Summary
“Where I thought I was going to be hard on the wind we were in fact fast reaching in some really strong winds but it all meant that progress west was fast and furious.”
The light patch Dee had been expecting did not last long and she soon found herself surfing waves, “giving a very rock and roll feeling to Aviva”. This bout of favourable conditions has served as a timely boost to her morale, after intermittent storms seriously tested her patience.
“All the weather allows me to do is get beaten up by gale or storm force winds for 24 hours,” said Dee on Wednesday, “then it will ease allowing me to increase sail area again for 24 hours then I put it all away again only to get beaten up by the next depression or storm that comes along.”
Dee’s exhaustion is clear from her diary this week. On Tuesday she wrote: “It was only today when putting a reef in the indexsail that I realised my body was physically fatigued.”
This feeling of long term tiredness after a long and arduous fight against the wind since rounding Cape Horn culminated with this understandable admission on Wednesday: “I can honestly say I am reaching the end of my patience with this Southern Ocean … I am emotionally and physically tired of it all. I dream to be just simply sailing for more than a day without preparing for a storm or recovering from a storm … I can feel my resolve fading rapidly.”
But today’s news that she is making good progress west is echoed by her weather forecaster, Mike Broughton, who reports that progress has improved during the second half of the Southern Ocean:
“It was pretty hideous last week for Dee, and even though she is clearly exhausted, the boat has been sailed very well. In fact, overall progress has been better in the Indian Ocean than in the Pacific.”
“While Dee might not necessarily agree with me in light of recent conditions,” added Mike in his website commentary yesterday, “progress has been good and looks even better for the next 10 days, so hopefully she will have a chance to recuperate. Today she was sailing at 9.8 knots directly for the Cape of Good Hope.”
Mike explained that less direct headwinds and the opportunity to “crack sheets a little more often, up to 4 or 5 degrees off the optimum wind angle upwind” has allowed Dee to pick up speed.
And there was more good news from the Shore Team earlier in the week as well. On Tuesday Alistair Hackett reported that despite being continually beaten up, Dee had not let up on the repair and indextenance work, adding: “I think of all the 50 Challenge yachts we’ve put across the Southern Ocean Aviva is probably in the best condition of all … To our surprise, Dee has even found time to undertake some cosmetic repairs, such as replacing the sail catcher string ripped off the guardrails last week. Seeing Aviva restored to impeccable condition has been a huge boost to her morale.”
Quick Links
Read Mike Broughton’s latest weather update:
http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=53
Read Dee’s latest diary entry:
http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=6
See the latest photographs taken by Dee:
http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=48
Send Dee a message:
http://www.avivachallenge.com/index.asp?pageid=10
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