LAT 20 27.7
LONG 25 32.3
DTR 2759
14.09.11
SKIPPERS BLOG
Since breaking free of the doldrums yesterday Goldcoast Australia has had
her spinnaker up and has been flying downwind on a east south easterly
course on the great circle route to Capetown at speeds of between 10 and
20 knots.
My home is at 42 degrees south, and the further we head south the more I
feel closer to home and in my element. Though we are not in the southern
ocean, the remoteness, beauty and energy of this environment is
incredible. Yesterday we had what seemed like a pod of pilot whales or
false killer whales surrounding the boat. One dived just under the bow
and I had to yell for everybody to hold on as I thought we were going to
hit it. The birdlife is also incredible and we have had our bird book out
to identify each species as they fly around us demonstrating their
freedom.
Our heavy weight spinnaker was giving us all a fantastic ride for the
majority of the last 24 hours and as the crew become more relaxed with the
speed and control of the spinnaker as we surf down waves it becomes even
more fun. The enjoyment I get by sharing this experience is fantastic as
my crew line up and nudge each other out of the way to get to the helm
first to feed their addiction of surfing at high speed. Meanwhile there
are whoops of delight from around the boat as we surf at speeds in the mid
teens. While there are still few of the crew are a little unsure about
this new strange environment, I am sure they will get used to it in time.
There are times in Ocean Racing when things do not go as they should, and
last night we experienced one of those moments when our spinnaker pole
snapped in half sheering of the spinnaker pole end clean off in the
process. The crew handled the situation very well and we dropped the
heavy weight spinnaker intact, hoisted the No2 Yankee as a replacement and
re-woolded the heavy weight spinnaker in preparation for the next hoist at
dawn if the conditions are suitable. We are now making best use of the
No2 Yankee and sailing a more southerly course to take us into more
pressure as we drag race our nearest rivals Singapore who are putting up a
fantastic fight – as we know every dog loves a good fight eh Duke?
Happy days of feeling free, life could not be better!