Race 7 - Day 22
Crew Diary - Race 7 Day 22: Whitsundays to Sanya
21 February

Mid-race Moods

They bill the Clipper Race as "the race of your lives". As a way to test yourself more thoroughly than you have done before, to find the limits of your physical and emotional strengths, and potentially going far beyond what you thought were those limits.

As we have now passed the halfway point in the race, some of the pressures are becoming clearer, particularly for us Round the Worlders. Physically, it’s not so much the demands of sail changes etc. We are getting so much slicker at these with better techniques that they probably take less out of us than earlier in the race. Even when we are recovering from a problem like a ripped spinnaker in the water, we can do so much more calmly and efficiently than before. The physical challenges are more about the continual grind on our bodies of living in a hard environment, with limited sleep and little time for a proper rest and recharge. (I write this of course in full knowledge that the race to Qingdao is likely to be much tougher, then we have the Mighty Pacific Leg to follow, which may well change that assessment).

The bigger challenge currently is a mental one. When things are happening, we switch on and become like a well oiled machine. But retaining that focus at other times can be hard. And it is almost inevitable that the Round the Worlders can become tetchy with each other after six months living in close proximity.

Don’t get me wrong, we still get on pretty well overall. Remarkably so in fact. I expected far more tensions and, from speaking to crew from other boats, there might well be more strained teams on some of those. Our team spirit is one of our strengths. But at times, underlying strains shine through, and often when you might least expect them.

For example, during stopovers, we can see people releasing built up frustrations and during our Doldrums Corridor engine mode, we had a bit of a storm in a teacup falling out over something trivial in the circumstances. And it’s probably also showing up more how the team might have different objectives for the race - to take part, to sail round the world or to win the race.

People who have done the race before have said that the longer the race goes on the more the team relies on the fresh energy of the leggers to keep the boat going as the Round the Worlders become more tired. We are not there yet, though enthusiastic new people joining with positive energy certainly gives the boat a big boost. But at the same time, we Round the Worlders are getting at times a bit like an extended family who have been on holiday together for a little bit too long.

So, it’s going to be interesting to see how the second half of the race pans out. Not just in terms of our race position but how the team stays together and on how the mental pressures build and abate.

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Oh, and on that competition thing, I’m definitely in this for the racing not just the journey so have been focused as anyone on trying to cut down our deficits to the boats ahead. We know from past races that it’s not over till you arrive so have been trying to chase down the boats ahead and keep ahead of those behind.

Although we were caught in a wind hole earlier, we have kept going and been trying to sail around a wind hole the boats ahead seemed to be in. And we’ve made up a lot of ground already. It felt fabulous to catch and pass Liverpool 2018 from over 150 miles behind in a couple of days. And we have the magnets on for the next boats ahead.

It’s a bit funny how the Clipper Race fleet seems to compress towards race finishes. Hopefully we can keep catching the guys ahead and make up some more places.

Iain Coke