Race 1 - Day 30
Crew Diary - Race 1 Day 30: Liverpool to Punta del Este
19 September

We officially entered Stealth Mode today which means that the other boats won't be able to see us for a period of 24 hours on the position schedules that come in every six hours. In order to really make sure that we are almost invisible on the water, the crew decided to spent these 24 hours in their best camouflage gear. Tomorrow we will have seen the whole range of outfits. But for now, here are some of the highlights.

First there is April, who decided to fully blend in with the branding of the boat. She dressed in an orange full-body suit that zips up to the very top. Indistinguishable from our logo, she made her way up on deck during watch change. We all were surprised to hear her number during muster-call and it took us a while to find her. That has certainly been one of the more creative attempts.

Other ideas for disguises were: disguising oneself as the mast, waves, trimming bean bag, and even anti-wrap net. So far we could not verify if these items are still inanimate, or if they are simply a disguised crew member.

The price for best outfit, however, has to go to our skipper. Completely dressed in black, in an attire resembling a ninja, he was seen leaving his bunk. Shortly after he disappeared into thin air. Some say he made his way up the inside of the mast, where, upon reaching the very top, he used one of the halyards to slide down behind the sails onto the foredeck. Others say he hid in a cubbyhole and patiently waited for everyone to be busy with their dinner before slipping onto the deck unseen. Even others report of a secret door next to his bunk, which he used to get into the lazarette. There, he waited for the whole deck crew to be distracted by looking at the spinnaker trim just to emerge unseen. A few say he secretly made his way into the sail locker. Once there, under the cover of the setting sun, he squeezed on the foredeck and hid behind the sails. From there, he shortly after dashed into the cockpit just to meet a surprised and dazzled crew. Anyway, no one really knows how he made it on deck, and everyone was certainly surprised to see him emerge.

With such great efforts to camouflage ourselves, we will be practically invisible for everyone.

Sailing hasn't stopped either on CV23 and we had an action-laden morning that involved a spinnaker hoist and a run up the mast to fix a halyard by myself. Later in the afternoon, conditions calmed down and we continued steaming down to Punta del Este. ETA: Thursday sometime. We hope for fair winds in the meantime.

CV23 over…and out.