Race 13 - Day 14
Crew Diary - Crew Diary: Race 13, Day 14
12 July
Since this is my second leg on Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam (in Leg 5 I joined to sail to Ha Long and Zhuhai) I returned to the same Round the Worlders and some crew members I have been training with the same AQP but a new skipper. It felt like coming home. Though Leg 5 seemed a long time ago.
Have I forgotten how to sail the boat? Well, it seems like it. With the new skipper evolutions are different than I was used to. Though on the outside everything looks the same. On the inside things have changed. The credo is: never sail without a hoisted head sail. Which means we peel, which I was certain of that this was close to impossible. Hoisting a spinnaker before bringing the other sail down. That sounds simpler than it really is. It makes you think further in advance and deal with more work in the cockpit or on the bow. Rolling hitches are more important than bowlines. Check and recheck before you hoist the new sail. Are the sheets on the outside?It adds a racy spirit even with light winds.
The first week and a half or so we had perfect sailing conditions, lots of kite changes and no need for reefing. Following the current like a snake going over the forest floor followed by upwind sailing, which made life on board less comfortable and sleeping difficult. The last couple of days when the decision was made to go east the 15 knots wind (and dropping), it made life easy again.
The race itself is as a race should be. After receiving the latest schedule Bob provides us with the latest positions. Many times, he smiles to tell us that we are in first position, but every once in a while, we are even fourth or fifth. With his wise words: ‘It is what it is. We cannot change that.’ He comes up with an even more cunning plan. Like: ‘We now point to Paddy’s parents' house in Ireland’ while a couple of hours later: ‘We now point to Oban.’
While on deck we keep the boat trimmed and do handicraft. We sliced an old sheet of which we made doughnuts and sail-ties. By now we have so many that we have sufficient for another circumnavigation.
We will enjoy the rest of this race until we reach the finish line. And probably thereafter since so many activities have been planned to look out for in Oban.