Race 2 - Day 6
Skipper Report
21 September

Surfing Galore.

Today has been a day of surfing wave after wave along the coast of Africa. Sailing on 18 knots of wind and doing 16.5 knots of speed is pretty rewarding and it has been all due to surfing waves. The conditions were perfect, the right amount of wind with the right angle of waves. Surfing waves on a boat it's no difference from a surfer catching waves, apart from the 43 tonnes difference. The surfer chooses the right wave then paddles the wave ahead and then positions the board in the angle to get maximum speed and length of ride. On a boat it is quite similar. First you choose the wave you think can carry the boat (one with the right gradient and power), then by heading slightly into the wind, you create speed and finally position the boat downwind to get maximum speed during the surf. The crew have been loving it at the helm, especially Hilary. She wasn't sure she could do it at first and then she was awesome at helming and surfing!

Happy hour (12:30 to 13:30 every day) is going strong. We share the good times and we discuss things that are not going so well, in addition to having a little fun all together. So far we have had; language lessons, jokes, singing songs, splicing and rope knowledge, sail repair, and yoga exercises. It is truly helping with morale and building a stronger team.

What an exciting Race 2! Lots of boats are close together fighting to get points at the Scoring Gate, others are catching up fast.

Daily Stats:

Daily Run: 258 nm

Tune of the day: ‘Send Me a Postcard’ by Shocking Blue

Max boat speed: 18.4 knots

Dolphins spotted: 20

Gybes: 2

Showers on deck: 0

Flying fish on deck: 0

Kind Regards,

Jeronimo