Race 4 - Day 21
Crew Diary - Race 4 Day 21
09 December

I’m making coleslaw in the galley and pondering on the state of the fruits and vegetables, whilst paying enough attention not to grate any fingers into the mix.

‘An orange is an orange, but a red cabbage is not red….’

“Enjoy sailing the deep blue sea,” say friends and family, as they said their goodbyes.

Ah, but is the sea blue? On the English coast where I live, it would be a muddy brown from the Crayola Crayon box. The Gosport and Portsmouth harbour waters are much the same. As we depart and race, the waters of the Solent vary between blue-green and green blue. On the night watch, the moon casts a silvery stripe across the watery blackness. On other nights, the boat trails green phosphorescence; sometimes phosphorescent dolphins join the boat, putting on a show; sparkling, neon-lime, disco-dancing, marine life.

For those with sea sickness, staring the ocean in the face, its colour is as grey as they feel.

Becalmed, on our way to Puerto Sherry, the sunlit ocean is truly the deepest blue sea, gently rolling with diamonds from the sunshine.

Racing into Punta del Este, the skies are light blue, and the seas are grey blue.

In the Southern Ocean, the waves are aquamarine.

But at two points in the day, just near to dawn and dusk, the ocean is darkest purple, as a red cabbage, with our Clipper Race yacht slicing through, revealing the white waves beneath.

… The grater demands attention as it approaches the fingers. Best not to add any red to the mix.