Last ocean crossing

It has been a very hard time for me since we left the heavy weather
behind us just after leaving San Francisco. New people on the boat with
different dynamics and with a very different attitude towards racing and
living on a boat really spoiled the fun for me. I was so much looking
forward to being back on the race track after our rescue efforts and our
dismasting that the changes on the boat were just a massive
disappointment. Anyway I decided to resign as a watchleader and be a
passenger for a while (from Jamaica up to Cape Breton Island) until the
attitude on board was back to something more resembling real team
spirit. The change came in Cape Breton and I am back in action. I am
still not back as watchleader but have taken on the role of tactician
which is a really nice change of scenery and a real challenge. Someone
else can worry about boat speed for a change! No complaints about boat
speed anyway. We seem to be fast it's just our tactics and some bad luck
with sail damage, windholes that have been affecting our finishing
positions: 4th into Panama, 4th into Jamaica (damage to mainsail), 7th
into New York (windhole) and 6th into Cape Breton (massive cock ups in
tactics). We are now in 4th position and halfway across the North
Atlantic Ocean. Yesterday I became a circumnavigator having crossed all
meridians on a sailing boat. I am celebrating today with salmiak coins;
Dutch liquorish that was given to me by the friends that visited me in
Cape Breton Island. Today is also the day that I have declared myself
healthy again after having been on cold and flu drugs and
paracetamol since arriving in Cape Breton Island (that's about 13 days
of drug use in a row). I am still exhausted both mentally from the less
happy times and physically from the cold and flu that has been pestering
me since New York but I am sure I will manage to stretch myself until we
get into Kinsale/Cork which is only a small week away.
 
Sailing wise this current ocean passage is slightly boring and more a
test of belief and patience than one of sailing skills. We decided to
stick to a more southerly route together with two other boats while the
rest of the fleet is following the great circle route which gives them
the shortest distance to sail. Our theory was that we would be sailing
in more constant winds a bit further away from the center of the low
pressure system that is currently driving us. The idea was that this
should give us some speed disadvantages but an overall speed and sailing
angle advantage. We had to hold our breath and stick to the plan
yesterday when winds left us and we dropped behind the northerly
contingent but now we are reaping the benefits of our
strategy...finally! The strategy however consisted of sailing one course
only and with no changes in wind strength or direction this has been a
rather dull process. We have not really had much lucky with whale
sightings either and the small pod of dolphins that did decide to visit
our boat did this when I was fighting the flu in my bunk :-(
 
Start day was probably the best sailing day so far. We had very close
quarter spinnaker  sailing and then had to speed through a field of
hundreds of lobster pots. The work on the bow was hard and after the
many monkey maneuvers going up and down the spinnaker pole and upto and
down the mast several times I caved in and spent my time below deck in
my bunk and in the nav station since I resurfaced the skies have been
overcast. The weather has been humid ever since we crossed the foggy
Grand Banks and Flemish Cap. Luckily the sea water temperature has been
acceptable at 16-17 degrees and the winds have been mainly southwesterly
so all in all it has not been as cold as we expected. The wind has
finally picked up and as I am writing this I can hear the bubbles of a
good surf under the boat. Ooohs and aaahs from deck indicate very good
speeds. Sailing is great! :-)
 

A finish line, finally!

Almost five months after we last finished a race we have just crossed
the finish line of the race from San Francisco to Panama. The last days
have been a true thriller  with us losing out to the third place by only
15 minutes. And that has been more luck than lack of hard work. We
started in San Francisco under the Golden Gate Bridge with very strong
breeze and finished 17 days later 120 miles off the coast of Costa Rica
in only a tiny puff of wind.
Since we finished in Australia in December 2009 this has been our first
proper race with a start and a finish. We all longed for a podium place
but unfortunately it looks like we just missed out. The celebrations
aren't any less because of it. We are now motoring down the finish line,
preparing for a swim in the ocean, which will be one of my highlights.
 
We have enjoyed the most gorgeous waves and surfs, the best breeze
ever, amazing sunsets, amazing sun downs, treacherous squalls and
thunderstorms with mind boggling wind shifts, wonderful and challenging
sailing and beautiful and bewildering wildlife. The dolphins kept
visiting us at night. We could hear them puffing for air and their
fluorescent tracks in the water looked like torpedo attacks. We saw
marlin and tuna jump out of the water. We saw many turtles trekking
north or south and we had a cormorant type bird living on our yankee one
as it was on deck, right underneath the spinnaker pole.
 
Had my swim earlier since I wrote the above. Sheer bliss! We took swings
on a halyard from the bow and then let go somewhere near the back of the
boat. We also tested at what speed my bikini bottoms dropped to my knees
as I was being dragged through the water behind the boat. 4.4 knots is the
maximum speed for o'neill bikini bottoms. The top was still in place.
After that we swam to one of the other boats that just crossed the finish
line. We had waited for them while enjoying a warm beer. It was good to
see them since we hadn't had time for that before.
Later today I spent sun down in the top of the mast acting a scarecrow and
also enjoying the flat calm sea and the absolutely beautiful sight of the
two cormorants that I had just chased off our mast circling around the
boat, just below me. A nice and relaxing visit to the top of the mast for
a change.
 
Now we have started to fix the heavy weight spinnaker. It will be quite a
job. Especially since they put the second panel on the wrong
side...sigh... At least it is cool at night and we have plenty of light on
the foredeck.

200 miles to go

We are getting closer and closer but slower and slower. Again the wind is
letting us down and the weather systems do all but what should be
expected. We are less than 200 miles from San Francisco and knowing that
we will most certainly be on time for the next race start is quite a
comforting thought. If all goes smoothly (which  it doesn't) we will be
in port tomorrow night. A shower finally!!!!!!!
 
Today was a eventful day. I started off with tinkering about for
about 5 hours with spare fuel pumps (they are the size of a packet of
biscuit) (we do not have a simple handpump on this boat; don't ask why)
a wire stripper some crampon connectors and tools. The aim was to get
the last fuel from our tanks because the fuel transfer pump could manage
it anymore. We (me and skipper) started by taking the engine and
generator apart to get enough fuel hose and connectors for our pumps
(one 12V booster pump and one 24V spare fuel transfer pump). As it is
the case in these emergencies there were no two similar sized connectors
anywhere in the systems on board (who designs this as such, I am sure
there is a lesson to be learned here again) so we just had to stuff
the hoses in the inlet and outlet of the pump. We then tried to find
a power source next to the fuel tanks. We tried the lighting systems and
the echomax bu eventually settled for the spare battery and the 12V pump.
We cleaned the tanks right out! I had not seen the bottom of our tanks
before but they are shiny now that we have emptied them up to the last
milliliter and including the grit and muck that was on the bottom.
In total we managed to get about 80 litres from the tanks: enough for
about 15 hours under engine at a low speed. That should be close to
enough. we have another 50 liters left in jerrycans to make it into or
close to port. When we are close enough a support boat will come and
bring us some more.
 
Since we do not have that much time in SF we are using the non-sailing
time to clean up the boat. I spent the afternoon cleaning bilges and my
bunk. Bilges was not too bad. But the storage space by my bunk was
horrible. It was wet from condensation and the walls and ceiling were
almost black with mold! Yuk! My clothes are all dry because I keep them
in drybags but the bags themselves were soaking wet on the outside and
covered in some places by a greenish fungus. Thank god we are going to
warmer seas and I am changing to a better ventilated bunk.
 
Anyway as I thought it would be a good idea to air my sleeping bag a bit
i took all the loose bits out brought in on deck and turned it
inside out over the railing. I thought that would be a good idea as not
to dump the fluff and human waste (hair skin flakes) on deck.
Unfortunately I did not remove my I-pod from the sleeping bag so as I
was turning the bag inside out this little white thing dropped out
into the Pacific ocean. BUMMER!!!!!!!! No more Dutch classics and other
favourite tunes :-( and not much time to sort something out in SF. Maybe
I will do a quick run to the apple store and pick one up if I have
time...
 
Off to a quiet bunk now...and tomorrow around this time a clean shower
hopefully.

Down Time

The weather systems in the Pacific are not playing their usual game.
Instead of being propelled eastwards by means of a series of fearsome
low pressure areas we are being slowed down by high pressure areas that
are way too far North to give us favourable winds. Instead they give us
headwinds if any wind at all. Luckily there is so much to do on the boat
that a little down time is not too bad. We spent 2 out of the last 3
days working on the boat with the mainsail down and the engine on to
keep us going towards San Francisco. We made progress on both fronts. As
chief sailmaker on board I had the fantastic task of mending a tear
caused by the professional repair job done on a tear sustained when we
broke our mast . Get it? The patch sown over a rip in our sail when we
were in QIngdao has put so many tiny holes ion our stretched sailcloth
that when we put a reef in and the material got tensioned it
immediatelky tore at the seam of the repair. Thus I devised an
alternative method of repair, already tested on a similar tear repaired
previously, amd went to work. 7 hours in total with two people working
on it and the problem and a future problem were solved. The main went up
and then you realise what a monstrous mainsail we have. (despite the
fact that I think it is a bit small for the the weight of this boat) Our
repair which took ages to put in looks like a tiny spec on our sail! I
hope we never get a proper rip in it having experienced these small
tears twice now...
 
Anyway the sail is back up and having a full main instead of a double
reefed one does make a massive difference in our speed. We are sailing
again and 10 knots are on the clocks at a regular rate. Just over 1000
miles to go.
 
The weather has been interesting. The highs do tend to be a bit dryer
than the fronts we have had to deal with the last few weeks.
Condensation has left the ceiling and I no longer sleep under a
"dripping tap". Everything including socks and foulies is getting dryer.
The temperatures have dropped considerably though. Water is down from 17
degrees to 13 degrees centigrade and this does have an effect on the 

overall temperatures outside. So despite the dryer conditions we are
still wrapped up in layers. This is cause of concern though. Being
fully kitted up does not make it easy to move around. With hat and
scarf and hood up, boots on and midlayers and full foulies I feel like I
am moving around like the men on the moon. Every step feels weird and
unsure and unsteady, my senses are numbed by lack of hearing and all
round view. driving is like playing a computer game. Only visual aids and
no senses of wind on the cheek, the sound of a gust. It's like being in
a cocoon and watching the world instead of being part of it. BUt
with temperatures that feel like the first cold autumn or winter,(the
kind that is chilly and makes your nose and hands freeze instantly but
does smell really fresh) morning I cannot bear to wear less. Bring on
shorts and t-shirt sailing!

over half way

Hmmm, here we are, a long way from any port let alone San Francisco. All
the boats are in and we are struggling along ducking and diving North
and South in a continuous strategy game to position ourselves for the
next favourable airflow. As mother Nature determines our course all we
can do is make the best of it. Yesterday that resulted in a choice of
action that is very contradictory to the racers that are within us. The
skip stuck his head out of the hatch and yelled (the wind was pretty
high by then): “we need to slow the boat down!” The idea is to let the
weather system overtake us so that we are sailing into favourable wind
flows. Great idea but the the concept of “slowing down” is hard to
fathom when all you have been doing since part C training is to make the
boat go faster. Anyway we are good at slowing down too, we have now
found out. We got our number 3 yankee down, the stormjib up and a third
reef in. The speed dropped from about 10 knots to just under 6 knots and
we changed course to dead East, straight into the big waves. We have
been bumping and banging now for some 20 hours and I think whomever was
still a bit apprehensive about taking the waves straight on the nose
(little mast overboard trauma) is now well and truly re accustomed to
it. The mast by the way still stands proud on Team Finland.
 
What keeps us going knowing that our friends on the fleet are enjoying
their drinks and each others company and the company of friends and
relatives and we still have  roughly 2300 miles to go? Lovely e-mail
from our team members on shore spurring us on and wishing us well, the
desire to have a nice shower, clean and dry socks. (We have no
watermaker so fresh water is under strict control and a fresh water
shower on board is out of the question). The endless list of jobs,
emptying our bilges and the continuity of our watch system and the
occasional joke and moan (no nutella left, no more wet wipes), good
chats about all sorts of things (the influence of eastern philosophy on
the current economic growth and social development in Asia) fresh bread,
good food and a nice hot drink.
 
I have been on a diet of two glasses of hot milk per day to remain
hydrated. The milk is actually made with milk powder and as long as it
is full fat milk powder this is a fin e alternative to the real thing
and it tastes better than long life milk (UHT). Unfortunately the
anijsblokjes (for the Dutch readers) got water damaged when we lost the
rig and the deck tore open above the locker where they were kept. So,
just milk.
 
Anyway... less than 2000 miles to go to hopefully sunny California!

Sores, aches, pains and sicknes

So being at sea for such a long time now, over 22 days for sure but I
have lost count and so has the counter on our whiteboard, does take its
toll. We have people who are feeling poorly or at least say they are
anb who decide to staying their bunks instead of going on watch. This
puts more strain on the people who are on watch who in turn get a bit
tired and careless so they injure themselves.
The most common wounds are nothing serious but small grazes and cuts on
the hands. The incredible humidity however does not allow these small
wounds to close quickly so they fester a bit and get bigger before they
disappear. The recent cold makes them bleed a lot too. So there is blood
on the sails, mast and ropes. I have had two big bleeders so far and I
have really painted everything I touched a deep red. When you wash off
the blood however it turns out to be a cut not bigger than half a
centimeter... peanuts! Anyway the antiseptic cream is the way forward. A
blob on the wound, covered by a plaster and then taped in place by
electrical tape. Leave it on for a watch and then let it dry. If the
healing does not kick in, repeat the treatment.
Humidity is probably our biggest pest at the moment. With the constant
rain we have had  the ceiling in our sleeping area is just soaking wet
and dripping with condensation. Lying in my sleeping bag the choice is
either to be cold but reasonably ventilated or to be sweating my pants
off inside a warm sleeping bag. There is no way in between. Once up the
clothes I thought were dry-ish turn out to be overwhelmingly damp
despite that they have been kept in a drybag. So much for the dry bag.
Foulies are damp inside and outside, socks are damp and putting
everything on and then sitting still makes you cold rather than warm. I
don't think my feet have been dry for ages, nor has my bum.
Just the delights of ocean sailing. My future boat however will have a
heater!!!

Delivery trip of a lifetime

Here I am at  171 degrees East and 35 degrees North in the North Pacific
Ocean 700 miles NorthWest of Midway Island. Underneath the waves is the
most spectacular landscape. Seamountains rise up from the seabed and
reach heights of nearly 6000 meters, if it was possible to see all this
from seabed level it has to be one of the amazing sights on earth.
However is lies underneath a beautiful seascape. We are surrounded by
enormous swells. They pick us up to magnificent heights and than gently
lower us into their valleys. Amazing! And the surfers in Hawaii must be
looking forward to their arrival on their beaches.
This part of the world is savage. Depressions and highs fight over their
place on the map and stir up the waves as they battle each other. We
have been spared the worst weather so far and because of the fact that
we are merely delivering the boat and not racing we will not go too far
North to encounter the wilder seas and gale force winds. Our strategy is
to keep the boat in one piece, save our sails from stretching too much,
be conservative with our new rig and use the time to teach and train as
much as possible. This strategy has so far resulted in a new rip in our
main, 30 knots apparent in our brand new staysail, drivers being far
from concentrated and manage to get the boat into the weirdest
situations. And now we are heading for a seamount that comes up to just
15 meters below the seasurface. I cannot begin to imagine the mayhem
that we could encounter there wave-wise...
 
Of all the delivery trips in the world this must be the one which is
most challenging. Too many people on board to keep it simple, adverse
weather systems, failing generator, watermaker and now also a rope
around the prop, breaking mainsail and another 3000 miles to go!!!
 
Next time I'll do another Hamble to Holland run. I'd rather be racing I
guess.
 
And now get your act together and serve some tea (yes I am boat Mutti
today).