Race 11 - Day 10
Crew Diary - Race 11 Day 10
21 May

Champagne Sailing with Goldilocks!

Today we were treated to a magnificent day of ‘Champagne Sailing’.

We were reminded why we are here …. for days such as today.

Round the Worlders were rewarded for all their hard work over recent months, with this day of bliss.

We have had cold, and we are braced for being hot and sticky hiding from the sun as we go South. We have had big winds and lumpy seas – but know there are some rather large wind-holes around the corner, which have the capacity to rob us of our current lead (second as I write) and turn the race to a lottery.

But today was a Goldilocks day – not too much – not too little. Just right!

The sky was blue, and the sun shone – but not too much that we got burned or too hot. We have had a lot of grey days up until now. Today was ideal.

The wind blew - a good 13kn - enough to be exciting and for us to make good progress with our biggest sails. As the wind was pretty consistent and from a forgiving angle, it was a great helming day for the less experienced leggers to have a go and build confidence.

The boat heeled – enough to make it fun - but not too much to make it painfully difficult to get about.

The temperature during the day was warm enough to don sandals, shorts (for some), and T-shirts – relegating cumbersome foulies and boots to the back of the locker.

During the night, it was that perfect temperature where a comfortable number of garments left you warm enough without being claustrophobic in your layers.

We finished the Ocean Sprint. We were not specifically chasing it. We had decided it was a detraction from the race, and since our best course was to gybe – we did just that. It so happened that we did go through the Ocean Sprint Finish Line and think we may have picked up a point or so – another bonus for a perfect day!

No sailing dramas – the sails behaved perfectly. Yesterday, with no second's notice, we needed to get our Kite down because we spotted a rip in it. We immediately needed to put up another sail, mend the broken one, wool it (prepare it to go back up), put it up. Take the reserve one down, and get the sails set and back on track. Today, we had model behavior from our biggest sail, known as ‘the princess!’.

It’s days like today that resets the clock and reminds us why we love sailing and why we came!

As a legger I feel a bit guilty that I have not suffered enough to deserve a day such as today – by contrast, the Round the World Crew have worked hard to deserve to have this beautiful sailing treat and are rather enjoying the ‘break’ from the grueling Pacific crossing.

But one thing that this ocean teaches you is that you absolutely need to be present at the moment.

Each wave brings a new situation.

So, we need to focus, pay attention to the small details of trimming and be ready to jump to ‘action stations’ at any moment!

For now, however, we revel in this beautiful day of Champagne Sailing!