The Roaring Forties are, for us at least, purring like a contented kitten sometimes even sleeping with just the occasional sigh. These are not the best of racing conditions and make for frustrating and tiring watches as we try every sail for best performance and to maintain our position. Some of the fleet are starting to separate behind us but with five yachts spread in a long line some 60 miles apart we are a long way from a 'comfortable' lead and it too changes like the winds. Barclays Adventurer stalk us to our left like the
posse after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and BG SPIRIT and Samsung are out on the edges of the line experiencing either more or less favourable conditions than those in the middle. It makes it difficult to say who has the best position.
Of the five frontrunners only eight and a half miles between us decided who is officially in first place. A bit like the horse racing machines at the amusement arcades, each horse occasionally searing ahead only to slow and be overtaken by another making betting on a winner difficult. These are testing times and it is a testament to how well we are working together that we have the same crew (bar the leggers/BP Explorer crew) as when we left Portsmouth. It does mean we can move forward in our effectiveness as a team. The first leg saw us getting to know each other and honing the procedures on deck.
This leg is much more about tweaking things, making them faster and focusing on safety onboard. We have taken a leaf from our sponsor's book and are operating a daily safety briefing in which we analyse and document safety issues. The safer we are the less likely we are to get injured and break things on the boat. With the top five yachts so close together and the rest not that far behind it really is a case of the one that cocks up the least will be the most likely to get a podium place.
We have already seen that injury and damage is directly proportional to success in the last leg and were witness to one mistake leading to Me to You blowing a kite during a peel. They were within clear view and threatening to pass us but are now 17 miles behind us.
The layers are starting to pile on now as the temperature drops. What were shorts and T-shirts are now Musto Gore-Tex mid layers (like ski suits), Windstopper hats and fleece gloves. Below decks we have moved from lightweight sleeping bags to winter ones. No more near naked bodies on sweaty bunks and things that were once covered by a thin silk sleeping bag liner are now safely tucked away and protected from the frost.
John Bass
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