Race 1 - Day 2
Crew Diary - Getting into the swing of things!
07 September

So we are now 24 hours into racing and it's been a whirlwind! Everyone is starting to get into the routine now and get used to living in very cramped conditions!

Yesterday morning seems like days ago and our eventful night at anchor like a dream (or nightmare). Our boat had some technical difficulties relating to the anchor warp which caught on the rudder when the tide changed and caused part of our steering gear to be damaged. A spare new part was found and Super Dan came to the rescue and fixed the problem in time for a 7am anchor lift, so much for a good night's rest before race start! A quick MOB drill and some tacking practice highlighted some rust to be oiled, then we were ready for a downwind race start! Seeing all the boats sailing up and down the line was such a majestic sight as they weighed up the best part of the line to go for, trying not to get too close or crash. Our kite hoist went well and we were racing! Most of the first day was spent with the spinnaker hoisted giving us some exciting sailing, pulling off some great gybes and overtaking several boats.

The watch system was started at 2pm and Crimewatch (my watch) went for a much needed snooze leaving Baywatch in charge of the boat. Just before we were to get up for our 8pm watch we left the Thames estuary and entered the Channel. Here we began to sail upwind through some more rougher waters; resulting in some serious sea sickness in the crew! Ben and Laurence did a super job of producing some top notch grub to feed us all and keep energy up. We had soup for lunch, cakes, fresh bread and chilli con carne for tea. We had an exciting first night’s sailing and managed to work our way up through the pack to around 3/4th place!

Overall the first day has been everything I have hoped for and more, and I look forward to keeping you all in the loop back home!