The theme of our race for the past 48+ hours is Eat. Sleep. Kitemare. Repeat.
Kitemare 1. 15.09.2025 0400 UTC. Failed attempt to hoist Code 2. Yankee halyard was wrapped around the spinnaker halyard, so it was dropped before full hoist.
Kitemare 2. 15.09.2025 0515 UTC. Failed attempt hoist Code 1 (as code 2 failed shortly beforehand). Kite hoisted but the lattice failed to pop and became a tangled mess. Code 1 dropped.
Yankee 1 hoisted while we re-laced the kites.
Code 2 hoisted once re-laced by the SWS.
Kitemare 3. 16.09.2025 0800 UTC. Tack strop failed. Code 2 dropped (involuntarily).
Code 2 relaced and rehoisted by the SWS in less than 25 mins, tack strop repaired, and the kite was flying again less than 40 mins after the tack failure.
Kitemare 4. 16.09.2025. 13.30 UTC. Tack line knot unworked itself so tack failed. Code 2 dropped (involuntarily).
Code 1 hoisted.
Kitemare 5. 17.09.2025 0400 UTC. Lightning spotted on the horizon, so Code 1 dropped. Our first voluntary drop, at last. As it was being re-laced by the SWS a tear was found in the top. L-shaped, approx. 20x10 inches.
Yankee 1 hoisted while the squall passed and the Code 2 replaced by SWS.
After the squall, the Code 2 hoisted and popped without issue and Yankee 1 dropped.
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It’s been a relentless couple of days, to say the least.
Each chapter of the Kitemare has required hours of physical work and mental capacity as we learn to fix each of these issues for the first time and the team is becoming more resilient by the minute. It’s not easy to go to sleep after a tough watch with spinnaker issues and then wake up to find yet another spinnaker on the floor next to your bunk, knowing that you’ll need to relive the Kitemare again.
Outside of the never ending sail changes and work on deck, the crew have also been working hard to keep on top of normal essential duties - engine, steering, safety and rig checks, log books, pumping and cleaning bilges and clean the heads and the boat.
Throughout everything the team has supported and looked after each other. Each drop and hoist and kite relace has seen off-watch crew stay up well past their bedtime or jump out of bed and onto deck or ready to squirrel and lace below. Galley staff have often found themselves doing more sailing than cooking and are choosing to miss their post-galley long sleep to help their crew mates, while still somehow keeping us fed.
Shout out to Brian who made a special appearance in his boxers and a life jacket for a Code 1 hoist, hanging around the foredeck like Tarzan. And Sara our sailmaker who jumped to action to repair the Code 1 just as her watch was finishing.
The Kitemare has also led to the development of the SWS - the Special Wooling Service. This elite group is made up of Thomas, Andrew, Lauren and Bruce and they are regularly deployed to the sail locker when exhausted crew have been defeated by the kites, and the job just needs to get done. They are currently recruiting trainees in the hope that they make it up on deck again at some point this race…
Our leaders Lou and Brian are keeping us motivated and moving. We are proud to be learning from each mistake and not repeating them. This keeps us pushing on and on, and spirits remain high as we see the reward of all our hard work, maintaining our place in the front of the pack as we head towards the Canaries.
Tongyeong ga-ja!