Fotogalerie
7.11.2013 / RACE 04/ Day 3
cape town, south africa - ALBANY, WEST AUSTRALIA
Rude Awakening for Fleet as Early Storm Hits
What a difference a day makes. Over the past 24 hours, the whole fleet has been experiencing the roughest sea conditions yet faced in the Clipper 2013-14 Race. While this leg was always predicted to be tough, an early storm hit as they headed south towards the Southern Ocean, turning out to be more ferocious than expected.
Mean wind speeds of 40 knots and gusts over 60 knots, together with boat speeds in excess of 30 knots have been reported. As crew acclimatise to the rougher conditions, there are the inevitable minor injuries as some are caught by waves over the deck or knocked off balance below decks.
Unfortunately, as reported on the Clipper Race website yesterday, Australian Leg 3 crew member David Griffin aboard Mission Performance was caught by a wave on the bow and punctured his calf on a cleat, resulting in the yacht suspending racing and heading to Port Elizabeth so he can be evacuated for a thorough assessment and treatment.(Bericht siehe unten!)
Skipper Matt Mitchell reports how they got David below deck so that fellow crew member and ship’s medic Bee Lian Seet, a Singaporean nurse, could make a full assessment. He writes “Given the tough conditions, both David’s fortitude and Bee's overcoming of her sea sickness were admirable. In the mean time I instructed the crew to carry on changing the headsail, as well as drop another reef in the index in order to calm things down a bit.”
However, Matt’s report goes on to reveal a story of ‘beauty and the beast’ with regard to the storm, “We have taken a few large hits from some of the big waves...with most of the boat enveloped by waves. At night it's been particularly spectacular (as well as slightly scary) because the water is thick with phosphorescence, making the whole boat glow with stars as it is submerged.”
Meanwhile many skippers are paying tribute to their crews as they dig deep for fortitude and to apply their training and growing experience to keep their yachts sailing safe as well as fast. Jamaica Get All Right skipper Pete Stirling writes, “The crew have never seen weather conditions or a sea state like this before but they have all been amazing and willingly done everything asked of them and more besides. I have only seen weather conditions worse than this once before and that was in the North Pacific on the Clipper 2009-10 Race so, this is great training for those crew on board now who are also on Leg 6, the Pacific Ocean crossing.”
At 1000 UTC, the current race standings see Qingdao leading the fleet (4185.3 miles to finish) with Henri Lloyd in second place (4120.6) and OneDLL (4243.9) third.
Bericht von Matt Mitchell/Mission Performance
Morning all! What a day it has been, an injured crew member, 60 knot winds, 5 metre high waves, and no sleep for poor old skipper.
The day started well enough. With the breeze backing and building as forecast, we were cruising with the number 2 Yankee (our medium headsail) and a reef in the index. The wind was about 20-25 knots at the time, and knowing that the forecast was set for the wind to increase as it continued backing, I thought I'd pre-empt a little and change down to my Yankee 3 (the smallest headsail) nice and early as I am a tad short-handed this leg.
All the crew were on deck as it was the start of our happy hour, which turned out not to be so happy.
There was a moderate swell and as the bow ducked into a wave, it picked up a couple of the foredeck crew. Leg 3 crew member David Griffith being one those crew , all of whom were clipped on. David got swept back by only around three quarters of a metre yet managed to catch his leg on one of our deck cleats.
The cleat went straight through his lower leg, thankfully missing the bone. I was on the helm at the time and I first new something was up when David, one of our best new recruits, started making his way back to the cockpit, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the deck as he did so. I handed over the helm and asked David to sit down in the shelter by the helms to explain what happened to me.
It was obvious that we needed to give immediate first aid so we got David downstairs and undressed, so that myself and the ships medic, Singaporean nurse Bee Lian Seet, could make an assessment of the injury. It turned out that he had a neat hole going right the way through his lower leg in between the muscle and the bone. Teaching Bee to suck eggs, I asked her to clean the wound, compress and dress it, as well as elevate his legs to treat for shock. She did a fantastic and thorough job and the notes that were taken were just like in a hospital.
Given the tough conditions, both David’s fortitude and Bee's over coming of her sea sickness were admirable. In the mean time I instructed the crew to carry on changing the headsail, as well as drop another reef in the index in order to calm things down a bit.
I had a lot of phone calls to make, first to the Race Office and then to the Coast Guard. It was obvious to me that we needed to get David off the boat, and I chose Port Elizabeth as my bolt hole. This would turn out to be a very tough sail however, as the town lay 270 miles from our position at the time. As I write we are still 120 miles away and the conditions are very hard going. The wind has been up to 60 knots over the early part of last night and is now a sustained 40-50 knots, with a very rough sea, seeing some five metre waves roll under us.
The driving is challenging to say the least. Myself, round the world crew members Mick Leonard, Derek Furniss, Chris Payne, and Leg 1, 2, 3, 4 crew members Jo Fishburn and Neil Taylor have been sharing the driving.
Mick, Derek and Jo on one watch, and Chris, Neil and I on another. It's tough work and the wind doesn't show much sign of abating soon either.
There are a few options for when we arrive at Port Elizabeth, either the Coast Guard will send out a helicopter and David will be air lifted off, or they will send a lifeboat and he will be transferred off that way, or we will have to pull in and park for half an hour to say goodbye to our valued crew member.
The team have been great and another special mention needs to go to Leg 3 crew member Alan Thompson for doing a great job on mother watch today. Very tough cooking for 16 people with the sea state that we have. Great job involving fresh baked bread, bacon and egg pita’s, and chicken curry for dinner.
We have taken a few large hits from some of the big waves and there is sure to be some great footage with most of the boat enveloped by waves. At night it has been particularly spectacular (as well as slightly scary) because the water is thick with phosphorescence, making the whole boat glow with stars as it is submerged.
Our estimated time of arrival into Port Elizabeth is around 1500 UTC, I will let you know how we get on. Ciao for now. Mission Performance - somewhere quite near Port Elizabeth.
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