Going ape in sunshine & fair winds
Visit Finland is trucking on in South China Sea towards lighter winds.
Next few days should be light winded according to the weather forecasts we have received. During morning shift our Yin watch did an excellent sail change from Y2 to Y1. Tea from Yang watch was around helping, and she reckons this change was the fastest headsail change in history of Visit Finland. Shame it wasn’t timed! We take pride in being efficient and consistent. It helps that everyone involved did know exactly what needed to happen and in which order, so instructions were not necessary – just crack on and get it done.
At the moment we have watches of 5 and 6 crew on deck (1 + 1 mothering), and I have to say that this feels like an ideal number for sailing these Clipper 68′s. More people than this participating in an evolution means more confusion, less people means less lifting power. Obviously in lively conditions we’ll need more hands on deck for simply pulling the sail down, but light to moderate winds this current number works like a dream. During Clipper training it has become clear that evolutions do not get done faster with a lot of people hovering around. Quite the opposite: everyone wants to help but there isn’t always enough jobs for everyone, and two persons for one job just spells disaster. This streamlined watch feels fast, efficient, competent and therefore very enjoyable.
Summer continues
We are still wearing shorts and t-shirts as temperatures continue being warm here in the South China Sea. We’ve shed off even the spray jackets and abandoned salopettes to the wet locker for good. This race has been dubbed the most challenging of them all in Clipper Race series, however at the moment it does not feel like a challenge. Either conditions will have to change dramatically somewhere around Taiwan or I will be truly disappointed!
At the moment I’m suspecting that the most challenging conditions we have already seen south and east of New Zealand, and another challenging race will be from Derry-Londonderry to the Netherlands rounding Scotland as we go.
Pekka, Visit Finland crew member, relayed news from Finland that there has been record breaking temperatures in Finnish Lapland, reaching -42.7 C°. What is little snow icing on deck compared to this? A turkish bath. I strongly suspect that it’s really not a big deal to sail for few days in below 0 temperatures, after all we’ve trained in wintery UK and anyone who has sailed in The North Sea knows how it’s like when it gets cold. Am I again just a smug arctic baboon dissing the more southerly population? Quite possibly. However it would be much more useful to be a spider monkey as in addition to opposable thumbs and toes they also have a gripping tail. Now *that* would be useful on board!
Onward and upward
Clipper Race is for many round the world crew members an opportunity to stop and rethink what they want to do in the future. My own plans for life after Clipper Race are forming slowly but surely. Lately I have been grappling with mixed feelings and thoughts about amateur team racing and what the future holds for me after returning to Southampton in July 2012.
What are the chances of returning to the old life that you hate after spending a year doing something you love?
My motivations for participating in Clipper Race and doing RYA Offshore Yachtmaster training has been simply to escape office life and unleash change. It remains to be seen how exactly this change will manifest itself, but it is well on its way already. Certainly I will do everything to avoid returning to the office work and carry on sailing across oceans.
Task one: Complete circumnavigation
The first task on my return is to find ways to complete my personal circumnavigation. I fractured my wrist in August before arriving to Brazil during Clipper Race Leg 1, therefore I have missed a stretch across South Atlantic from Rio (Brazil) to Cape Town (SA) and another across Southern Ocean from Cape Town (SA) to Geraldton (Australia).
This accident was and still is hugely disappointing, as what is a round the world crew member who has not circumnavigated in the end? The return to Southampton will not be an accomplishment for me, so I will need to return with something else as a reward for all the trouble. Skills, knowledge, learnings of all sorts. Some people like myself are plagued with perfectionism: it’s all or nothing – somewhere in the middle is not good enough.
I will start looking into yacht races and deliveries stretching across South Atlantic and Southern Ocean to complete the round the world mission that was rudely interrupted by broken bones. Please give me a shout if you’d know someone who needs a first mate or super competent race crew for these passages, thank you very much!
Scheming and plotting in 17°26′.131N 117°39′.315E
