Race 2 - Day 1
Crew Diary - Race 2, Day 1
15 September

In for the long haul

After a great stay in Portimão we set off this afternoon on the second race of our journey around the world, a race that will see us cover the 5,200 miles down to Punta Del Este, Uruguay, in about 30 days. We are really ‘in for the long haul’ on this race.

After a Parade of Sail for the large and enthusiastic crowds who had come out to witness our departure from this most hospitable of Portugese cities, we battled for the position before starting the inshore race ‘around the cans’, providing a magnificent spectacle for the thousands of people taking advantage of a lovely, hot and sunny day at the beach. It was nice to give something back, in the form of free entertainment to the people of Portimão who had made us so welcome on our first stopover.

Having completed the triangular course we were now free to set off on our journey across the Atlantic which will witness our first crossing of the equator and visit to the notorious doldrums. We keenly await both experiences. But first things first…

While the rest of the fleet set off in the same general direction, our wily Skipper, Nick Leggatt, plotted a completely different course towards the first mark which we hope will put us into an early advantageous position. We will see...but in Nick we have faith.

After a week of living on land and the level, we were once again experiencing life at 45 degrees as we beat upwind, exciting on deck as you cut through the waves but not so great as you try to move about to live and work below deck. Still, we are assured that within a couple of days we will be enjoying downwind sailing for the vast majority of our passage down to South America.

As I write this blog we have just enjoyed a lovely meal of chicken curry and rice, made even more special by the bright orange sun slipping below the horizon as we dined. Not a bean or lentil insight this evening, I am pleased to say, but it is only a matter of time before they make an appearance ... still they are apparently good for us. I am not so sure but Kathy can be very persuasive and she has the control of the menus, so beans and lentils will be making regular appearances