Casey and the Earth. Image copyright Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing.
by Rick Deppe
After 24 hours of tough conditions beating in the GULF STREAM, the morning of the 25th dawned beautifully in a dying breeze and steadily flattening seas- a lovely New England Spring day. Ken, at the helm, remarked that it felt like the first sail of the year. Michi Muller also seemed to be cheered up by the morning reprieve from the crashing and bashing that we have been experiencing in the last days. He broke out another bag of his special "Gummi Baren" from the shop in Kiel, Germany, his home port. They are really good and also a nice opportunity for the boys to give the inside of the boat a quick tickle up. As I have remarked, before the boat gets pretty rank inside during tough conditions and this upwind bash through the Gulf Stream was no exception. So bad in fact that it was difficult to even stay on your feet in the galley let alone clean up.
As I write, it is about 400 miles to the finish, but it’s not a straight shot by any means. Most significantly we have to navigate a whale sanctuary that sits directly between us and Boston it adds about 250 miles to the journey which will give you some sense of scale. Hopefully the whales know to stay inside while the fleet is coming around!!! After the whale sanctuary, the approach to Boston can be very tricky with numerous islands to navigate. We've sailed it a bunch of times during our training and Ken knows the area well. I'm hoping that we'll get the chance to put this experience to some use- perhaps a good time to pull a rabbit out of the hat. It sure would be nice to get on the podium in our home port. For sure whatever the outcome, PUMA and the city will have a big welcome waiting for us.
PUMA Ocean Racing
Volvo Ocean Race
No comments:
Post a Comment