank John and Ash for their intensive coaching in Leg 4 that is eventually bearing fruit now. My top speed so far: 18.0 knots, more or less on course, and more or less under control. Fine, I was on course by chance. And shrieking in half terror and half delight - so much for the control.
- Following these hours of helming, I have the slight impression my morphology evolved towards a Hulk-ish style. I have been mistaken 3 times for Cameron and the only things I thought we had in common were height and slightly long brown hair. Impression reinforced by the "compliment" of a person, who will remain nameless, on my "massive shoulders". Quite the confidence boost ahead of beach time in Sanya...
- Showers are overrated. Wet wipes are not. Due to our generator failure and restriction on battery usage, we are rationing the water so I know now I can survive 20 days with no real showers and just a couple of buckets of sea water and loooots of baby wipes. I do still feel I need to scrub my skin with sandpaper to remove all traces of sweat and smells.
- Alison is probably regretting to have written "be creative" in the galley book. Harry and I transformed a chickpea salad into fried eggs and beans. Plus side, I can actually "cook" food without burning it. Too much.
- Supporters are underrated. One of my sisters is coming to see me in Sanya, as my other sister did in Uruguay and as my father will do in the US, and this is pretty awesome. At my level, it is so great to know that my close family, my cousins, my friends in France and in London are supportive of this project and actually as enthusiastic as I am, while I half expected them to call the nearest psychiatric hospital when I decided to take time off work to sail for 8 months. On a broader level, the Clipper Race supporters community is of real support, we read the messages with a delay on the Facebook page or the other communication channels: they are very appreciated, so thanks again for those!
See you again on this blog on the next race to Qingdao, where we can expect apparently a lot of upwind sailing (read "sea sickeness" "life at an angle" "exhausting conditions") and a lot of cold temperatures (opinions are divided in the crew between "I would rather sweat 6L a day" and "finally, conditions in which I can keep the same t-shirt on for 5 days.")
AL