Report from the Pacific - An epic Yacht Race
Wavy reports from "GotoBermuda" - the Yacht he is skippering on the "Clipper Round the World Yacht Race". Currently number two in the fleet, they're thundering on, heeled over at 40degrees and having a lot of fun!
Good Morning all,
Welcome back to a very wet and wild GoToBermuda. Our chain plates are leaking, which is quite normal, however due to the fact that we have been over on our side for so long now, for days and days, the continuous flow of water has made the saloon seats soaked. That in turn flows down into the bilges and under the galley. It gets cleaned out and dried, and the whole process starts again. What this does mean to life on board is that we are required to wear foul weather clothes to sit and eat dinner, unless you want a wet bum. The heads floors are all wet, partly due to spillage from the bowl and partly due to wet crew coming below to use them. The nav station seat is all wet from wet foul weather gear sitting with their wet bums on the seat while doing the log, etc etc. So we have all settled into life at an angle and "the damp life".
This new damp angled world we live in has not stopped the fun. This morning I awoke to the wonderful smell of freshly baked "scruffians". Half muffin, half scones, freshly baked for our breakfast, wonderful. Who said you need a flat galley to make good food. Eat your heart out Hell's Kitchen.
We have been discussing how dangerous life at sea is. When we crossed the Southern Ocean, we sailed through an area, where the Nav Text warned us about satellites being dumped from the skies, but we made it. The other day we got the missile warning from North Korea (not Rob and his crew) shooting ballistic missiles into the ocean, we survived that. Now we have a Volcano warning! "Ships to stay clear!" What next can they throw at us? Who cares. Our intrepid crew will weather it.
The dark nights have been very dark of late! And helming along at 9 knots with no idea what is in front of us is like playing the most badly made computer game, (at least they could give us some graphics) watching numbers like a banker on a roll! 29-30-31 off the wind 7.8-8.1-9.2 boat speed, 15, 20, 25 compass angle, 350, 00, 10 cog etc. Then the sea puts a nice hole in the water and we slam down, shaking our world for a second or two, back to the numbers.... slam slow down back to the numbers.
At least it is daylight. Now we can see where the holes are, but the numbers are still there.
So we keep heading toward Seattle, if by a roundabout route.
Cheers
Wavy and a damp but jovial crew