The start of week 33 at sea, although this last week seems to have gone on forever, really cold, certainly the coldest I\u2019ve been, wet and not a lot of wind. The standard question on the boat is \u201chow long to go ?\u201d the standard answer is \u201canother 10 days\u201d. It\u2019s like ground hog day all over. But we\u2019re still in 4th spot without our windex so performing well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The food supplies are dwindling and all the good stuff has been eaten and I\u2019m now on bloody Mother again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you drag out your day bag at the beginning of your mother duty, most times it\u2019s with an inquisitive eye, waiting to see what you\u2019ve got to put up some great meals for the guys, but as we\u2019ve moved through the weeks, there\u2019s no fresh vegetables left and so the original receipt can\u2019t be done, so it\u2019s thinking on your feet so to speak and it\u2019s certainly pushed me way outside of my comfort zone in the kitchen. Nuno, my mother buddy, has self confessed he has no culinarily skills, but is very happy to wash the pots, so can\u2019t give much input into what we will rustle up. I found some oats for breakfast which went down well, especially as it\u2019s so cold. Lunch was a warm, spicy mushroom and chicken broth with noodles, loads of carbs & protein, what\u2019s not to like and it seemed to all go down well. We had some frozen pork mince left in the freezer so we did a pork curry, Lucy found some tinned vegetables in another spare day bag to bulk it up, so we put them in and we threw in what was left of the mushroom and chicken broth – why waste it? Washed the rice and went to put my head down for a couple of hours before dinner. All but a handful of rice was left over, washed up and back to our bunks for some well earned rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on which watch you\u2019re on can have a major impact on your day as far as rest is concerned. So, as I was on the 02.00 – 06.00 watch, I get woken up around 01.20 and then go down from deck to start prep for breakfast at around 04.30 so it\u2019s ready for the new watch around 05.30. I wake Nuno at around 05.00 to help serve breakfast. Dinner 1st sitting would normally be served at 17.30, meaning that I will have been up for over 16 hours at that point, so a couple of hours Kip really helps. But as I\u2019ve mentioned on more than one blog, every time I\u2019m on mother, a spinnaker seems to come into play and sure enough, just before I\u2019ve turned on the rice, we\u2019re pulling down the code 3 spinnaker and the guys are sticking up the wind seeker. I\u2019ve just had time to get Ollie\u2019s watch fed and watered and the wind seeker is coming back down again and we\u2019ve gone back to white sails. So dinner on hold whilst that is sorted and then off we go again trying to feed Tony\u2019s watch. I find it so disjointed and as dinner is normally a good time to have a chat with everyone, it just becomes chaotic, some people eat when they\u2019re supposed to, others get involved with the other watches tasks and come to dinner late then you\u2019ve got Zoe and Gavin to feed and they\u2019re always involved so it never ends, putting food aside, reheating food and just as your trying to wash up, the call comes in for hot drinks!\u00a0 I mean yes, but let me get the place clean first. So I go to bed around 20.00 knackered again and then I\u2019m up for my watch at 05.20 not really rested at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plus side being mother today is that it was actually the coldest watch yet. Tony commented that he\u2019s never felt so cold, so I suppose I missed a bullet. The effects of the cold is multiplied when you\u2019re wet and boy are we wet. All our kit is soaking with either salt water or condensation and none of your kit will dry in these conditions, so when you get up, your just putting wet clothes back on again and when you stop moving you get really cold and nobody has found a solution for gloves!\u00a0 Nothing works, because when your hands get wet, they get cold, gloves don\u2019t help and in many cases they make matters worse as the gloves get wet and your hands feel even colder. You can\u2019t really wear \u201cwater proof\u201d gloves (in fact I don\u2019t think there is such a thing) when working with ropes and sails as you can\u2019t get any grip strength, so bare hands most of the time. For me, the best solution I\u2019ve found so far, is a pair of cheap close fitting thin woollen gloves with a pair of fishing mittens over the top. Just ensure you take them both off when working on deck and keep them both dry and have a spare pair of woollen gloves to change into and when the gloves get wet, which they will, put them in your sleeping bag and will dry out over a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve entered the sprint race and as you couldn\u2019t make it up, the wind dies!\u00a0 Only for a few hours, but typical of this whole race so far, there\u2019s wind when there\u2019s not supposed to be and flat calm when we\u2019re supposed to be battling waves the size of houses!\u00a0 The wind starts to pick up and we\u2019re off.\u00a0 There\u2019s still the call, \u201care we nearly there yet?\u201d Followed by \u201cabout another 10 days\u201d. It\u2019s not the only focus on the boat, but this race is really taking its toll on morale, but we\u2019ve got to make the best of it and we can see Scotlands lights during the night so we know we\u2019re close to the front three and gives the guys a bit of focus with still a lot to play for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we\u2019re getting closer to the end of the race, the circumnavigators know what\u2019s coming. I\u2019m sure all crews are the same! It\u2019s the push to the end. The boat and the crew get pushed that little bit harder as we chase down a podium finish. Ollie\u2019s team seem to have taken the brunt of the sail changes, not sure if that is just unfortunate or because they have one extra person and are a bit younger, Gavin has made that call. But today our watch has put in a big shift. As daylight approaches, we\u2019ve got better winds than forecast and we\u2019re sailing with just our stay sail up with the Yankee 3 tied on deck. As daylight breaks, Petra, who\u2019s on the helm can see that one of the sail ties on the Yankee 3 has been tied through the netting and had started to pull the netting away from the stanchions, it\u2019s really cold but it needs to be sorted, so reluctantly, I clip myself onto the high side, gloves off and go up to remove the sail tie and re-tie it around the sail. At this time, your never too sure how long the wind will last and how long the Yankee 3 will be on the deck and when I get to the sail tie to release it from the netting I notice that Ollie\u2019s watch have again not tied the head of the Yankee down properly, so the Yankee halyard is now pulling the Yankee sail off the deck. I mean this is why we made the decision to tie through the steel ring on the head and through the tack! To stop having to revisit the bloody foredeck in these conditions, do it right once!\u00a0 I can\u2019t feel the end of my fingers as I untie the cold and wet sail ties. All completed with sail firmly fixed to the deck, Claire pulls the Yankee halyard tight and jams it off. I head back to the cockpit with the end of my fingers stinging with the cold. I go below for 30 mins to get warmed up. When I get back on deck, young Zoe has spotted that one of the halyards has come loose and wrapped itself around the mast spreaders. So off come the gloves again, back on the foredeck and spend 15mins flicking the halyard until it finally dislodges itself from the spreader and it\u2019s put back on the pin rail, tightened and jammed off. My fingers are frozen again and i go below again to warm up. The loose halyard happens from time to time, but we\u2019ve got to get better at fixing the sails down on the foredeck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wind is beginning to soften and you know what\u2019s coming. Gavin pops his head up through the galley hatch with a little grin on his face, time for the Yankee 3 to go up. Which is cool as it\u2019s already hanked on and on the deck, ready to hoist. Gavin then suggests it would be a good idea to bring the Yankee 2 on deck and Hank it on underneath the Yankee 4 for later as the wind is expected to drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without our code 2 we\u2019ve got to push as hard as we can and hopefully the lack of a code 2 will not hinder us, which means lots of sail changes and this sounds like the start of the final push.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So up on the foredeck, untie the Yankee 3 and it pull up. Once all done and we\u2019re on our way, the Yankee 2 is pulled up onto the foredeck and we then go about hanking it on underneath the flying Yankee 2 ready for a racing sail change, possibly at the end of the watch! A little while later, the wind continues to come and we can see Gavin poke his up again through the hatch,looking up at the sky and then at the sail plan, then back at the sky and you know what coming!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight guys, can you get the Code 2 up and pack & flake the code 3 and when you\u2019ve finished, can you get the code 1 up on deck and fix it for a \u201cracing sail change\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A racing sail change is only allowed in the clipper SOP\u2019s if the wind is dropping. You can only go up in sail, not down. A racing sail change is where we Hank the bigger sail on underneath the bottom Hank of the working sail, run a long sail tie from the otter fore stay back to the inner fore stay and as we drop the Yankee we unclip from the fore stay and onto the sail tie, secure the tack and head of the sail to the same sail tie then drag it back into the cockpit before returning on deck to immediately lift the sail that had been hanked on below, in the case the Yankee 2, attach the sheets, down hall and halyard then pull the sail up as fast as possible, so as not to be without a head sail for long. Once up and trimmed, we then go back to the sail we\u2019ve just pulled down and immediately flake it back into its sail bag, before sending it back down into the sail locker. We then pulled the Yankee 1 back up on the deck and Hank it under the Yankee 2, ready to be hoisted when required. Once we\u2019d completed the job, back into the cockpit for a rest before heading off watch, with the boat ready to lift the code 1 when required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After some progress in the race and the sprint and the windex now working, go figure! we are chasing and closing in on the front 3, time is of the essence and as we get closer to the end the wind begins to drop, will we ever get to the end of this race? Frustratingly, both Seattle and GOSH are beyond us and as the breeze begins to fail again, thoughts move to getting a break ashore with friends and family. It becomes obvious that we can\u2019t catch Scotland and it\u2019s just one big wind hole, following the breeze fluttering over the sea. We\u2019re counting down the miles in decimals now, every watch another step to getting over the finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re all woken up for the last mile, we get up on deck, waiting to finish, we tack for the finish line, but typically we nearly miss the line due to the current and have to tack a couple of times to finally get the job done to a big cheer from the crew. Now we had nearly a full day of motoring ahead of us to get into the marina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we motor up the sound, I start to reflect on a leg that I\u2019ve not really enjoyed. It\u2019s been a mental Everest, with frustrations, disappointments a few disagreements and outbursts when wet, hungry and tired. A lack of outside contact for such a long time on top of everything else made the race drag and really stretched me. I\u2019ve also been away for so long now and motivating yourself is becoming harder. When you look outside at the view and realise why you\u2019re here, how lucky you are to be part of this and meet the people you\u2019ve met, it starts to put everything in perspective. I\u2019m just tired and need a proper rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we get closer to Seattle, our surroundings become busier, more houses along the shore, the scenery is stunning with snow covered mountains in the background and shoreline peppered with hugh logs, probably escaped from the local logging industry. The tide has turned to our favour as we head towards the marina, we\u2019ve all got signal as the crew start contacting their loved ones waiting ashore. As we corner into the marina, I can see Lynn and a wave of emotion rolls over me. It\u2019s been over seven months since we said goodbye in Portsmouth. We tie up on the docks, immigration is surprisingly quick and we can get off the boat at last. It\u2019s been a Challange for sure, but I\u2019m glad it\u2019s done. Gavin has asked us for feedback to help us all move forward to the next race, but for the time being I\u2019m just happy to be on land and get a rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve finished 4th, well done to Seattle, Gosh and Scotland for a great finish. The team have worked really hard for our 4th place, We\u2019ve now dropped to 4th overall, but with our joker still to play, we\u2019re certainly still in the hunt for a top three overall finish. We have some big repairs to do, especially our code 2 and prep for the next race, but for now, it\u2019s time to have some much needed fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The start of week 33 at sea, although this last week seems to have gone on forever, really cold, certainly the coldest I\u2019ve been, wet and not a lot of wind. The standard question on the boat is \u201chow long to go ?\u201d the standard answer is \u201canother 10 days\u201d. It\u2019s like ground hog day […]<\/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-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\n