Race 12 - Day 10
Crew Diary - NEW YORK, USA TO DERRY-LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND
02 July

Clare Macadam
Clare Macadam
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CV24 LMAX Exchange Crew Blog

30th June

Sailmaking by Clare

I experienced my first 'all hands on deck!' moment the other day. Warm and cosy in my bunk, about an hour after watch changeover, the call came.

There's always an edge of panic to those moments; what on earth could have happened? Bleary eyed, I pull on trousers, boots and a jacket, navigate the chaotic galley full of people halfway into their foulies to answer the call of 'someone open the sail locker!' and I'm greeted with our spinnaker, soaking wet and shoved down to me in pieces.

To my eye, it was a goner; I could see enormous rips, frayed edges and broken seams, it was twisted and bundled in absolutely no order. But in the hands of our experienced sailmakers, Ana and Dominique, over the next few hours it was carefully laid out and examined, and the damage was drawn out on a piece of kitchen roll for us all to gape at in horror.

Slowly the edges were brought together and labelled, the tasks were identified and the team nominated. We had two teams of three, working round the clock to bring the sail back to life. I spent two days (or was it three? I'm not sure I could tell you, they all seemed to blend into one...) sat on the floor of the galley unpicking stitches along the ripped edges, lining up those edges and very carefully taping the back together, then doing battle with a sewing machine from 1920 to reinforce the taped repairs.

It was brain melting work. Although it wasn't hugely physical, trying to hold the mass of sail in position and brace your body against whatever you can whilst the boat is jumping and lurching was tiring and uncomfortable, plus the continuous concentration made it absolutely exhausting, both physically and mentally. The end of a sailmaking watch brought a zombie-like staring contest to mealtimes.

The sail is fixed, and packed, and ready to go. I have huge respect for those members of the crew who have been doing this the whole way round the world, and we will be watching with all of our fingers and toes crossed when we next hoist it.

In other news:

Bruno has been asking the one mirror on board who is the fairest of us all.

He says he finds it very reassuring.

We have run out of eggs, which means no more cake. This wouldn't have been a problem, as we are due to reach the original finish line tomorrow afternoon. However with an extra 500 miles of getting cold and wet, the absence of the cake will be felt all the more keenly.