Good morning,
The past 48hrs have certainly been the most testing of the entire race. We recorded 57knots at Rockall and encountered large breaking seas. This combined with tide and restricted visibility really tested Unicef and her crew. The conditions were both exhilarating and humbling. My favourite line: "We are surviving...reeeally quickly!!" We made sensible sail plan choices and the crew really rose to the challenge. We raced safely through these conditions. To remain competitive at the same time was a real bonus.
In this race across the North Atlantic there were few overtaking lanes for us until the course extension around Rockall and St Kilda. Getting the shifts and rotation of the low pressure system right was partly down to chance and mostly down to endless hours spent in the navigation station trying to predict realistic speeds and angles. The barometer offered us invaluable data on the low pressure system. We always had an escape route if needed and could monitor the development and movement of the system in real time. This kept us one step ahead and was also very reassuring. From a racing perspective, remaining in phase with the rotation was key to sailing fewer and more direct miles.
The crew are ecstatic with the podium finish. What a race. What an adventure. It seems that all of our beavering away for 12 days paid off. To cross the North Atlantic at speed, without incident and without breakages is tremendous. What a great team accomplishment. This race will be remembered as one of our favourites. Safe and fast. That's the way AH-HU AH-HU we like it.
Here we go.
Ian and Dan