Our results at the sprint were welcome news and were what we needed after some tough sailing in an area away from the others, where it is harder to judge performance and motivate ourselves. The team now understand and have seen a reward from eating, sleeping and breathing on the high side, steering straight and helming well.
The day was spent by me getting the spinnaker ready, putting the crew on standby until a squall passed and standing them down when the wind direction changed again. The wind was very much teasing me all day. About an hour before sunset the weather looked good and it felt right but a number of factors meant that the foot dragged in the water, dragged the bulk of the spinnaker out and we sailed over the top of it. I decided that the best option for this spinnaker was still up rather than down and after a bit of winching and a couple of luffs it flew free. I thought we had got away with it but as the sun set it shone through several holes, so a spinnaker drop was necessary before dinner. It was patched and repacked but the decision was made to save it for first light. Hopefully by the time you read this blog, it will be flying high in the sky and pulling us along towards Punta del Este.
The weather in front is going to make finishing very hard work for the Skippers. We just need to hope that there is a way that we can pick our way through it and that the leading boats get slowed a little meaning that we can make our hours of redress count.