Race 12 - Day 16
Crew Diary - New York, USA to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland
06 July
If the last few days have taught us anything, it might
just be that ocean racing is never over until it is over. That said, the fat
lady is currently clearing her throat and doing breathing
exercises. Positions across the fleet are still changing when it seems that
some boats have an unassailable lead over their closest rivals, particularly
when in changing weather and now tidal systems. Half a day out from our new
mark of Rathlin island, one such system is almost upon us as the winds are
forecast to back from the south west to the south east. Tide will become a more
significant factor as we bear the coast of Ireland once more.
Sailing today can be best described as pleasant since
rounding Rockall last night. As one of the mothers enjoying a long sleep and
night off watch, my experience was of being woken up in the act of almost
falling out of bed, holding up my bunk and also that of the nameless nerk below
me, who had tied his to mine. Note to self : take a knife to bed.... For those
that bothered getting out of bed to see Rockall, it proved a notably disappointing
if curious sight. I shall keep my impression of it as just another of the 31
sea areas in the Radio 4 Shipping Broadcast, after Shannon but before Malin.
Lightening winds through the night continued with cold but sunny conditions
through the day prompting a change down in kites to the lightweight. This was
aloft for a only a matter of hours until switching to white sails in the
afternoon as the wind veered into the south.
Some kind soul in New Jersey gave Mike a box of
chocolate. Not your typical Milk Tray man delivery, this was a plain cardboard
box containing no less than seventeen bars of Ecuadorean 'artisan chocolate'
whatever that might be. This necessitated the obligatory promotional photo
shoot on deck with even Paddington getting an airing - and lets face it, he
needed it after being on the boat for ten months. Oddly, whilst the girls
ignored the confectionery and sailed the boat, I've never seen anything that
more firmly grabbed the attention of six grown men that didn't either feature on
Sky Sports, come out of B&Q, or carry an 18 rating.
This hasn't been a particularly long leg but it's been
like a reasonably good film whose plot you've figured out about half an
hour before the end - you'd just wish the titles would roll.
Simon Rosbottom