Umiko - Arc 2019 Blog Day 7 on UMIKO

Good Evening UMIKO Fans,

I hope that this blog finds you well. We have continues our VMG sailing in light trade winds. We have been on the same gybe all day and will stay on this board ntill the wind shifts. We managed to find the winds with a bit of south in it which is what we were hoping for. The watches continue to work hard to keep the boat moving.

It is amazing how far the crew have come since our first practice sails at Las Palmas. Everything felt big, powerful and unfamiliar but now maneuvers are carried out with increasing competence and style.

We are definitely in sail, eat, sleep, repeat mode. The temperatures have been steadily climbing and it is now warm enough at night to be in shorts and a T shirt. The flying fish continue to be a threat with one making it into the heads through an open port hole. Not a bad shot considering we were doing ten odd knots at the time.

I had to do a small repair on the leach of the A4 after its last drop. She has been up for hours since then and all appears well. Hopefully it will go the distance currently it looks like it will. The light trades look like they will be replaced by a stronger gradient wind in the week to come so all is still to play for. Hopefully the training and experience gained here in the lighter winds will pay dividends meaning that we can continue to push as the winds increase.

We did another clock change today so we are UTC -2 fitting as we are not far off our half way point.

Olly Out....


Today's blog was written by Polly

Umiko ARC 2019 Blog - Day 7

We have just completed 7 days of ARC 2019, leaving 1,575 NM to go! During this week we have learned a lot! Firstly, flying fish stink and being hit by one is expensive as it requires the victim to commit to buying the crew drinks when we reach St Lucia, despite which we have saved the little blighters and returned all our smelly visitors unharmed to the deep. We have learned that hydraulic winches, with which Umiko is amply equipped, can bite both you and the boat and thus need to be treated with respect. We have learned to douse, drop and re-pack what appear to be untameably large spinnakers, and then re-hoist them to achieve a high average boatspeed to speed us toward our destination.

There is lots more we have learned, but probably most important is how a group of people can gel together to make a team, and how that team can deliver outstanding performance in the face of hardship! Yes hardship! Forget about the hot showers, the ice maker and the freshly prepared grub, which could never make up (although they do help) for the lack of sleep, the constant pressure to keep the boat moving at optimal pace and the hours spent on watch in the darkest of nights with winds which seemingly have a personal vendetta against the helmsman! Ergo my new handle of Sir Polly the Invertor.

Our wildlife count continues to grow, I was lucky enough last evening to catch a glimpse of what I think was a pilot whale popping up for air. We had hopes that he would spend some time playing in our wake, but apparently he was a serious critter who went off about his, or her, business without more ado.
So, as time goes on, and the stories get more personal, we hear of the daring exploits of our skipper, or is it god, Olly. Turns out, and this would have to happen with an Irish crew, that his mother and my great aunt Cora may have a link, but more research is needed

News of our performance continues to give us heart. At this almost halfway stage we seem to be earning a podium place in our division and our routing looks like we will have a decent run to the finish, so it will be up to the wind gods, with whom thankfully our skipper god Olly seems to be intimately acquainted, as to how we finish up who knows, but so far things look good.

Well, as Porky Pig would say, “Th ….. at’s all folks”

Blogger of the Day:
Polly the Invertor



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