Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Liverpool via La Rochelle to Salvador
We left Liverpool as the first boat over the line we stormed out the Mersey in strong winds to be hit by squalls as we entered the Irish Sea, the first few hours of my RTW race we emotional and eventful. Unfortunately we misjudged a mark as we went down the Mersey and very quickly lost positions to several other boats. The race down the Irish sea was fraught with nervous tension everyone on board keen to do well but a general awareness we needed to settle in and settle down to daily life on board. A decisive time was at the Scilly Isles many boats went the inside route, we went outside and lost some more time. We pushed hard down the Atlantic to the Bay of Biscay to be confronted by no wind; we were becalmed helpless to improve our position. We ended up in La Rochelle in 5th place. I found the first race quite hard, I had left Daniel waving frantically on the quayside in Liverpool, my angel had given up on me, I was feeling emotionally very low and physically very tired. The few days break in La Rochelle was welcomed and I tried to focus on the forthcoming race down to Salvador. There was a crew barbeque organised by Clipper however in true Clipper style it was a bit of a fiasco. Several off us left early walked back to the dock where we were moored up and got completely lost; spend something like 3 hours trying to find either a cab or a sign to direct us back, a frustrating end to a bad night! The start of race 2 was exciting we were well set up to once again cross the line first but a luff to long as we approached the line lost too much boat speed and we crossed in 3rd place. The race between the marks was tight with positions changing between all the boats as we set out in to the Bay of Biscay. As the race viewer would show there were two main strategies those who decided to go inside the Canaries (it worked at the Scillies) and those that went to west, we went west and made very good speed all the way to the doldrums. En route we were lucky enough to see many pods of dolphins as they swam very close alongside the boat, we also spotted what we believe was a shark close by its distinctive dorsal fin pointing up above the water line, we saw a small lone turtle swim past in the opposite direction and so many flying fish skimming across the surface with many flying high enough that they would land on the boat, we spent many amusing hours in fish patrol ready to scoop them back in to the water, top score I believe was 11 on the boat at one time. The doldrums was a frustrating time we were lucky with most rain clouds bar two where 35 knot winds came from nowhere and provided 20 minutes of craziness! We then had almost 2 days of no wind where we just wallowed going nowhere fast. We finally crossed the equator and all enjoyed the cold porridge ceremony to Neptune, a welcomed time of light relief. Then it was on down moving east maybe too far to get the best line in to Salvador. We could see Nova Scotia and Glasgow catching up fast and kept everything crossed that we would have to tack to the minimum and that the wind would turn favourable, the forecasts seemed to be slightly inaccurate with the winds filling in maybe 24 hours later than predicted, we were often there too early. With some astute helming keeping us on a course as close to the wind as possible without compromising too much speed we scraped past the peninsula off the east coast of South America and prepared to bear away for the run in. Almost inevitably the wind died and we made slow progress over the remaining miles to the finish line. We were all so happy and relieved to have won having led the fleet for so long. A shower and a beer were waiting for us. S we approached the marina we were met with such enthusiasm we felt like rock stars; we all had big smiles on our faces.
Life on board; We operate a three watch system unlike all the other boats who are running a two watch system, so we have three watches of 5 people per watch and a watch leader for each watch who it is planned will change for each leg to those that want the opportunity to take it on. All the boats seem to be doing fours on watch in the day and three hours at night, we however have 2 people on standby/mother watch following their on watch so the mothers are rotating throughout the day to. The other boats have mothers assigned to the whole day! One big benefit of the three watch system is that you get 8 hours sleep in rotation; I like the system although complicated once you get in to the rosta it seems to work well. The watch make will change each leg as will the watch leader in part to get different people sailing together and in part because some legers will leave the boat and others will be joining. We have agreed while we have been in Salvador that the RTW (round the worlders) should stay in the same bunk for the whole trip, this will be our space and somewhere we can permanently keep all out belongings. I’m in the centre on the top bunk starboard side, adjacent to the mast, I have my bunk fairly well organised with pictures of Daniel and my angel to remind me of home. We cook 3 meals a day, breakfast is generally porridge, lunch some thing quick and easy with dinner being something more substantial, pasta, rice and cuss cuss being the core ingredients to most meals. It I essential to take on lots of liquid, we drank gallons of juice and water. I am the engineer on board and have carried out a number of repairs to equipment plus installed several fans to help with the oppressive heat that builds up below decks especially when there is little wind. We run a generator for several hours a day to recharge the boats batteries and to assist large loads like the water maker, an absolutely essential piece of equipment on long races as the fresh water tanks empty very quickly. We have an onboard communication system which to say it has its problems would be an understatement, it’s as sophisticated as a can and a piece of string and less reliable and slower than a carrier pigeon! Who says we’ve been clippered again. It’s also very expensive I’ve managed to get contact with Corinne and A, Daniel decided to change is email address to something seen as spam so had some difficulty emailing him initially. I was getting really frustrated but was pleased when in desperation I called Daniel from the boat on the Satellite phone I only had a brief conversation with him but it was great to hear his voice, I really miss him not being around; he’s my boy. Things have settled a little with the email system now, I think the string is tighter and the pigeon has GPS, keeping my fingers crossed. Have sent some emails to Daniel school updating them on progress, Mrs Storey head of year for year 7 has been keeping everybody briefed I believe. Missed not having a decent curry since I left Heathfield; hello to Syed, Anthony and all the guys at the Curry Inn, Syed wish you a speedy and permanent recovery.
I’m sure there is far more people would like to know about like on board I will endeavour to fill in the gaps in future entries.
I understand the Durban supporters club is going strong, I understand Chris Wise from UHL went along to a meeting in Covent Garden, Yvonne and Corinne may be going to future meetings.
I am just back from a 2 day break on an island nearby, 9 of us from Durban went. To say the place was idyllic would be an understatement, better than the best Caribbean island. We got a catamaran over, a 2 hour journey followed by a walk with local porters, donkeys and wheelbarrows to beach number 2 where we took a1950s style open back truck on 20 minute journey down the worst road you could ever find to this most amazing paradise. On the second night they laid on music and entertainment definitely the highlight of the stopover, a place I would love to revisit. I could go on about this place for ages.
Race 2 is getting near, we have carried out all the repairs on the boat, the mainsail has been temporarily repaired with some old battens and nuts and bolts, the Yankees have some Dacron patches and several broken hanks have been replaced, these sails were brand new in Liverpool! The winches have been serviced, various lines replaced, the boat thoroughly cleaned below decks and an annoying water leak hopefully resolved. I need to go get a beer just now I will be back with something more …..
Life on board; We operate a three watch system unlike all the other boats who are running a two watch system, so we have three watches of 5 people per watch and a watch leader for each watch who it is planned will change for each leg to those that want the opportunity to take it on. All the boats seem to be doing fours on watch in the day and three hours at night, we however have 2 people on standby/mother watch following their on watch so the mothers are rotating throughout the day to. The other boats have mothers assigned to the whole day! One big benefit of the three watch system is that you get 8 hours sleep in rotation; I like the system although complicated once you get in to the rosta it seems to work well. The watch make will change each leg as will the watch leader in part to get different people sailing together and in part because some legers will leave the boat and others will be joining. We have agreed while we have been in Salvador that the RTW (round the worlders) should stay in the same bunk for the whole trip, this will be our space and somewhere we can permanently keep all out belongings. I’m in the centre on the top bunk starboard side, adjacent to the mast, I have my bunk fairly well organised with pictures of Daniel and my angel to remind me of home. We cook 3 meals a day, breakfast is generally porridge, lunch some thing quick and easy with dinner being something more substantial, pasta, rice and cuss cuss being the core ingredients to most meals. It I essential to take on lots of liquid, we drank gallons of juice and water. I am the engineer on board and have carried out a number of repairs to equipment plus installed several fans to help with the oppressive heat that builds up below decks especially when there is little wind. We run a generator for several hours a day to recharge the boats batteries and to assist large loads like the water maker, an absolutely essential piece of equipment on long races as the fresh water tanks empty very quickly. We have an onboard communication system which to say it has its problems would be an understatement, it’s as sophisticated as a can and a piece of string and less reliable and slower than a carrier pigeon! Who says we’ve been clippered again. It’s also very expensive I’ve managed to get contact with Corinne and A, Daniel decided to change is email address to something seen as spam so had some difficulty emailing him initially. I was getting really frustrated but was pleased when in desperation I called Daniel from the boat on the Satellite phone I only had a brief conversation with him but it was great to hear his voice, I really miss him not being around; he’s my boy. Things have settled a little with the email system now, I think the string is tighter and the pigeon has GPS, keeping my fingers crossed. Have sent some emails to Daniel school updating them on progress, Mrs Storey head of year for year 7 has been keeping everybody briefed I believe. Missed not having a decent curry since I left Heathfield; hello to Syed, Anthony and all the guys at the Curry Inn, Syed wish you a speedy and permanent recovery.
I’m sure there is far more people would like to know about like on board I will endeavour to fill in the gaps in future entries.
I understand the Durban supporters club is going strong, I understand Chris Wise from UHL went along to a meeting in Covent Garden, Yvonne and Corinne may be going to future meetings.
I am just back from a 2 day break on an island nearby, 9 of us from Durban went. To say the place was idyllic would be an understatement, better than the best Caribbean island. We got a catamaran over, a 2 hour journey followed by a walk with local porters, donkeys and wheelbarrows to beach number 2 where we took a1950s style open back truck on 20 minute journey down the worst road you could ever find to this most amazing paradise. On the second night they laid on music and entertainment definitely the highlight of the stopover, a place I would love to revisit. I could go on about this place for ages.
Race 2 is getting near, we have carried out all the repairs on the boat, the mainsail has been temporarily repaired with some old battens and nuts and bolts, the Yankees have some Dacron patches and several broken hanks have been replaced, these sails were brand new in Liverpool! The winches have been serviced, various lines replaced, the boat thoroughly cleaned below decks and an annoying water leak hopefully resolved. I need to go get a beer just now I will be back with something more …..
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