Race 2 - Day 1
Crew Diary - Race 2, Day 1
16 September
Onwards and upwards
As a team we learned so much from the at times very intense Race 1. Having 24 people onboard we were often on top of each other and initially we weren’t as aware as we could be of how to live in such close quarters with so many people. After a battering coming out of the English Channel we made more of an effort to be tidy and get the boat life running as it should. After a lot of the crew were taken down with seasickness and breakages we found ourselves at the back of the fleet. But we were heartened by how much time and distance we made up on the fleet coming into Portimão.
What an amazing stopover Portimão was. The weather couldn’t have been better and the local marina staff made us feel so welcome with various things available such as wine, gin and local fish tasting. We had a few of our amazing supporters present and they are just super stars doing anything they can possible, to make life more fun and enjoyable for us. Lindsay in particular learned the way of the galley as she prepared the crew lunch while we were working on the boat and Becca and Lindsay did a huge effort sorting our supporter tshirts which skip can be seen modelling on our Facebook supporters page. One of our Leg 3 crew members Ian even popped down from the UK with his wife Rachel for some welcome chats and to wave us away.
Our mascot Nathan the Nautical Turtle having been stowed safely for the race had a mini tour of the marina this morning. Follow him on instagram to see what he got up to.
After coming last into Portimão the team are determined to do better in this race. After slipping lines and been waved away by the race office and our rowdy supporters we paraded up and down the river waving at all the other teams as passed each other wishing them all good luck. Once clear of the marina we all got into our assigned positions and hoisted the head sails having hoisted the main before the parade.
The countdown to race start continued with a few tacks and gybes to get into position and we had a good start, rounding the first and second marks second behind Punta del Este. At the start line at one point we were heading straight towards a load of supporter boats which I’m sure they were alarmed as a 70 foot racing yacht with full sails up is a sight to behold. I always love the race starts and being able to see the other boats.
A huge effort was put in by Matt to call sail trim throughout the race start and the pit crew worked hard to get through every tack and gybe as efficiently as possible and those not needed sitting on the high side to get every little bit of speed we could. Having been told it would be potentially be a light wind start we soon found ourselves back to living life at 45 and even had to clip on with the wind getting over the 15 knot threshold, the wind has died down a little now though making life below deck much easier.
We eventually broke into Baywatch and Crimewatch, with Baywatch going off for a snooze before a lovely dinner of chilli con carne cooked by Paul and Matt. They’re currently working away making bread and yoghurt for tomorrow’s breakfast.
At the moment we can see at least 4 other boats and the trim team are working hard to get the maximum speed possible. Punta here we come. Eat. Sleep. Sail. Repeat.