Date 3 June 2005
Location 400 miles to the line
Weather sunny
Heading to Boston
Within 24 hours we went from having 3 knots of wind and the boat not moving, to having 40 knots of wind and the boat screaming across the waves.
As we had learnt on our way into Cape Town, when our friends from the end of leg four had come to join us, we were not letting them sail away from us. So it is no surprise to hear that yesterday we spent the day within sight of Stelmar and then again last night we had three masthead lights in view and this morning we are sailing within sight of BP Explorer.
We have just passed through the centre of a depression that is now off across the Atlantic. We knew it was coming from the weather charts so we organised our sail locker for easy access to the smaller sails as so far on this leg we have only used the No 1 Yankee or the Genoa apart from our spinnakers. Within three hours we had changed from having the spinnaker up to having three reefs in the main, a storm staysail and a No 3 Yankee flying. It felt like the Southern Ocean all over again, the only difference being the water was much warmer. We entered the system through a front with lots of grey cloud and rain, but it was not long before we were enjoying 35kt winds in glorious sunshine and buckets of salt water being thrown in your face.
By the end of the afternoon we were back with big sails flying as we sailed through the bottom of the centre of the low. The crew relaxed and laughed as we had sailed through all those changes of sail and Stelmar popped up right next to us the same place as they were 24 hours earlier.
Over the early evening watches, the wind rose again as we exited the depression through the other side. Sails were changed and we were left fast reaching west out from the weather system. As the night time fell and it went dark, three masthead lights popped into view and our buddies were back again.
Our pack of four have now separated if only momentarily. We have remained with BP Explorer. We are due to approach some lighter winds ahead that can often be fickle and we shall soon see if the yachts to the north will benefit more than those to the south and the west. This may be the last obvious opportunity for a re shuffle of the fleet before we follow BG Spirit to the quay in Boston. After these lighter airs, the breeze is due to fill in and we shall see a sprint for those who can maintain the fastest boat speed and not make any mistakes.
The quick blast of activity and water over the decks and down necks and in boots has certainly added to the atmosphere onboard. Everyone knew it would be short lived so there was no panic. Also to have the three yachts in sight most of the time has given us a specific focus and will help us raise our game towards the end of the leg when it is very difficult to generate motivation. We are keen to finish, enjoy uninterrupted sleep, good food, as much water as we like and of course that first cold beer when we arrive, but, first we have a job to do and that is to try and make the life of BP Explorer, Spirit of Sark and Stelmar a fraction as miserable as ours was on arrival to Cape Town.
Dee Caffari/Yachting World, 3 June 2005
