So here we go again… Another fast and furious race just off the Philippines. As my nephew Jaydon would say...
“2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate. Not the king, not the queen, Zhuhai are the winning team”.
Well I’m not sure we’ll be THE winning team, but we’ll definitely be using this short race and couple of ocean sprints to bring our new crew up to speed with everything about living on board in a race, as quickly as possible. We never actually talk about finishing race positions, we only talk about doing well as a team, learning lots, and having fun – the rest will take care of itself.
So this was my second Le Mans race start, and they don’t get any less fun. By a country mile, my favourite race start type! It's such an amazing sight to see the whole fleet lined up, and both trying to remain steady, whilst also prepping crews to push each yacht to its fullest in order to gain any little advantage at the right moment. The initial plan was for a 1700 (boat time) race start, however this ended up being pushed to 1900 and with a very large vessel passing in front of the entire fleet at this exact moment, again a further slight delay. All of these elements made for a good build up of excitement, quiet anticipation and focus ready for race start, as each crew member took their time to think through the role they would play during the hoists – how can we do it faster, with an added element of it now being dark and tethers also being at play. Regardless, we were determined to be ready whenever the start happened!
For those who have been following the adventures of Kevin for a little while, you’ll know that we thrive on a challenge. With that being said, what better challenge that to start as the most leeward boat in the lineup (after the Skippers had pre-drawn the lineup), and having the job of trying to chase the whole fleet down to gain any kind of position. As it happens, Kevin much prefers chasing other boats (and the wind), over stepping out in front and having to look over her shoulder. So here we are, less than a day in and we’re doing our best to chase… All of the small details count in our eyes, even if they don’t seem that obviously making a difference at the time. Everyone is committed to – trimming which is an ongoing and constant task, to ensure the sails are always set to match the changing conditions; helming is an ongoing challenge to sneak out any small speed or gain, particularly against the boats in eyesight; we’re still focusing on shifting weight (the crew) around the deck to help with any little gain on heeling the boat, as well as all of the other small tweaks that come with optimising in race conditions.
A couple of watches down (throughout the night), and I’m extremely happy to be on the same watch as new joiners Pat, Alex and Tony, as well as our round the worlder, Trevor. We’ve quickly gelled as a group and with the pro activity as good as I’ve seen it in the past few months since I’ve been aboard, I know we’re going to thrive in both the challenges of this short race as well as cementing the skills needed for our next big race across the Pacific to Seattle. In honour of this being Wendo’s last race, and Alex also being an Aussie, our watch is named The Aussie Watch.
TC (and the Aussie Watch) out!