Race 3 - Day 13
Skipper Report
13 November

Good morning folks,

Spirits are up on board the good ship HotelPlanner.com; the familiar hum of the generator and the bubbly foamy noises of the water rushing past the hull, music playing in the galley, and tins being squashed on deck are the sounds that I can hear at the Nav Station. The call of “small ease” followed by a spinnaker sheet creaking as is eased off the winch. We are making 11 knots right at Rottnest Island, 3225 nautical miles away, our waypoint off Freemantle, and the Code 1 (lightweight spinnaker) is flying well. Helms are rotating every 45 minutes and Roseann McGlinchy our Victualler, along with today's bistro chefs Jez Hill and Graham Hill, are running a food stock check, baking bread and preparing lunch. The off watch is sleeping, and from experience, sleep is always deeper when the boat is going well.

Looking ahead, we have the Code 2 (mediumweight spinnaker) ready for when the wind increases and our navigating team is eagerly awaiting the 0800 forecast to make decisions on gybing south or holding course. For the arts and crafts followers at home, the Vang strop made by Seamus Fenlon near the end of Leg 1 is starting to show signs of wear so Adrian Hemmes is replacing it, modified of course using the sheath of the rope as well (MK3 now). And for Tony Dickinson, your Handy Billy reef strop is holding out well, getting plenty of use with reefs in and reefs out as we negotiated some squally bits last week. Final mention to Henri Micheron, your spirit lives on as thick-bearded Watch Leader Adam Cristol is often heard to shout from the helm in answer to any technical related questions regarding course, AWA, Heading, wind strength etc. “Tea? Yes, Rooibos with lots of milk and honey!”