No mast no glory

There we are, surrounded by the fishing armada of the People's Republic
of China. We have Hangzou 145 miles on our left and are about 15 miles
east of some islands off the coast of mainland China. The engine is on
and we have a stump of mast left and are flying our stormssails on an
improvised rig. It is about 5 degrees outside, bright clear skies, a
calm sea and the wind in the back. 2 More days to Qindao with our
current speed. What a bizarre situation...
 
A week ago we were sailing in tropical conditions finding the best
route and sail plan to get to gate ahead of anybody else, swapping
spinnakers for Yankees plotting our next moves, keeping an eye on the
competition and all with success. We scored one gate point as we crossed
the gate in 3rd place. The wind by then had increased from non existent
to 28 knots and the seas were very steep and pointy as a result of wind
over current and underwater shallows. It was bumpy and nasty and the boat
was constantly slamming giving us sleepless off watch hours and an
occasional headache. As the gate was south of Taiwan we soon after
crossing it managed to get into the infamous Japan Current which runs
south to north at a rate of about 2-3 knots along the coast of Taiwan.
we picked up the current together with the two boats ahead of us and
made good but bumpy progress. As the weather was turning less
favourable inshore the entire fleet went off shore to pick up a more
easterly wind which would give a better angle to pass Taiwan, but we all
got parked up. We then decided to pick up on the breeze we found, hoist
our light weight spinaker and follow the breeze inshore, back to the
current. This proved a good move as we ended up in 1st position. Then
the wind changed (as predicted) first direction and then it picked up to
a blustery 25-28 knots. With the wind and current in opposite directions
the seas started building again. The sea state was a lot better than
south of Taiwan and we managed to keep good speed and angle. I went off
watch thinking if this stays and does not increase we are doing great.
Next thing I wake up in my bunk, mid air as our boat drops off the
biggest wave we have come acroiss so far. As the boat hit the trough and
 I was slammed down on my mattress I heard this massive bang and then
I was hit by silence. "The forestay (the most loose part of our rig) is
gone" was my first thought and I immediately corrected that because it
was too quiet on deck. Damn! The rig, it's the rig. Within a split
second I was in my drysuit (which happened to be in my bunk) and on
deck. The rig was bent over our starboard side and was compressing the
guardrail footplates into the deck. The on watch had already begun to
cut away the stays and stanchions. I did most of the running rigging. We
cut away the top third of the mast and salvaged our mainsail and boom.
The staysail unfortunately went with the mast and inner forestay.
There was no panic and a sound discipline on deck in getting everything
sorted to make sure we could start the engine. This really is a very
relaxed group of people when it comes to emergencies. :-) Glad to be
part of it.
We motored into Hua-Lien escorted by the coast guard and were met by a
bunch of media as we berthed at the coast guard centre. That evening the
commander of the local coast guard station invited us for a New Year's
drinking and eating session and after many rounds of gambei and a few
rounds of karaoke we headed off to All Stars (a bar with live music) for
a really great session in letting steam off. We had a great party
dancing on the chairs and tables  and the Chinese liquor consumed
earlier that evening definitely helped.
Never thought I would have to drink Chinese liquor ever again after
quitting my job. Anyway it tasted the same: HORRIBLE. 

Patience and long term thinking

We have been match racing Australia now for several days and yesterday
as they got stuck under a cloud and we lost our sights on them (and
they on us) we finally had our long awaited window of opportunity. We
managed to get our boat speed up and changed course slightly to the West
and away we were. The gap is now comfortably big but we have to stay
vigilant.
The winds have been a big pain in the butt. Where we would like to have
more breeze there is less and where we would like to see less there is
more! I find it a real challenge to plot strategies and I am very
pleased to take part in it. It is an absolute brain cracker however at
the moment as there seem to be no good options only "not the worst"
ones. We finally cracked a nut this night and decided to do something
radical. As we were executing the plan the wind changed and the whole
plan stranded. Having the kite up however is still the best option and
maybe the wind will now change to our favour so we can make the move we
intended in the first place. I did not expect to put a kite up this race
but, this is how messed up the wind situation is in the South China Sea.
Having a few sleeping problems as a result of all the hard thinking :-)
 
Three booby's (sea birds) kept us entertained today as they skirted our
bow and ducked in low to pick up some flying fish. Birds are a sign of
nearby land and shallows. Sitting in the nav station most of the watch
does have a benefit: I love maps and finding weird places on earth. Just
found a group of islands East of us: the Paracel Islands. Ever heard of
them? A few perfect atoll shaped reefs with some bits sticking out above
the water. We are slowly leaving them behind us.

Vietnam to the West

The last day of a long break in Singapore was spent partially in
Dutch surroundings. A big thank you to Onno and Esther for letting me
use their washing machine, feeding me Dutch bread and for a really nice
evening chatting and dining at their house. I felt recharged in every
aspect and ready to race again: Qindao, here I come!
Wrong!!! I really have to learn to manage my expectations! The start
was not bad and we managed to get across the line fairly OK but to then
drop in dirty wind because nobody had bothered to pull the traveller
(controls the mainsail position) up so we could not make the right
angle. It just disappoints me so much these small set backs and I know
it means nothing on a 2000 mile race but still: aargh! Maybe next time I
should go cruising on a big cruising catamaran instead of racing on a
carbon fibre racing machine.
 
Anyway we are now 125 miles East of Vietnam after a week of matchracing
against about 6-16 knots of wind. I like upwind sailing and tweaking the
boat is a good pasttime. The obsession everybody has with the other boat
is quite amusing: "we sail higher and faster that they are". So why are
we still behind them then??? It keeps us all on our toes and it is still
nice to know where the competition is and what they are doing. The fleet
was roughly split in three with us being the furthest West for several
days but now the boats are joining up again. Still many miles to go and
with the current wind direction progress towards the scoring gate is
slow.
 
We are still in the tropics. Despite the fact that everybody is talking
about the gale force winds that we expect East of Taiwan and the
subzero temperatures we are getting North of Taiwan it is still very
hot! The tropical moisture and temperatures lead to a smelly boat,
itchy scull, sweat sores, funny looking blisters on knees and bum and
small infections to tiny wounds. All very uncomfortable, so bring on the
cold. The great thing about our route is that is is set in very busy
shipping routes so there is plenty to look at. Lots of floating debris
of which the high light so far was a television monitor (tube type).
Most interesting animal out of the four types we have seen so far was a
sea snake. Yellow with brown stripes and a flattened tail. It swam with
its head above water and looked really quirky. Other animals are flying
fish, dolphins and just one bird. I guess the rest of the animal kingdom
think it is too hot too. One big advantage of sailing in the tropics is
sailing at night. When the temperature drops to cool and the stars light
up the sky there is really is no better place to be.

Uncharted waters

At some stage during the race to Singapore we literally entered
uncharted (badly charted) waters and the reason for this must have
reached you all by now and may have even been forgotten already. An hour
before I was supposed to get up on watch I was pulled from my bunk to
get on deck and assist in an attempt to help out Cork. They raised a
panpan stating they hit ground and had water entering their hull. All I
could do was curse really loudly in Dutch. Water ingress is not good
news! It was pitchblack outside and the winds were gusty and visibility
was poor. There was no way of spotting a reef or island in the
prevailing conditions and  I was furiously hoping we would not make an
attempt to get close to their boat. Luckily that didn't happen and we
waited until daylight to get a better idea of the situation. And it was
bad, really bad. The boat was pushed onto a reef and right next to it
was an island sticking maybe 3m out of the sea. To stress the
dangers associated with the island there was a fishing boat 'high and
dry' on the western tip of the island. A lot of radio telephone and
email communication went on and the mean time we could only sit on deck
and watch the Cork guys evacuating their boat and making a transfer to
the island and then in the life rafts towards us. It is incredible how
utterly useless (machteloos) I felt as I sat there watching them hauling
their life rafts onto the island and launching them again on the other
side of the island. All credit to them!
Once on board (we took 8 people) we could offer them more than just our
presence and hopefully we have managed to lend them an ear and
make them feel comfortable which is something you do not do on a daily
basis. They were a great bunch to have on board and we did have lots of
fun despite the drama.
The real test however was how to live on board with 25 people in
tropical heat in a badly ventilated boat on which the hatches could not
be opened because we were beating into 15 knots of breeze and
charging through very uncomfortable Java Sea Chop (short pointy waves).
It is a miracle: we did survive and we are all still friuends but the
smell on the boat was absolutely nauseatingly horrendous! 6 days with
barely any fresh air is killing for an environment with sea water
infested clothes, 25 sticky overheated human bodies, cooking vapour and
smells for 25 people, engine  (the generator failed, off course!) heat,
and no rainy squalls when you need them. Everybody was so glad we made
it into port and the swimming pool was an instant success. Unfortunately
I had to say goodbye to part of my front tooth but that has all been
sorted now. I was elated the big test was over. Alcohol cured the soul
and my again inflamed bottom lip was the only bad thing left after a few
days in Batam. Over to Singapore for a bit of retail therapy..

written on 12 January

It has been a very interesting journey so far from a historical
viewpoint. From Cape of good Hope via Western Australia to Indonesia is
exactly the same route as the  ships of the Dutch East India Company
(VOC) used to follow to the Dutch colony on Java. The route is littered
with shipwrecks and one of the highlights if the stopover in Geraldton
was to find out about the infamous Batavia shipwreck and to actually see
the wreck site from the air. Now almost 500 years later I can probably
say that I am experiencing the same as the people on board the VOC ships
who were on their own adventure, looking for trade opportunities or
settling in the colony. We (me now and they 500years ago) are all far
away from home in strange waters and in a different  climate, travelling
into the unknown or unfamiliar. They must have felt the same relief as
wind picks up and the vessel starts making decent progress  or when
heavy rain refreshes and replenishes water stocks (in our case an
opportunity for a natural shower). They must have enjoyed the  colourful
tropical fish that accompany the boat and may even have tasted them.
Then comes the encounter with new land with a different  mountainous
landscape and different smells and the then possibly steaming volcanoes
sticking up out of the sea. Very different from everything we see from
sea back at at home.  Even though it was dark when we passed through the
strait between Sumatra and Java the hillsides seemed lush green and so
different from the  Dutch dykes and dunes and sandy beaches and the
smells from shore were definitely very different from what I am used to
and the  charts mention volcanic activity instead of shifting sands.
 
It is very special to be travelling here by sea and by force of the wind
only and to realise that apart from navigational marks and oil rigs not
much has changed at sea in the last 500 years. The VOC ships turned to
starboard right after Sunda Strait to go into Batavia (now Jakarta), we
press on to Singapore! Another small difference between then and now: I
managed to pick up a mobile network signal and speak to my father who
was waiting to go through the Suez Canal.Technology can be great at
times! ;-)