Joking around, onboard Telefonica Blue, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Qingdao to Rio de Janeiro. Image copyright Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Simon Fisher (helmsman)
Another uneventful day for us here out in the South Atlantic, more plodding along with the J4 under range doing similar angles as the previous 24 hours so very little has changed here!
However, there are two very positive things happening, 1) we are getting closer to Rio and 2) the temperature is getting warmer and warmer, which is making everyone very happy. It is going to be a great pleasure when the day comes that you can roll out of your bunk and head up on deck in shorts and t-shirt and not have to go through the lengthy process of pulling on hundreds of items of clothing!
With some food rationing now in place as this trip looks set to take more than 40 days, more and more the topic of conversation gets swung round to what we are going to eat when we get to Rio. The ‘all you can eat’ meat restaurant seems to be very high on everyone’s priority list including mine! Right now just thinking about it is making my stomach rumble... Mmmmmm Porcao (for that is the name of the restaurant)!
Other things in short supply on board, other than food seems to be gas, so hot drinks are now off the menu and possibly water as we continue to have a few dramas with the water-maker. Luckily though every time it threatens to stop we manage to wring a little more life out of the motor which hopefully will just make it to Rio! Without water not only do we go thirsty but hungry too as all our food is re-hydrated!
With the threat of arrival looming ever closer, now less than a week away, it seems like everyone is also starting to get very anxious to finish, which brings a sort of impatient, nervous energy to the boat. However, we are going to have to try to be patient as much of the remaining 1200 miles to go are going to be filled with negotiating a high pressure system that threatens to bring light winds and slowed progress. At least though we are still moving along nicely right now...
Volvo Ocean Race
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