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

Argggh. The noise one makes having been launched into something hard by a sudden lurch of the boat. It's heard a lot!

At 17:16, we left the Doldrums Corridor. It wasn't as hot and flat as I was expecting. 60 hours of motoring came to an end and sails were back up demanding our regular attention and life at 45 degrees resumed with a shock. Everything is so much harder to do, everything, and always with the threat of a sudden lurch. We had become quite used to the relatively stable boat motoring and spinnaker work gives us.

I had to keep adjusting the angle of my bed each time the the boat was tacked. There is a pulley system which can be operated to adjust the angle. Either roll out onto the floor one way or pressed into the side of the boat the other. It makes for a lot of sleep deprivation...yawn.

We are all having a go at helming as we try to improve our skill levels in all conditions. 20 to 30 minutes at a time is plenty due to the level of concentration required. Some of us don't appear to have a natural aptitude for this. Same as when it comes to using a keyboard!

While we were still motoring, we finished off the boat deep clean and maintenance check. Jon Olson, a willing volunteer, was hoisted up the mast to do a rig inspection under Andy's guidance. It was his first time and going up 90' with the mast swaying about had got him sweating by the time he got back to deck level. The view was amazing though!

We all look forward to getting to Punta del Este as quickly as possible and there's some hard sailing to do to get us there. My salt and sweat-encrusted clothes have a couple more weeks to last. It all feels so uncomfortable but there is nothing to be done about it until we arrive. Washing machines of Punta del Este; watch out!