The last few days have been some of the closest and most interesting fleet racing since leaving London. It may have been noted in previous races that we are scared of commitment. Maybe scared is the wrong word... allergic? terrified?? The middle ground has always been our preferred option. But no longer! For this race we thought we would buck the trend. We committed to sail close to the shore. As the most inshore team our options are now very limited but the possible gains are very exciting. Most recently we have had Qingdao, Punta del Este, and Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam as coastal companions. Our tracks over the last 12hrs look like a cat has dragged its claws down a fine piece of furniture. (Well, maybe a cat with four claws.) With such parallel tracks, and so little separation you would imagine that things have been fairly consistent, but far from it. The localised winds in the lee of Luzon have made for frequent gains and losses, as well as fast paced sail changes.
Overnight we had more fun night negotiating small outrigger canoes. Perhaps negotiating is the wrong word. The scenario reminds me of mountaineering in the alps. There you are minding your own business, when a huge scream echoing down the valley announces you are not alone. Before you know it, a chorus of Marmots are shrieking and running and panicking. Unlike the small chubby rodents of the Alps, the local fishermen are extremely friendly. However, most of their basic fishing boats are unlit. It is only once you have been spotted by one that lots of search lights start appearing around you. With an illuminated spinnaker on a moonless night I imagine we are pretty hard to miss. But, in spite of this we get flashed at, shone on, and regularly blinded, as the surprised fishermen try to make sure we have seen them. I would ask them to use red lights to preserve our night vision if I knew the local language.
So, now we drag race up towards waypoint Massey - Hi Rhiannon, hope all is well on Qingdao - after which we can turn upwind. The team is doing the last bits of prep work before the expected heavier blow. Checking the food and kit storage, putting up hand holds through the boat, digging out our foulies etc. We are also in the process of making our decision about the Dell Latitude Rugged Ocean Sprint. Should we opt for the northbound option or the south going one? As you can imagine, there are 26 opinions amongst the 16 of us on board. How shall we decide? By vote, by tossing a coin, by reading tea leaves? Is the boat a democracy, or is it guided by cosmic forces? Decisions, decisions...! And you, dear reader, will have to wait till tomorrow to find out what I, sorry, we, opted for!
Here we go,
Ian and Mike