Just for a bit of a change, I'm going to let our new AQP, Angela, introduce herself and give you an update on the racing so far. It's been an exciting race and we are really looking forward to arriving in New York!
Hi Guys,
Angela here, the new AQP onboard Dare To Lead. I was one of the three AQPs who got transferred to a new team. Just letting you know though that a 'transfer' in sailing cannot be compared to a transfer in soccer!
Life onboard Dare To Lead has been good. Working with 'skip' Nigel has been a real joy! We already kind of knew each other because we ran a Level 3 training course together in Gosport. But in all fairness, that cannot be compared with actually racing together.
We might not agree on how to drink tea properly, but if it does not get any worse than that we are going to have an amazing time until Race Finish.
This leg has been a challenging one, but I feel we should be very proud of ourselves. After the Le Mans Start we managed to hold our ground in the top three of the fleet for the first 36 hours and that was great for team morale!
Then the wind started to drop and it was time to hoist the Code 1. At least, if you have one. Ours however has been in the ICU since Seattle and even though Bettina, our sailmaker onboard, has been (and still is) doing extensive work on her, we will be needing some specialist involvement to get her off life support. Hopefully that will be done in New York.
Back to the race: just when it looked like we were going to be in first position for a while we managed to sail in our own private wind hole. The boat stopped, the Windseeker started to flog and the boats below us, and GoToBermuda on top of us, just kept going. Not a pretty sight (putting it mildly) but luckily it did not take too long for the wind to fill back in, however our little Windseeker could not keep up with the Code 1’s on the other boats.
Today Nigel and I had a chat with the team and we were looking back at the race. We came to the conclusion that the Code 1 was needed for about 24 hours. 24 hours during which we could not match the speed and angle of the other boats. So let’s say we lost about 2kts an hour during that time frame. That is exactly the distance between the leaders of the pack and us. So yes, we will probably finish in tenth position, but we should feel good about what we have accomplished.
That being said, I do have a little nag at the back of my head because looking back, I waited too long with a gybe (two watches ago) which could have saved us 25nm. It would not have put us back in podium position (luckily!) but the gap with the rest of the fleet would have been a little bit (25nm...duh) smaller. In my own defence though; I was waiting for the wind to veer and ultimately, that never happened. The never ending battle between making decisions and coming to a different conclusion in hindsight.
It has been a race with loads (and loads!!) of spinnaker hoist and drops and changes from Windseeker to Code 2 to Code 3 to Yankee 1 and back. It was hard work and that is without taking into account that we occasionally made the drops and hoist harder by our own doing. But every day is a learning day and I am already looking forward to crossing the Atlantic towards Derry~Londonderry.
Spirits are high, the food is good (thank you mothers!) and after some maintenance, rig checks and cleaning, we are ready to roam the streets of New York for a couple of days and recharge for the next leg.
Ciao! Angela
The happy AQP on Dare To Lead (... and we dare!)
All is well on Dare To Lead… Nigel, Angela and the Crew