The highs and lows of ocean and offshore racing! Today
has been a good day. The sea is fairly calm, a few patches of blue sky and
comfortable upwind sailing in about 15 knots of wind. Lovely!
Race start day was great. Because of my injuries, (I had
a nasty bang on the head shortly before we arrived in Halifax) I stood at the
back of the boat and had a great view of everything. The start line was in
Halifax harbour on a beautiful sunny day, very picturesque. Ben thought the
start line had a pin end bias and we started in clear air about half way
across. (Usually the start line is at 90°
to the wind. If it is not perfect, there is an advantage in starting at the
most upwind end, but this is often a judgement call at the time.) The others
all obviously thought it was committee boat bias and they were all bunched up
together. Whichever was correct, the clear air space around us gave us an
excellent start and we were second round the windward mark. Then round a spacer
buoy and up went the kite, one gybe to get us outside the harbour and shortly
afterwards the kite came down as we came up onto the wind. All very exciting,
with such a lot of manoeuvres within such a small space. It all went well for
us, with no foul ups and the team were delighted with an excellent start.
As soon as we were out to sea we hit choppy waters and
for the next 24 hours I think, about half the crew went down with sea sickness,
including me. It even afflicted a couple of “round the worlders” who haven't
previously been seasick. I was in my bunk for 24 hours, but was then gradually
able to run the corridor of uncertainty from the ghetto where the crew sleep to
the heads (toilet), when you are not sure if the small morsel you've managed to
eat will stay down. Why do I do it?
For days like today.
Now that I'm back to form, I can resume normal duties.
I've done a lot more helming, because of being advised not to haul sails for
the first few days. I've had the delights of being in the bilges, but have also
made bread. Karel, one of our new “leggers”, was keen to have the recipe for
boat bread. Given the proportions, it was obvious his cooking skills are above
average. I learnt then that his Dad, now retired, was a Michelin starred chef.
It was his grandma, though, who taught him to make bread.
We're pleased to be doing well in the race, having held
2nd position until recently on the scheds (3 hourly posting of positions). We're hoping
to avoid a patch of light wind, which the boats further to the north may get
caught in. Here’s hoping the weather does what the forecasts say!
Now that the initial baptism of fire is over, I've settle
down to enjoy it, despite the cold and having to wear umpteen layers of
clothes. Leg 7 was a walk in the park in comparison. However there should be
some down-wind sailing up ahead, which we are all looking forward to.
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