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LEG 5 DAY 21
I think the crew is starting to believe that Capey and I have put us in
the middle of an easterly upwind breeze as part of some REALLY CRUEL
PRACTICAL JOKE. We have to keep showing them, one by one, that the other
boats are going upwind too. "Isn't anyone running around the bottom of
this high, like a normal Southern Ocean leg?" is the common response.
"No," we say. "This is the only way out of this mess!"
This common banter is typically followed by a long sigh by said crewmember
as he walks away to out his foul weather gear on and head back on deck to
a CHILLY and WET and SLOW SLOG to the north, looking to find some
northerly breezes, and some reaching, and put some miles under our belts
toward the Horn [Cape Horn].
On the deck speaker - which allows those of us down below to hear what's
said on deck - said crewmember on deck may then be heard then saying
something like "they say only 10 more hours of this crap, but didn't they
say that 10 hours ago??!"
MAYBE...
The entire fleet is 'in the same boat'. E3 took the gamble and it looks
like it may pay off. Personally, I am pleased with our strategy so far.
Not as large a risk/reward as the E3 strategy but we should end up pretty
well once the northerlies come in to play. As for the rest of the fleet,
the only contact we have had is with the Telefonica Blue guys who reported
to us that they had broken their head stay but were pushing on. We feel
really bad for those guys, and I am not envious of the decisions that have
to be made on their boat with regard to continuing across this notorious
body of water, or head back to New Zealand and replace their broken head
stay. We sincerely wish the guys all the best and a safe passage.
As for life on board, it is business as usual. Life happens in cycles of
two hours. Every two hours a new group of two rolls out of their bunks
and two come down soaked from on deck. Every six hours the weather data
comes through and we pour over every detail looking for an edge. It seems
that nothing happens onboard on an odd hour. Except for maybe a headsail
change or a reef, throwing the schedule off for the guys trying to catch
up on their sleep.
So we will continue the slog, waiting for our chance to tack and make
headway toward the ice gates and the Horn. Everyone is anxious for that
moment. "ONLY 10 MORE HOURS!" YEA RIGHT!!!
- Kenny
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