Race 13 - Day 10
Crew Diary - Crew Diary: Race 13 Day 10
06 July

Coordinated effort and knowledge sharing

When I signed up to the Clipper Race, one of my expectations was teamwork and learning to sail efficiently. This expectation on board CV31 Ha Long Bay Viet Nam has been largely met. Here I would like to describe how I have experienced this during the races I have taken part in so far, and how I feel Iam now approaching the end of the adventure.

I joinedthe race in Seattle for Leg 7 and 8. The start in Seattle was full of excitement and novelty, I was super happy to join one of the leading teams in the race and support the Round the Worlder crewin keeping the boat going fast. The boat culture in CV31 is harmonious overall, the idea of motivating and getting the 100 % that each team member can give is something I will take home after the race. Putting effort into every job, our motto, you see a job, do it. If you do a job, do it right!

Most of this is self-explanatory, but what does it mean to a job right when you just join a bunch of diverse people that have sailed together ¾ around the world?

Well, asking questions and imitating was my way to go. Paddy, the leader of my watch, is very patient and good at explaining things, good at sharing his experience and encouraging people to try it. From making sail ties, soft shackles, to tips on helming, tips on rigging a kite for a drop, for a gybe, helming… all round sailing and living onboard.

I have had very interesting conversations and reflections with Eric. The last one was about an epiphany he had on how to wool a kite, that is, how to roll these big headsails and store them ready for the next hoist. I cannot share the details for competitive secret of course ;-) but what I can tell is: there is a lot of experience and reflection on how to do things better, each time, each try. In the same line of thought, seeing Jaci handle the cockpit is amazing. She knows every single setup and variation of evolutions; she guides us to the evolutions smoothly and efficiently. She confesses that to get there she had a long path of learning by doing, and in general sometimes the hard way, so sharing and reflecting on mistakes not to make them again is deeply rooted in this boats culture.

Vicki’s knowledge of knitting is being well transferred to sail repair and splicing. Also, her skills as chef on boatsis invaluable; she has explained to me many things about victualling, dry food and recipes. She is from Scotland and after her descriptions of the places we may see there, I am looking forward to Oban stopover.

Another aspect is checking on each other's work, and giving feedback, very constructive. If I make a mistake on deck, and an evolution goes wrong, it is my fault, but also the fault of the crew around me that did not check the setting before the evolution.

Adrian, our sail repair person, and his love for sails is unique. We have custom names for some of the headsails, other than Windseeker, C1, C2, C3. Those names picked out of anecdotes with the sails, or just symbols of gratitude to those pieces of gear that have carried us so far and so fast. Adrian is very meticulous about inspecting the sails and doing small repairs every time a kite is dropped, really inspiring.

Olaf brings a whole life of experience as a boat engineer with him. It was very instructive to share with him and help him do some jobs on board, from changing the water maker filter, replacing an impeller (which I did not know what it was).

Bob and Cam, our skipper and first mate, have done a great job leading us, putting us in very advantageous positions in the race, so that we keep motivated to do things right and efficiently, to win. Bob mentioned something about winning that I liked. Win because we like to win and can win and not being afraid of not winning. I take this attitude back home as well. Cam is very competitive and supportive. He makes sure we have everything we need to perform well, comfortably, safely. Thanks Cam. There is also a place for joking during my watch hours on deck and below deck during support watch. It is lots of fun. When Cam is ‘bored’ because there is no wind… we come up with funny ideas, as singing songs only with the word ‘bored’ on top of the melody. :)

And the list goes on… we are not done yet, but so far so good, happy, a bit tired but ahead of the challenge. This is a coordinated effort, in the words of Eric, almost every single task is too much for one person alone, but together can move the heavy sail, put it in the bunk, pack it, hoist it. Only if we are pushing in the same direction at the same time. Ready, two, six Heaveee…

Thaks a lot wonderful team Ha Long Bay Viet Nam.

Andale andale ;)

Nicolas Gallego

July 6th 2024

49 40.892 N 31 58.661 W