FW: Sydney Nova Scotia to Kinsale Ireland

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We approach the last great ocean crossing, - The Atlantic, of this adventure with the result from the last race still fresh in our minds. How we managed to lose 4 places in the space of 18 hours to end up a disappointing 6th is hard to believe, however, we must pick ourselves up dust ourselves down and prepare for the next race. We called a crisis meeting so that we could air any concerns and discuss our "battle plans" for the Atlantic, Team Finland have done well on previous crossings and we do not want to let ourselves down again and become the laughing stock of the fleet. We do have a habit of leading many races but end up in the lower half of the leader board as the race progresses.
The day before we were due to leave, I received the news that my brother's wife Hazel had passed away after a short but courageous battle against cancer. Having spoken with Phil and other family members it was decided that I would continue on with the journey and pay my respects when we arrived in the UK, although not entirely happy it seemed to be the best course of action. Would I come to regret this decision later?
So with a slightly heavy heart, I said my goodbyes to Anna & Debbie who were now well and truely "Clipper Groupies" - Anna is even talking about doing the race herself, and set foot on again on the good ship TF for the race start.
The start was to be in the river and would be a traditional line start with all boats jockeying for postion as the canon fired, I say all boats, but two days earlier the Cork boat had departed to complete her passage. Since she is slightly shorter and heavier than the other 68's she is subsequently slower and this presents some issues to the sponsors of Cork since they would rather the home boat didn't come in last again! So a handicap pursuit race was decided with the rest of the fleet hunting down Cork across the Atlantic and final positions being decided against the handicap formula.
Race start and not a lot of wind as we headed out into the river, large crowds lined the river as we waited on the decision regarding the start. Out of nowhere, about 10 knots of wind puffed up from behind and all of a sudden we were going to start a downwind race with the likelihood that all boats would have the spinnakers up - a great sight for the crowds, but a potential nightmare for the boats as we navigate down the narrow channel!
On the gun we were in 2nd place but could not raise the kite since one of the lines had been run incorrectly - school boy error, however we managed to retrieve the situation and maintained 3rd spot as we left the harbour area. Next problem we encountered was to weave our way through 1000's of lobster pots in the bay, thankfully we didn't snag any and made our way out into the Atlantic.
First full day at sea, I find myself on "mother watch" with the JB (John Beattie), not what I would have wanted so early in the passage (mother watch) but a case of getting on with it and providing fuel for the crew of 19 for the 24 hr period.
The sea state was rough and confused but we continued with the downwind sailing conditions and made great miles as we started to eat into Corks lead and reel them back in. The wind was gusting upwards of 40 knots and we had already decided that we were going to push this boat to it's limits to give us a realistic chance of a podium place.
Around us, other boats were dramatically inflicting damage on themselves, we witnessed California "blow up" their medium weight spinnaker as it exploded into pieces!! That day 4 boats in the fleet lost spinnakers, we however, managed to keep ours intact despite pushing very hard but we did manage to damage the end of one of spinnaker poles which rendered that useless for the rest of the trip - we do carry another one but to lose a pole so early could cost us dear later in the race.
Illness seems to be sweeping though the crew on TF, colds, coughs, ear infections and flu type symtoms are presented to the boat medic as we plough on through high seas and high winds, cries of "man up" resonant throughout the boat!
We approach the Grand banks and The Flemish Cap - made famous in the film "A PERFECT STORM", there is a dramatic drop in the temperature and an eerie fog encloses the entire fleet.


 

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