Race 2 - Day 12
Crew Diary - Race 2 Day 12: Punta del Este to Cape Town
16 October
The Boat of Many Illnesses
This is quite possibly the unhealthiest boat on which I have ever sailed. I shall list the various illnesses and injuries in order of appearance, bearing in mind my poor memory and lack of medical knowledge...
1. To begin with, Bill Lyons had – for the last couple of days in Punta del Este and the first 2-3 days on the boat – a very nasty sore throat and temperature.
2. I then somehow developed a form of tendonitis in my left wrist a few days into heavy helming, which was not too bad at first but when the muscles started scrunching a splint quickly came out. At first I could not even don my foulies and was confined below decks (although this meant I could devote a whole watch to a one-handed replacement of the generator impeller), but another smaller one was fashioned so that I can go on deck, do some pit work, trim sails and look after my watch. It seems to be healing well, so hopefully with some rest in Cape Town I'll be back and in full action for Leg 3.
3. Patient Zero (due to our no-blame culture I probably should not name names) then came down with a nasty 24-hour vomiting/diarrhea bug, which affected people differently but quickly moved round a good three-quarters of the crew – fortunately not me nor GT – in turn, over days 3 to 11. Our watches have been somewhat depleted, but (touch wood) with no new cases in the past day this may be behind us...
4. As mentioned in a previous blog episode, Saj Norat's fight with a dolphin resulted in a black eye and damaged nose.
5. We have at least three minor coughs and colds.
6. 'Calamity' Dave West headbutted an albatross (I may have misunderstood this incident).
7. The average number of functional knees per crew member is rather less than two.
Quite frankly, with all this, our awful start, and a boat that always wants to sail desparately to port (regardless of wind angle or what the helmsman wants), it's a miracle we're even in the leading pack still. This is mostly down to Nell Wyatt's expert medical care and strict instructions to prevent spread of infections, the dedication of the crew to getting on with it, and mostly of course to GT's superb sailing skills and leadership from the front (literally).
Only a few more days to Cape Town!