What a precarious Race Start. Tropical Cyclone Kirrily in the Coral Sea turned out to be nothing more than a rough day in the Solent for us. Thankfully the fleet was not impacted, and erring on the side of caution ensured the safety of our crew and boats. It also enabled us to have what we termed the ‘halfway holiday’: some much needed rest after five months of sailing and busy stopovers. Dan and I took to alternative realms to fulfil the void left behind by not sailing. Dan took to the skies and skydived, while I went scuba diving. It was very refreshing to do different activities for a while. After we were given the clear to go, we prepped the boats and began our 80nm trip down to Mackay to clear customs. En route we had time to refresh our new joiners and managed to spend an hour trying to pick up Charlie’s belongings, as he decided to throw both his hat and crocs overboard. I must say, Dan’s pickups were flawless, however, Charlie’s operation of the boat hook left much to be desired and on approach #23638 he managed to collect his hat. To be fair, it's a pretty cool hat.
The trip to Mackay was bliss, with a beautiful sunset and the fleet all together for our first ever fleet cruise! We had dinner and music on deck, and it was a yum time. After Mackay, we then motor sailed another day through the Great Barrier Reef to begin our Le Mans Start for Leg 5. It was exciting and went smoothly, big ups Dare To Lead for leading without any wind instruments temporarily! (Editor's Note: It has now been fixed and is functioning.)
Now we are finally back to sailing, apparent wind angles, trimming and dealing with copious amounts of sweat. We are in a nice little pack with Our Isles and Oceans, Zhuhai and Yacht Club Punta del Este which is lovely company and a great motivator for the drag race to the doldrums, 289 miles to go!
D & L