Race 1 - Day 26
Crew Diary - Race 1 Day 26: Liverpool to Punta del Este
15 September

Adam Cristol
Adam Cristol
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Good evening to all of those on dry land with dry bums!

It's been a few weeks since my first blog attempt and the withdrawal symptoms had started to show so here we are for my second effort. Please note I am writing this over a long hot day in the galley so if it makes no sense you know why but I hope a few tales from life on board brings a smile to your faces.

I alluded to dry bums in my greeting as this has been a hot topic of conversation for quite some time now. Exactly how long I cannot tell you as time seems to be an enigma when you're at sea and running on watch systems, which to me is a refreshing change to the ever-constrained time we seem to have when we are on dry land, a burden which perhaps is self-inflicted. Sorry I got a little side tracked there, I was talking about damp bums. Yes, as I'm sure you will have guessed, ocean racing can get a little wet and without a tumble dryer or airing room, dampness is a constant companion. This invariably causes the team to bond over how dire their damp problem is and can they last remember when they were dry. This challenge is tackled head on by a fellow crew member who douses himself in baby powder at every opportunity which is a great spectacle, much like watching a magician disappear in a plume of smoke. I'm just sorry I have run out of my stash of baby powder as I am not ashamed to say I too try my hand at this regular magic show.

So another enjoyable tale is one that I had introduced during boat delivery where we award a suitable nominee with an award for something laughable that they have done unintentionally (award is aptly named 'D--k of the Day'). An example being one morning at around 4:30am when I was on shift and I jumped up enthusiastically to trim the sails, particularly the Yankee sheet. Half way through my attempts, one of my crew mates asked what I was doing. I could have taken offence to this but chose not to, so moral high ground taken I replied 'I'm just trimming the Yankee' to which they replied 'we don't currently have a Yankee sail up' much to the amusement of everyone else on deck. Another one which I would like to share with you is one from this morning at around 5:30 when I was preparing breakfast in the galley. There was a call from the deck to shake a reef out of the main sail. One of my team (Tony Dickinson – I was encouraged to name and shame) who was taking a well earned nap in the saloon in his foulies with his life jacket on, stirred at this call to action and started making his way to lend a hand. About 5 minutes later he was still faffing around in the wet lockers, so I turned around and saw him struggling to put another life jacket on (note that this life jacket was not his one as he already had his one on). I saw this and asked him what he was doing. He looked up at me like a deer in headlights and said 'I know it’s not my life jacket but I can't find mine' to which I replied 'that's because you are wearing yours', the look of relief on Tony's face at the news that his struggle had come to an end will stay with me for a long time. He gingerly returned the life jacket which was not his and made his way on deck for duties before being presented over breakfast with a medal for his 'D--k of the Day' efforts.

I would love to share more with you all from the good ship CV23 but it's time for me to crawl into my damp bed for some much earned rest.

Until next time.

Adam