Race 3 - Day 15
Skipper Report
07 November
I usually write my daily blog in the early hours, but today it's different. Whereas normally I might be needed on deck to fill in for a helm that has been over-burdened, today we have a queue of eager volunteers at the helm station waiting their turn. Why you might ask? The answer is simple.
It's still bitterly cold but the sky is blue (at least, you can see some blue sky) and the distance to finish is falling rapidly. I'd estimate that it's blowing a fairly constant 33 knots. Since last night, we have been rocketing along, rarely below 13.5kts and regularly surfing at 20kts+. The hiss of the hull as it slices through a cold South Atlantic is music to our ears. The whoops from deck bring a smile to my face. And everyone wants to helm!
I was lying in my bunk earlier and "Wooooo hooooo! 21!" I just heard a shout from Paul Widdowson in his distinctive Kiwi accent, when I realised that since we left Punta Del Este, we have done just two gybes. That's it. Lots of kite peels and a few headsail changes, plenty of reefs in and out - but just two gybes ['Yeeee haaaaa! 19!']. The nav station is jerking around erratically as I type this, and the on watch are clearly enjoying themselves. My keyboard skitters around the wet nav station desk, the infrared mouse flickering as it bounces off the desk and capsizes on the floor, hanging from its cable. A box of pens empties on the desk and the low level bilge pump alarm squeals at me. [Laughter from deck as a massive wave crashes across the boat bringing with it hundreds of gallons of icy south Atlantic water].
The funk of a cold, wet, drizzly Atlantic depression is being thrown off us by sheer speed and exhilaration. [That was quick - 23.6 kts - helm went a bit sketchy though. The winch above my head clicks into action - "Hold!" - the boat calms]. I met Will at lunch, one of our multi-leggers and a keen yachtsman and very good helm. He was positively beaming from ear to ear, his face flushed and soaked and dripping from four hours in the icy cold. He stepped down into the galley pursued by a couple of gallons of South Atlantic. "Skip, THIS is what I came here for! Absolutely magnificent!" he chirped as he tucked into hot soup handed to him from the galley. The steam from the soup, adding further to the rain forest of condensation below decks. Ben and Renato are running the galley today. Still, in salopettes just in case, the soup makes a bid for freedom from the stove top. Kaz (our team's excellent Team Coordinator) is below, briefing watches on what to expect in Cape Town and what there is to do. The finish is coming up all of a sudden!
So, I'm writing this blog now because I wanted to capture both sides of a hard few days of discomfort and big winds. Yesterday, my blog described some of the harsher elements endured by crew - and me too (although mine is more the suffering of a worried parent I suspect) - type 2 fun as I call it. Today it's different. The wet socks, pants, sleeping bags, bunks and cold and bouncy toilet bowls can all be forgiven today. Today, it's type 1 fun all the way!
Now forgive me, for I have a queue to jump!
All the best from,
Mark, Dan and the rest of WTC Logistics Leg 2 Crew