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Northern Child - Daily Log 10




Daily Run    93m

DTT             73nm
 
Lunch          Pizza and Corn on the Cob   
Dinner          Chicken wrapped in Parma Ham with Roasted Vegetables
 

Well I think the mileage says it all - bob, bob, bob went Northern Child........  The wind has been under 6 knots for that last 24hrs making slow going at best.  The positive side of this very light wind and hot sunny weather is that we have been able to get all of the wet waterproofs and sails out on the deck to dry.  We have also blitzed the boat, cleaining every surface, ceiling and floor space.  Once dried, everything has ben packed away, tidied up and NC ic once again spangly.

It seems as though our tracker is still malfunctioning and that it was again 8hrs behind today, so we are doing slightly better than you will be seeing online.  However, what has happened is that all the yachts to the North have not been stuck in light winds like us and have passed us in the last 36hrs.  Very frustrating as we have lead our fleet from the start and now find ourselves back in 6th place.  However, we sit here waiting for wind and ready to try to reel them in again.  It's ironic really that most of the racing yachts took a Southerly course like us and the cruising yachts stayed North and sailed a straighter course.  Whilst all the reports and forecasts made it look like being further South would be advantageous, it hasn't worked out that way - c'est la vie.

By lunchtime, everyone, me more than most are starting to get a little frustrated with the lack of wind.  It was nice to have a few hours to tody, sort and experience the Ocean in one of her gentle moods, but now we just want wind again.

Deb's Profile

  An ex finance director with a 25 year career in banking, IT and Property sectors in London,  Deb decided to leave corporate world following a managment buy out and take some grown-up gap years to see the world. After various intrepid trips including India, Siberia, Himalayas, Australia and New Zealand, jumping out of airplanes, white water rafting and absailing , and most recently a year's voluntary work in Mozambique, she thought it was time for a bit of sedate glamour...... an atlantic crossing...... Encouraged by her friend Richard (also on this trip) and the serendipity of the boat's name (she was born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne) she breathed deeply and signed up curious but apprehensive particularly being an unexperienced sailor. (only a competent crew rating achieved in the forgiving waters of the Australian Whitsundays ). Glamorous and sedate of course it is not - one women, 11 men in 400 square feet of floating vessel which never stops - the superhighway of the atlantic - no lay-bye's - no stopping - no u-turns - but for her, as an experience it's already up there with the greats. 'Just Do It' she says to anyone hesitating. You won't be disappointed.

  Hot Tips :-

pack gaffer tape to surpress involuntary wimpers during white knuckle moments and chinese gybes

predeparture practice using loo and shower in star-jump mode 

Screenshot10
Scatter diagram of yachts positions in the ARC
Having already published Richards profile I thought it was worth mentioning his incredible Excel skills.  I was logging daily runs in my diary and Richard saw this so decided to write some Excel code to input all yachts positions and details at the click of a button and be able to plot them on a graph, spit classes, look at distances to finish, distances between each yacht and I haven't found it yet, but I suspect it can even work out how many fish each yacht has caught and how many cold beers are in each fridge.  See copy of plot from Richards Excel.

Richard realised that Richard's his spreadsheet may have tarred him as a nerd, so he turned his hand to poetry instead, to appear more the arty type....

 Rhyme of the less Ancient ARC Mariner

I've time to kill so let's go wild:

I'll cross the ocean. "Northern Child"

Is taking part in this year's ARC

I'll go along just for a lark.

 

Cecile thinks I am round the bend

Suggests instead I "phone a friend".

In this case Deborah, friend of years

Who's sailed a bit but also steers

Her path to other brave forays,

To deserts, Russia, Himalays.

 

The three of us meet up for dinner;

By bottle four it seems a winner!

So Deb and I go on a trip

To meet the skipper, see the ship.

Christian and Lucy hit the spot

And Northern Child's a lovely yacht.

All three have done the trip before;

Not just once but four or more.

So, money paid, we''re on the hook

And gradually the others book.

 

The route we'll take is not so dumb, as

It's the one that Chris Columbus

Used to sail across the pond

In search of India and beyond

('Though as we know, he'd actually reach

A lovely Caribbean beach).

 

We join the boat in Gran Canaria

Two-sixty more wait in the area.

And now we meet the other folks:

No more women, just ten blokes.

The ratio was not as planned

But fate had played a tricky hand:

Lucy was needed back at port;

Another girl at work was caught.

But Deborah bravely faced the gods

And said "Okay, I'll take those odds!"

 

Christian's Skipper, First Mate’s Tim

(Since Lucy couldn't come with him).

The crews a multilingual lot

(I may end up a polyglot!):

Matt, Tom and Howard are also Brit;

From Netherlands our man's Gerrit;

Eckhard's German, Flemming's Dane,

Dietmar's German, Adolfo Spain.

This motley crew now has four days

To stock the boat and learn its ways.

Each fruit, each veg as it approaches

Hand washed and dried to kill cockroaches.

Meat and carbs and water too

(And paper, vital for the loo!).

Twelve mouths, Three weeks - a lot of food

But to run out would not be good.

In every nook and cranny lies

Some vital part of our supplies.

 

Two watches, A and B, we'll keep:

While six are sailing six will sleep.

Watches work as five per team:

6, 6, 4, 4 and 4 more mean

A two day cycle round the clock

So sleep goes through a culture shock!

Those shorter watches (through the night):

When you have two, oh what delight!

 

And now it's start day! Bands! Parade!

But No! What's this? The start's delayed!

The weather south has gone to pot:

Our start is now a Tuesday slot.

 

Our real start is here at last:

Fenders in and lines all cast.

With sails pulled tight and beating heart

We cross the line - a flying start!

Two hundred yachts all in full flight

It's truly an amazing sight!

 

We fly down south, mile after mile

By evening we have lost the isle.

The biggest thing before St. Lucia

We might see's an ocean cruiser.

We gybe and now she points the way

Directly out to Rodney Bay!

 

As night sets in the sea swells rise

As rain and wind have filled the skies.

The wind is blowing force five-six

Four metre swells play wicked tricks.

Those first shifts prove to be quite testing

Between the watches no-one's resting.

In wee small hours when water's hairy,

Wind and rain make it quite scary.

This carries on for five more days

With records broke in many ways:

Fastest surf at twenty knots

(The Chinese gybe is best forgot!)

We long for calmer days ahead

When we can actually sleep in bed.

 

And then at last the waves subside

The mid-Atlantic Swell's arrived!

But now the wind has also gone;

There's talk we turn the engine on

But, no, to sail across we wish:

We'll cast a line and catch some fish.

The fish don't want to play the game:

Two take the bait but run away.

Perhaps tomorrow Mahi Mahi,

Tonight it's back to Thai Beef Curry!

 

The beauty's in the clear dark nights;

We've seen some quite amazing sights:

A moon rainbow and red moon-rise

(the latter really stunned our eyes)

Shooting stars and cloud formations,

Brushing up on constellations.

 

The wildlife's been a little sparse

(a bright spark notes there's not much grass!)

A pair of whales are briefly seen

But dolphins an elusive dream -

We saw some early in dark storms,

Perhaps there's more when water warms.

But flying fish all o'er the place

Our helmsman got one in the face!

 

We've cleaned  the boat and mended sails

And hung our laundry on the rails

We've lain about and topped our tans

(it's now quite hot - we sleep with fans).

It's time the wind came back for us;

Now we miss those early gusts!

Ten days out and two thirds done,

We're getting thirsty for that rum!

With luck another five should do it

If we can av'rage seven knots through it.

 A big round of applause for the multi-talented Richard and on that note, I shall close of for today and hope to bring you news of better progress tomorrow.

Till tomorrow
 
Christian, Tim and crew


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