035o50.9'S 001o22.1'W After a two day spell of strong cold southwesterly
winds at gale force, cold and partly therefore sleepless nights (I
should have worn my beanie in bed sooner!) this morning we hiot the
lighter winds between two frontal systems. It was incredible how quickly
the wind died and how it gradually changed direction from southwesterly
to northwesterly. The temperature difference between the two wind
directions is amazing. The last night and day were very cold and sitting
around doing nothing is not very helpfull. The cold has a big impact on
how quickly you can think and act. Everything took ages to do and there
were many small mistakes in things that normally go perfectly well
without thinking. It is clear that keeping warm is good for the boat
speed. Yesterday we heard the news that another boat had a man
overboard. They have successfully recovered the guy and he seemed fine.
Not a nice thought though floating around in a hostile ocean all alone
surrounded by walls of water.
The seascape is magnificent when the waves are building. When on topof a
big one the views are astounding: high peaks with foamy crests as far as
the eye can see. Like being on top of the world. I remain amazed at the
fact that no matter how high the wave is the boat just bobs along,
climbing the sides of the waves to the top and sliding off the back end,
effortlessly. That is not true of course we are working our butts off to
keep the boat going as fast as possible, but still it is the wind
and water that is driving us.
Today's highlight was few hours helming the boat with our massive
oversized medium weight spinaker up in good pressure. It was fantastic
feeling the pressure and driving the bioat in the right track. The best
was when we lost all our instruments and took the compass out to
recoinnect the displays. After about 15 minutes without any instruments
and only the old fashioned windex in the top of the mast I was bang on
course. One silent proud moment for myself :-)
We are now waiting for the wind to pick up to 35-40 knots for a three
to four day run to Capetown. I am ready, number three of the fleet is in
sight, so gogogo for a podium place in Capetown!
