Average Wind Speed over 40Kn, gusts of up to 50Kn apparent, True Wind Speed 30-32Kn. The only protection is the helmet. Image copyright Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Simon Fisher (helmsman)
It seems to have been a busy couple of days for us out here in the Pacific. In the course of 48 hours we have been from warm weather and calms to massive breeze and the wettest reaching conditions imaginable to the point that you could barely even look to see where you where steering and back once again to benign conditions. |t is much colder however, now we have entered the southern ocean and everyone is once again digging out the warm clothing. There was something of a scramble yesterday to dig out all the boots as the temperature plummeted watch by watch...
On top of the ever changing conditions we have finally made it to the first of the scoring waypoint and after our shocker of a cloud the other night which allowed the Dragons to slide past us. We have since reeled them in and passed them to snatch fourth at the gate. Not our best score ever, but a small step into getting back into a leg where we started late and have been playing catch up the whole time. But wait, the plot thickens...
Initially we were all set to go around the high pressure sitting off NZ but suddenly the plan changed – we, along with the rest of the fleet have now decided to go over the top, which may well shuffle the deck somewhat! Puma who took the initiative to go around the top a little earlier than us is looking good right now and Ericsson 3, who bravely tacked away as soon as she picked up her points at the scoring gate, is way off to the north and we now have to wait and see if their plan was genius or madness. All interesting stuff from a tactical perspective.
As for us, we were the latest to make the decision to turn, which has its pros and cons. We are probably risking lighter winds than the others, but may get a better shift... We all wait here with baited breath once more. On thing is for sure is it's going to be warmer though, as we are not going deep into the south just yet which seems to be a nice result for some on board!
The final bit of drama we have had to contend with was a massive rip in the main. Due to rather too much water sitting in the fold of the reef it decided it had enough and tore through the clew to let the water out, but, sadly left a hole about four-foot across, which we spent much of the afternoon repairing. Hopefully by daylight though it will have dried off once again and we will be up to full strength. A lot of stickyback and several tubes of Sikaflex sealant seem to have done the job. You can tell who was on the front line doing the repair - both Jordi (Jordi Calafat/ESP) and David (David Vera/ESP) finished up pretty much head to toe in white Sikaflex!
As you can see there is plenty going on right now, the race is getting interesting and, on top of that, we are busy trying to keep the boat in good shape for the remainder of this marathon. For me right now it is time to sleep a bit before getting back to it in a couple of hours time...
Volvo Ocean Race
No comments:
Post a Comment