Date: 6 May 2005
Location: East of the fleet
Weather: Sunny
Heading: north of west
So far it has been near perfect sailing if a little light. The sun has shone, the swell has died down and the spinnakers have been flying pretty constantly for the whole leg so far.
The first night saw the wind build and most yachts poled out their Yankee headsail after either deciding to drop the heavy spinnaker or having the heavy spinnaker decide for you. I am sure there are some sewing circles established, as there is still a long way to go.
As those winds have died down to almost a whisper, the sun has come out and temperatures have risen. The crews are getting fried to a crisp as not enough suntan lotion is applied, but it sure feels better than the bitter cold and the endless layers of clothes of the last leg.
Living is made easier and seasickness is kept at bay as the yacht is flat and there is very little movement. So with no excuses and no injuries, we as skippers have to keep the crew concentrating and motivated for the remaining 6,000 miles of this leg.
The crew are honestly working hard when needed, However, most of the time I want very little movement and no disturbance to the yacht. They trim the spinnaker and keep the yacht moving at all costs but it is difficult to sustain the focus when sailing at 3 knots boat speed.
I have a crew very heavy with Alpha Males and their testosterone levels are such that this is not enough action for them. To deal with this we have started the boat gym again which last featured in leg one. This at least allows sit-ups, press-ups and dips to be the challenge in-between sailing the yacht at our peak speed of 3 knots.
The reality for me is slightly less optimal. Over the first four days of this leg I have managed to establish a pretty heavy head cold. I am now full of snot, have a good cough and am still trying to keep the yacht sailing as fast as is possible when you weigh 45 tonnes and you only have 5 knots of wind. Add to this that we are sailing downwind with a spinnaker up and my sleep pattern has not been developed yet as I have yet to get any sleep. I have lain in the sail locker with my eyes shut, fully dressed during the night, just in case we needed to advert a disaster. I am very proud to say that, touch wood, we have adverted disaster and the guys are doing a good job of ghosting this yacht along. We now need to just keep her going better than the other 11 yachts out here doing the same.
As to our position in the fleet, measured by the race viewer I am sure as one of the most easterly yachts we are not looking too bright at the moment. We have skirted the edge of a light airs high pressure system that gave the yachts to the west of us more breeze than I had hoped for and we didn't look as cool as I would have liked, but generally I am still happy on the right and I shall pick my time to cross the fleet. With just under 6,000 miles to go and nearly 30 days sailing left to Boston, there is still time for changes. Look at the last 42 miles of leg four!
Dee Caffari/Yachting World, 6 May 2005
