Date: 5th April 2005 Location: Off Cape of Good Hope Weather: Sunny and still! Heading: Any way possible
Last night can only be likened to Christmas Eve and we were a yacht full of children.
As the miles were closing to the finish line at Cape Town, so the excitement was building. Add to that the pressure of leading the front four yachts there and having them close in from behind every sched that came in for the last 24 hours and we have fever pitch. Asking crew to get some sleep and rest during their off watch time so they would feel energised and refreshed for their next watch was met with laughter. All the crew have a nervous apprehension in their bellies and were definitely too excited to sleep.
The thoughts of the last night at sea, the realisation that tomorrow they will be eating fresh food, drinking missed alcohol and talking to people other than the other 17other people onboard was becoming all too much. The concentration levels to keep the spinnaker flying to maximise boat speed were raised and the desire to go fast in the right direction was overwhelming.
As the land neared during the night and the various headland lighthouses came into view, we could identify them and work our way along the coast. Seeing our movement forwards so clearly was such a change from staring at a grey canvas all the time. The other noticeable distraction was the amount of shipping. The last vessel, other than a Challenge yacht, that we saw was off the east coast of Australia on day two of this leg. We are now feeling claustrophobic with the abundance of fishing vessels, cargo ships and tankers alike filling the waters surrounding the waters of Cape Town.
The other change that was really evident was the size of the swell. Closing the land and moving up the western side of the continent, saw us get sheltered by the land from the prevailing SE swell and the sea flattened considerably. This could only help with boat speed.
Waking to the coastline of South Africa against a backdrop of a blood red sunrise was quite spectacular if it weren't for the dying breeze and the lack of boat speed. The lightweight spinnaker was flying just, but everything was painful.
Now to add salt to injury we had stopped dead in the water and Spirit of Sark and BP Explorer are alongside. We are all in slightly differing breeze. Many times the races to Cape Town have been won and lost in the last 50 miles. Looks like this race will be no different.
Dee Caffari, skipper Imagine it. Done
Dee Caffari - press report/Yachting World, 5 April 2005
