For the eagle eyed amongst you, you have seen Our Isles and Oceans slow significantly and frustratingly not be able to hold the speeds or courses that other boats can over the last two days. We have had a series of bad luck that only comes from playing a Joker. Initially we have had an issue with the rudder, this has been solved for the mean time but is going to require a major part replacement in Airlie Beach. After an email to both the Clipper Race Office and Maintenance, the team has leapt into action to get it solved for us and my thanks goes out to them for their assistance. A major benefit of sailing with the Clipper Race is the shoreside contacts and assistance that would otherwise have taken us weeks or months to solve on our own.
Rest assured that the boat and crew are both safe and we are still pushing hard to race to Airlie Beach.
We then decided to wrap a line around our rudder for six hours as we waited for daylight to see exactly what the issue was. Luckily the spearfishing skills of Leg 4 Crew member Mark R made swift work of a dangling bit of line, and we recovered it with limited drama.
Currently (pun intended) we are skirting the EAC as close as we dare, waiting for the opportune moment to sneak back across it to the first Virtual Mark. With Washington, DC and Perseverance hot on our heels, its keeping us pushing the boat as hard as we can, given our constraints. A fierce conversation has been raging in the nav station for 24 hours about optimal angles, speed and distances. Cross too late and the angle might be unsustainable, cross too early and we are sitting in negative current for too long.
By the time this blog is out we will hopefully be round this Virtual Mark and turned west towards the Reef and Airlie Beach!
Max and the crew of CV21 Our Isles and Oceans