We departed from Jamaica in glorius sunshine but very little wind. After
the usual media pictures in the bay and some refresher training for our new
leggers - Nigel, Martin, Anna and Rick ( the new 1st mate) it was back to
the business of serious racing.
We had our usual great start turning 1st around the mark in the bay before
we headed out towards New York approx 1400 NM away.
Conditions on board have been hot and humid and as usual life below decks
has been very uncomfortable. The sun has been shining as we pick our way
through the Bahamas Islands, very tempting to stop off and have a swim on
some of the deserted ones - Acklins Island looked particulary good.
Now into Day 4 and we have had our usual slip down the leader board due to
yet another wind hole that left us becalmed for about 12 hrs before a heavy
squall picked up the boat and fired us forward like a cork that has
been released from a champagne bottle. Unforunately the damage to our
position had already been done and we found ourselves in a disappointing 7th
position. This was a case for not leading into the Islands, those boats that
were 30 odd miles behind us could see that we (and Australia) were not going
anywhere fast and chose to go further east.Although this route added more
miles on to their passage, they managed to pick up consistant winds
which put them 100 miles ahead whilst we bobbed around for hours on end. I'm
sure that if we were in a similar position we would have done exactly the
same. We have been in this postion before and it only needs the leading bunch
to hit a similar weather system and we will start to reel them back in.
Day 7
We now have approx 390 miles to go and the leaders have not found any wind
holes, therefore it is likely that we will stay in this very disappointing
7th position, the leaders are too far ahead and we are now looking forward to
getting to New York where we can regroup and get ready for the next race to
Nova Scotia. We have to be in NY on the 2nd because there are various
corporate sails that we have to provide to Clippers corporate partners, I
think we are scheduled to do 3 or 4 over the course of our stay there. So not
alot of downtime before we head off to Canada.
The results from this race will mean that there is a real dog fight for the
overall 2nd and 3rd positions, we think Cape Breton will leap frog over both
ourselves and Jamaica to claim 2nd position with us dropping back to 3rd
overall.
Weather hot and sunny and we have seen more wildlife, dolphins and sharks and
masses of jelly fish.
All well on Team Finland, frustrated yet again but we carry on sailing and
smiling.
Monday, 31 May 2010
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Panama to Jamaica
As usual in this part of the world things do not always go to plan. We had our transit time throught the canal, but we were delayed on the Pacific side and missed our slot to exit on the Atlantic side. This meant that the three boats - TF, Cape Breton & Singapore who transited together spent a night moored in the Gutan lake. Not so bad really since an impromtu party was started which end in the small hours on the morning. After breakfast we waited for our pilot before entering the locks on the Atlantic side, a significant moment for many since this signaled the start of the return trip home. As the gates opened, some cheered and some had a tear in their eye as a realisation that this great adventure was now entering it's final leg.
After a brief stopover on the Atlantic side we departed for the sprint up to the island of Jamaica. After motoring for several hours (to find wind) all of the boats collected at the designated start point for the race start. Most races our started by the gun through a defined start line, this race was different, in that, we used the "Le Mans" format. All boats motor in line with main sail hoisted and head sails hanked on and prepared for hoisting, all crew are situated behind the "coffee grinder and are only allowed forward on the start signal. On the one minute to start signal, all boats cut the engines and maintain their course, on the start signal there is a frantic race forward to hoist the head sails and power up these monsters. We had a great start moving into the lead and maintaining that position as we hit very bumpy seas with 25 knots on wind on the nose. This made for a very uncomfortable ride and several people suffered with sea sickness.
We had a good ride up until we managed to put a hole in the main sail, this meant dropping this sail down to the third reefing point and repairing the sail.This lost us some vital miles which ultimately affected our final race position. Again, really frustrating that another equipment failure cost us vital points. In the end we entered Port Antonio in Jamaica in 4th position which put us back in 2nd position overall. The Australians continue to pull ahead and we have to put in a concerted effort to catch them.
We say good bye to some leggers, Cathy, Carole, Carolina and Colin, all have contributed to the Team Finland cause and I'm sure that we will see them again somewhere, sometime. We welcome new leggers, Martin, Nigel, Anna and John who are all eager to get going.
Race start to New York is scheduled for Monday at 14.00hrs local time.
All well on Team Finland.
After a brief stopover on the Atlantic side we departed for the sprint up to the island of Jamaica. After motoring for several hours (to find wind) all of the boats collected at the designated start point for the race start. Most races our started by the gun through a defined start line, this race was different, in that, we used the "Le Mans" format. All boats motor in line with main sail hoisted and head sails hanked on and prepared for hoisting, all crew are situated behind the "coffee grinder and are only allowed forward on the start signal. On the one minute to start signal, all boats cut the engines and maintain their course, on the start signal there is a frantic race forward to hoist the head sails and power up these monsters. We had a great start moving into the lead and maintaining that position as we hit very bumpy seas with 25 knots on wind on the nose. This made for a very uncomfortable ride and several people suffered with sea sickness.
We had a good ride up until we managed to put a hole in the main sail, this meant dropping this sail down to the third reefing point and repairing the sail.This lost us some vital miles which ultimately affected our final race position. Again, really frustrating that another equipment failure cost us vital points. In the end we entered Port Antonio in Jamaica in 4th position which put us back in 2nd position overall. The Australians continue to pull ahead and we have to put in a concerted effort to catch them.
We say good bye to some leggers, Cathy, Carole, Carolina and Colin, all have contributed to the Team Finland cause and I'm sure that we will see them again somewhere, sometime. We welcome new leggers, Martin, Nigel, Anna and John who are all eager to get going.
Race start to New York is scheduled for Monday at 14.00hrs local time.
All well on Team Finland.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Panama
Alas, the wind gods dealt us another blow when they delivered yet another wind hole as we approached the revised finish line. This made for a very tense few hours as we tried to keep the boat moving in no wind and temperatures in the high 30´s. We felt that we were good for a podium place but in the end we had to settle for 4th place, only 6 mins behind Qingdao in 3rd place after 3000 miles and 19 days of racing!! Cruel but in the end a fair result after the majority of the crew had been at sea for over 50 days without a sustained break to recharge the batteries.
After the finish we waited for Cape Breton and both crews swam in the Pacific - water temperature an unbelievable 34c. We then motored to Panama over the following two days where we hit rough weather with about 25 knots on the nose which made for a very bouncey 48 hours. Arrrived in the Flemenco Marina based on a small island off the mainland at about 21.00hrs where we were welcomed in by the crews of Australia, Jamaica and Cape Breton and the obligatory celebration drinks.
We are awaiting our transit time up the Panama Canal, it looks like it will be sometime tomorrow morning local time, we are told that there is a live webcam so you may even see us go through!! We slip lines at 06.30, so expect to be entering around 08.30, as usual anything can change this schedule!
All well on Team Finland and looking forward to the sprint up to Jamaica.
More to follow
After the finish we waited for Cape Breton and both crews swam in the Pacific - water temperature an unbelievable 34c. We then motored to Panama over the following two days where we hit rough weather with about 25 knots on the nose which made for a very bouncey 48 hours. Arrrived in the Flemenco Marina based on a small island off the mainland at about 21.00hrs where we were welcomed in by the crews of Australia, Jamaica and Cape Breton and the obligatory celebration drinks.
We are awaiting our transit time up the Panama Canal, it looks like it will be sometime tomorrow morning local time, we are told that there is a live webcam so you may even see us go through!! We slip lines at 06.30, so expect to be entering around 08.30, as usual anything can change this schedule!
All well on Team Finland and looking forward to the sprint up to Jamaica.
More to follow
Friday, 7 May 2010
Temperature is rising.
True to form, the British have both eyes firmly on the weather and we
have now gone to the other extreme of my first leg where the weather
was very wet and freezing, to blazing sunshine and temperatures in the
40s. This presents us with different sorts of problems, the main one
being, keeping our spinakers filled with air as we navigate down the
Mexican coast. We have 3 on board which are flown individually depending
on the wind strength. These bits of cloth that are the size of a tennis
court are very fragile and are prone to damage, on this leg we have
managed to rip the heavyweight in 3 pieces, the middleweight has had to
be repaired twice and the lightweight has also had 2 repairs! Dropping
and raising these monsters keeps us busy and the constant trimming that
is required means that there is always something to do.
Thankfully everyone seems to be keeping their fluids up as dehydration
cannot be ignored, the living accomodation resembles a sauna and some
nerves are becoming a touch frayed, however, we are all collectively
pushing hard to make a big impression on the fleet as we go through our
43rd day at sea without some recovery time.
We are confident of a podium finish in this race and we are really
pushing for the top spot, we are further south than any other vessel and
our course suggests that we are in a great position even though the
clipper figures have us either in 2nd or 3rd position. So keep your
fingers crossed and watch this space!
Day 49 - what a differance a few days can make, as I write this at
02.00hrs we are in our 2nd day of no wind as the rest of the fleet either
extend their lead or catch us up and pass us! The prospect of a podium
finish in this race now looks pretty remote.
we have gone through the 100 degree temperature on deck and we have had
our first casualty of heat exhaustion.
I had the pleasure of being on mother watch later today, this is when two
of the crew have to cook all of the meals for the crew of 19, we measured a
temperature of 44 degrees n the galley, despite drinking 9 litres of fluid I
still could not keep up with the output through the skin!
We are now on Day 53 and the tension on board can be cut with a knife.
We have caught up with the Aussies and the race has been shortened by the
race comittee, so we have a straight drag race of about 100 miles to the new
finish line where anyone of 5 boats could win this race.
We like some of the fleet are currently stuck in a wind hole and we are
doing a massive 1.7 knots!! It's going to be a long and tense night as all
the boats seek some elusive wind that will propel them to the new finish
line and the coverted 10 points.
Watch this space...........
have now gone to the other extreme of my first leg where the weather
was very wet and freezing, to blazing sunshine and temperatures in the
40s. This presents us with different sorts of problems, the main one
being, keeping our spinakers filled with air as we navigate down the
Mexican coast. We have 3 on board which are flown individually depending
on the wind strength. These bits of cloth that are the size of a tennis
court are very fragile and are prone to damage, on this leg we have
managed to rip the heavyweight in 3 pieces, the middleweight has had to
be repaired twice and the lightweight has also had 2 repairs! Dropping
and raising these monsters keeps us busy and the constant trimming that
is required means that there is always something to do.
Thankfully everyone seems to be keeping their fluids up as dehydration
cannot be ignored, the living accomodation resembles a sauna and some
nerves are becoming a touch frayed, however, we are all collectively
pushing hard to make a big impression on the fleet as we go through our
43rd day at sea without some recovery time.
We are confident of a podium finish in this race and we are really
pushing for the top spot, we are further south than any other vessel and
our course suggests that we are in a great position even though the
clipper figures have us either in 2nd or 3rd position. So keep your
fingers crossed and watch this space!
Day 49 - what a differance a few days can make, as I write this at
02.00hrs we are in our 2nd day of no wind as the rest of the fleet either
extend their lead or catch us up and pass us! The prospect of a podium
finish in this race now looks pretty remote.
we have gone through the 100 degree temperature on deck and we have had
our first casualty of heat exhaustion.
I had the pleasure of being on mother watch later today, this is when two
of the crew have to cook all of the meals for the crew of 19, we measured a
temperature of 44 degrees n the galley, despite drinking 9 litres of fluid I
still could not keep up with the output through the skin!
We are now on Day 53 and the tension on board can be cut with a knife.
We have caught up with the Aussies and the race has been shortened by the
race comittee, so we have a straight drag race of about 100 miles to the new
finish line where anyone of 5 boats could win this race.
We like some of the fleet are currently stuck in a wind hole and we are
doing a massive 1.7 knots!! It's going to be a long and tense night as all
the boats seek some elusive wind that will propel them to the new finish
line and the coverted 10 points.
Watch this space...........
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