Well as we start the week, I\u2019m not even sure what day it is? My watch is telling me Tuesday but with the extra Sunday (due to passing over the International Date Line IDL, it\u2019s a long story, read the previous blog) we think it\u2019s Monday, someone else on the boat thinks it\u2019s Wednesday so nobody\u2019s got a clue! Anyway whatever day it is, the sun has been out for all of our long watch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve changed the Yankee 2 up to a Yankee 1, we\u2019ve repaired or replaced all the hanks on the Yankee 2, we\u2019ve plugged in and are flying our Code 1 Spinnaker. We also noticed on our current Port tack that some of the boom screws have come loose, which is a bit of a concern. Photo\u2019s were taken and sent through to engineering for comment. Meanwhile we pulled the boom in back over the boat and Gavin and I climbed up on the stanchions to screw them back in. Not the best conditions to be working on the boom! You could feel the boom flex as you screwed the set screws back in, which was also a tad concerning, but I suppose unavoidable. I\u2019m not sure if we should locktite them in, but no time for that and we\u2019ll wait for engineering to give us some guidance. I mean if the boom fails under load, God only knows what damage it would cause. (Again, to find out more on the cv25 boom saga, read some of my previous blogs). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sun is out and fairly warm considering we\u2019re 50 miles short of 45 degrees of Latitude. So, it\u2019s Leatherman cleaning day. It comes around every Leg. The WD40 and wire brush comes out and I start getting to grips with the salt ingress to my Leatherman and my safety knife. Of course, you get the call of \u201ccan you just do mine as well please?\u201d The liberty of some people! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re still 4th in a very tight pack with the front two still around 150 miles in front, but with our Code 2 out of use, we need to work hard to keep them all at bay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wind has dropped and it\u2019s surprisingly mild as we still head north. We\u2019re about 50 miles from the no-go zone, the sea is flat but the wind reasonable, I say reasonable as we don\u2019t know, our Windex has broken again! So, we don\u2019t know the wind strength or the direction, without looking to the top of the mast. But we\u2019re heading in the right direction at over 10 knots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like clockwork, Zoe, the 1st mate, arrives on deck with a clatter, skidding under the traveller and as always on a mission. This sort of enthusiasm only means one thing, a sail change before breakfast. You go through your watch, rotating the crew with the end goal, of having breakfast and getting into bed for your long sleep. But not yet! Let\u2019s get the code 3 up. We\u2019re fairly slick at it now and up it goes, Yankee down then off deck for breakfast and bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back up for our next watch and the Code 3 is down and the Code 1 is up in its place. I was that tired, I didn\u2019t hear a thing, slept through the whole of it all! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up we go on deck for our watch and carry on pumping in the miles. We\u2019ve now caught UNICEF as we\u2019ve started to climb higher to get as close to our northern limit of 45 degrees latitude, to give us a better wind angle, if and when the wind changes. We\u2019ve also cut the top two, Seattle and GOSH\u2019s lead dramatically, so keep going. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re getting to the end of the watch and the wind appears to be dropping and veering as predicted. It looks like UNICEF have got some favourable wind below us and are coming at us hard, travelling a knot or two faster. We\u2019ve decided to Gybe with the Code 1 and cover UNICEF. The Code has has been set for a letter box drop, so we need to rerun the lazy sheet, which is always a bit of a faff. Every time we Gybe with the Code 1, there is a sharp intake of breath as we can\u2019t afford to screw it up. A kite wrap at this stage and UNICEF, would scoot right past us. It\u2019s perfect, went like a dream and a loud rather ironic cheer went up from the boat. I mean after over 20,000 miles, you\u2019d think is was an everyday occurrence! Well it\u2019s not and every successful gybe, deserves a cheer. Zoe was certainly happy and had a big grin, happy with the team\u2019s performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So now where on the same tack and nearly the same heading as UNICEF, if there wasn\u2019t so much sea mist about, I\u2019m sure we would be able to see them. The wind is a bit fluky and without the windex it makes it even harder to helm, trying to keep in front of UNICEF is proving difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zoe has been glued to AIS in the nav station, shouting instructions as UNICEF appear to be travelling faster and higher. Zoe then appears in style up into the cockpit, sliding under the traveler on one constant motion, it\u2019s her call sign, Zoe\u2019s on deck! I\u2019m on the helm, I\u2019ve just taken over and wrangling with the spinnaker, sea state, wind and boat, all moving in different directions. Zoe is giving me some pointers and I think I understand what she\u2019s asking for and together the boat starts to pick up speed. After an hour or so, we know why UNICEF were travelling faster, the wind has strengthened from behind them and has started to veer! We are on it and CV25 is starting to zing down the waves. Zoe boots me off the helm (well didn\u2019t really boot me off, she asked politely and I couldn\u2019t really refuse) as she wanted a bit of the action. The wind went from zero to hero in a few moments, then it got a little bit hairy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Code 1 was way overpowered and we had to get it down. All hands on deck, as we wrestled with the growing and veering wind. We didn\u2019t even hoist a head sail to help shield the kite as we prepared to drop. The code 1 is paper thin and vast. It\u2019s so easy to damage it and if we did, we would only be left with our code 3! I\u2019m thinking this is going to be a long watch as the kite comes down, up goes the Yankee 1 and stay sail, which were already hanked in and ready to go. We knew the Yankee 1 was too much sail, but we threw it up to ensure we got a jump on UNICEF. the wind veered just enough to hold a course due east. It was staggering how fast it all changed. We brought up the Yankee 2, dropped the Yankee 1 and hauled it back to the cockpit. The Yankee 2 was then hanked on and raised. Once completed, back into the cockpit, pull the Yankee 1 up onto the high side, flaked it back into its sail bag, then dragged it back to the sail locker. Then time for our dinner, then into bed, 2 hours late and knackered. We were belting along but I couldn\u2019t sleep. We were probably a bit overpowered and I\u2019m clinging onto my pillow and sleeping bag, praying that my leigh cloth stops me from falling out of my bunk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually I must have fallen asleep as I was woken up for the night shift. We can see UNICEF, behind us now approx 2 & 1\/2 miles or so. For some reason they had their steaming light on? We gradually pull away from them and when the schedule comes in, we\u2019ve not only pulled away from them we\u2019ve caught up with GOSH and taken a massive chunk out of Seattle. We hand over to the next watch and get into bed with a spring in our step, happy with a great job done. When we wake for our morning watch, we\u2019ve pulled further ahead of UNICEF and they\u2019ve now dropped off AIS, so more than 12 miles and GOSH are down to only 1 &1\/2 miles in front, wow. I mean just WOW. Heads down and work hard in the next watch and when we come off watch, we\u2019ve now only 32 miles behind Seattle and moved into 2nd spot, whoopee. The team are ecstatic, but no room for complacency, we\u2019ve been here before. Just hard work and keep banging the miles in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re on white sails and during the 2nd day watch, we\u2019ve taken the Yankee 2 and the stay sail down onto the foredeck and have 2 reefs in the main. With the windex not working, we can only estimate the wind speed, but we reckon it\u2019s North of 40 knots. The boat was bouncing all over the place and I just couldn\u2019t get a decent sleep, I was more scared of falling out of my bunk as the boat was jerking from side to side and shuddering as we hit big waves. When we got up for our evening watch, it had calmed down and within a few hours, we\u2019d shaken out 1 reef and put the Yankee 2 back up. We\u2019re reeling in Seattle, down to only 17 miles. Keep on plugging away and hopefully by the next schedule, we\u2019ll have caught them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sun is out and the wind has gone! We can see Seattle on AIS, just above us by about 8 to 10 miles. With little wind the rest of the fleet will start catching up and compress the leading pack. We\u2019ve got UNICEF, Scotland, GOSH and Qingdao all in the hunt. 6 of us within 50 miles of each other. In the light winds we\u2019ve got a few jobs around the boat done. The screws on our boom fix, continue to be an issue and we\u2019ve tightened them up again and marking a few to see how long before they move again. We\u2019ve hanked on the Yankee 2 as the wind is due to increase later on, so we should be set for a few watches. And as has happened in most of the races thus far, the down wind sailing has not materialised, yet! The wind is on our nose and we\u2019re beating hard towards the last mark, before heading further north. We\u2019re still in 2nd spot, but the pack is close by, so still need to be on our toes. Without a windex, we have no indication of wind strength or direction. It\u2019s all about the feel of the boat, the heal, the breeze on your face, the noise from the sails and the odd intervention from Gavin, \u201cbear away\u201d or \u201ccome up\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having a bit of a tacking dual with Scotland and looks like they\u2019re winning. They\u2019ve just crossed our bow, a big turnaround from last night. Not really sure how that\u2019s happened, but still a long way to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Got a surprise today when a pair of pilot whales surfaced only a few meters from the boat. Just caught their dorsal fins and they were gone. Later today we see, what looked like a group of sea lions, another 1st and again I\u2019m not sure why they would be so far out to sea, another thing I\u2019ll need to investigate when I get home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve finally rounded the northern virtual mark. It seemed like we\u2019d never get there. However, we\u2019ve dropped a few places down to 4th now, with Seattle in 1st spot, GOSH up to 2nd (I don\u2019t know how they do it), Scotland in 3rd and Qingdao in 5th, behind us. The sprint is next, however the wind indications would suggest, it will be more like a crawl and with such little wind the race is taking longer and longer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been a tough race so far both physically, with the cold and mentally, with fatigue and team stress over so many little things. The food is becoming a challenge, with all the fresh stuff gone or perished. The gas, whilst we should have enough, is being restricted to ensure we have sufficient to finish the race. Seattle has already restricted their crew to only one hot meal a day, as they may run out of gas, due to a gas leak from one of their bottles. Snacks are starting to become an issue and there will always be individuals who take the piss and take more than their fair share. I\u2019ve seen it on every leg so far and it just washes over me now. It says more about the individual\u2019s lack of respect for others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With such a long race, keeping morale up is difficult and Zoe has relaunched another game of murder on CV25. We pull the name of a crew member out of the hat who will be our murder victim. We then pull out a place for the murder to take place, like the galley or the foredeck then pull out a murder weapon like a boat hook or a wet wipe. The kill is only completed when the murderer passes the weapon to the victim. The 1st murder to take place is Brad with a glove in the cockpit by Tony. Then next is Petra with a wet wipe in the heads by Zoe, 3rd was Joel with a jar of chilli oil in the Galley by me, but Joel was due to kill me, so my game is over. 4th to die is Ben with a polo mint in the nav station by Ryan, but as Ben was due to kill Ryan, Ryan is also out of the game. Next is Michelle in the nav station with a boat hook, a very elaborate set up by Ollie, who swiftly followed up with his next target, Lucy in the Galley with the hair dryer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Probably the most important morale booster is communication with friends, family, your loved ones from outside the boat and with only an email as your portal it is such a key part to everyone\u2019s journey. We\u2019ve had laughter and tears on the boat and everyone goes through highs and lows. It can be dates that remind you of special times or moments in your life, flicking through old photos whilst in your bunk or just having a quiet moment, reflecting on where you are in the world. A hug from a crew member can help but it\u2019s the communication with the outside world that maters. The biggest challenge is the watch system. Sleep deprivation is common and over time it grinds you down and in a long cold and wet leg even more so. There will always be fall outs with crew members, especially when you\u2019re tired and from time to time, feelings of loneliness or isolation. It\u2019s really tough some days to get out of bed to sail the boat, but if it was easy, it wouldn\u2019t really be a challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we finish our week off with a Sunday Sundown of sorts (it\u2019s a bit cold for everyone on deck) it looks like we could be out here for another week so we will need to be mindful of our crew mates and help each other get through the last few days. 4th with all to play for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Well as we start the week, I\u2019m not even sure what day it is? My watch is telling me Tuesday but with the extra Sunday (due to passing over the International Date Line IDL, it\u2019s a long story, read the previous blog) we think it\u2019s Monday, someone else on the boat thinks it\u2019s Wednesday so nobody\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\n