Race 3 - Day 5
Crew Diary - Race 3 Day 5
30 October
Wow, where to start! I joined the crew for Leg 2 and here’s a few key highlights from the first few days at sea. (As I write this it is 0332 of Day five).
Firstly, let's take a step back and reflect on the team coming into Punta Del Este. It was a fantastic stop over location, and they really pulled out all the stops to make everyone feel welcome.
As one of the team coordinators, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know almost all crew members on Leg 1 during ‘Race Prep’ and I was so proud of everyone as they pulled into the marina after what had been a very trying few weeks. So great to catch up, hear their stories, and get some last-minute tips over a well-earned cold beverage.
Secondly, setting off for Leg 2 with a temporary skipper. We are all sad that Greg’s back needs longer to recover, but that's ocean racing and we wish him a speedy recovery.
It was weird seeing him wave us off from Punta Del Este, but hopefully we will see him again soon. We are now in the safe hands of Dale Smyth who is the Deputy Race Director, who is a very experienced pair of hands that has hit the ground running and been a great coach. (I joke that it's kind of like having the head teacher as your substitute teacher...sorry Dale, I couldn’t help myself).
Thirdly, the first few days at sea have been very varied. We started with light winds, and even a couple of wind holes, and now seem to be riding the back of a few weather systems between 10-20knots (don’t worry dad, I promise I’m clipped on). We are currently sailing upwind which means living at a 60-degree angle, which is quite uncomfortable and makes getting around the boat or using the heads more of a challenge.
One noteworthy story is how we were putting in Reef 3 on a stormy night and an albatross hit the mainsail and flopped into the water, luckily it was ok and flew off again but that's certainly not something you see every day!
Some of the crew, including myself, have experienced pretty bad sea sickness due to the upwind sailing and sea state (sadly, the patch that I have had so much faith in has not worked its magic this time). It certainly does take it out of you, and I’ll be honest, I wasn't planning to spend the first four days at sea at the back of the boat imitating Bob (our Man Overboard (MOB) Dummy).
Hopefully over the next couple of days everyone will find their sea legs and we can put this all into the distant memory.
Overall, it's certainly an adventure and a challenge, something that I had definitely underestimated when finishing my training in the very sedate Solent.
The whole crew continue to work hard to keep the boat moving as fast as we can, and there’s still good banter going around so life onboard is good :-)
(P.S to my friends and family, I’m sorry, I’ve been told its unlikely we will have flying fish on this leg and therefore you won't be getting any stories or photos of them slapping me in the face like the crew experienced in Leg 1)