Race 7 - Day 7
Skipper Report
01 March

Morning All,

I hope you all enjoyed the extra day of the year, we certainly did. (Please don't notice I dated yesterday’s blog 1/3 not the 29/2) The sailing was great, and all went well for us. We have started our beat south, along our favourite bit of ocean... NOT, but at least this time it is wind with current, so it is a lot flatter than it was. We are suffering a little without our Staysail and are having to sail a little lower than I was hoping to try to keep our speed up.

Yesterday’s Kite run went well, with a good mark rounding (gybe) off Virtual Mark (VM) Ward OBE and then a good drop off VM Knox-Johnston, giving the guys a real boost after a few not so good manoeuvres. It is always nice when the long trained and practiced manoeuvre goes well. We then had the long close haul/fine reach to VM Knight where even without our Staysail we managed to hold our own to Guy and his team on Dare To Lead. Well done guys. Now Guy is managing to hold a higher course, so we have footed off to go for speed. We have hoisted the Storm Jib, in place of the Staysail, which has pleased our Dutch contingent of Mike and Arthur, who are threatening to draw a big NL on the bright orange sail and start singing Dutch football songs. I think The Dutch really do have a thing about the Orange, which is of course their colour and that of the Storm Jib.

Had some rain during the night which was a good opportunity to rinse our gear off and, in my case, the mop which I am currently calling a haircut. Getting it cut in Subic Bay, with a barber who did not speak a word of English was a challenge, getting a good cut, impossible. I was given the local "fashion" look of short sides and long top! Oh well, it will grow out