Race 1 - Day 32
Skipper Report
21 September

Rob Graham
Rob Graham
Team Nasdaq
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Yesterday morning, the Nasdaq crew had a dramatic illustration of the importance of paying attention to details whilst sailing. During a mast climb by Damien Egan to change spinnaker halyards, we unintentionally had two winches engaged on the grinders at the same time. One was pulling Damien up the mast, the other was quietly putting a huge riding turn (knot) onto the main sheet winch whilst everyone (me included) was looking the other way. The knots of the main sheet became large enough to break the self-tailer section off the top of the winch, shattering several crucial (and expensive) parts in the process through the huge forces involved.

From his bird's-eye view at the top of the mast, Damien was completely unaware of what had happened, and was never in any danger - he just got on with the job, and managed some great photos at the same time. Once he was safely down, we had to get creative with re-running lines to deal with the problem, then strip the winch down to assess the damage. It actually turned out to be not as bad as it could have been, and the Clipper Race Maintenance Department already have most of the parts we need to repair it in Punta del Este (shout out to Vicky Flashman!). But I (like most other skippers) take a personal pride in the boats I sail and hate to see them damaged needlessly, The crew are now well aware of that, and also the importance of checking rather than assuming before starting any procedure. Lesson learned, we have moved on and adapted to the new procedure needed to continue sailing with our slightly lame winch.

It was otherwise a very productive and enjoyable day onboard - many miles covered and nearly all of them in the right direction. A flatter sea state and steady northeasterly wind kept us moving well under our Code 2 (mediumweight spinnaker), with a couple of well-executed gybes as we can't point directly where we want to go. Such is sailing. Starboard "Bulls" Watch were delighted by the appearance of another new form of sea life - we had several "flying penguins" (their words, not mine) following us most of the afternoon. Will they still be around today? I'm sure the twitchers back home would love a photo if we could manage one.

Somehow, after over a month at sea, the standard of food continues to be raised in the Nasdaq Bistro - Clare Lavin and Alex Weaver yesterday produced some amazing meals from assorted leftovers and 'spare' ingredients, and have given Vincent Rikkink and Sam Clemens a lot to live up to.

The instruments down here in the Nav Station tell me that the wind is shifting more northerly, so it's time to get back up on deck for another gybe.

Cheers, Rob