Freedom - Blog 4 Wednesday 22nd November 2023

KGood morning
Todays privilege to keep you informed and entertained is Ian Whits .

The enormity of the task ahead became apparent to us all yesterday afternoon whilst gathered in the cockpit shooting the breeze. I said , “ Just think , we will be sitting here doing the same thing in a weeks time “ to which Nige responded as quick as a flash “no mate , we’ll be sitting here doing the same thing in 2 weeks time “ !
Yep , she’s a big ocean when travelling at circa 6 mph. Personally, I have decided not to concentrate on how far to go and how long it’s going to take, in favour of soaking up where we are and enjoying the experience of what we are doing.
Having been involved in dinghy sailing , windsurfing and other watersports all my life , I think this crossing has been long held desire . CJ and I have talked about this for years and I am very fortunate that he has driven this project forwards , his enthusiasm for the ocean will be known to you all and it’s this quality of his that has got us to where we are today ( note - I will revisit these words in 2 weeks and let you know if I’m still so enthusiastic)
I also feel fortunate in that I am sharing this experience with my brother who I lost to Australia over 30 years ago . This will be the longest we have spent together since childhood and I’m looking forward to catching up on some of those lost years. Brother NIge and I have known one another for decades and I’m delighted to report he’s still as he was 30 or so years ago. His infamy in our family commenced the day he became a General on the French Ski Slopes and organised a massive snowball fight against the French , naturally being a Haworth we won. And finally to Stuart who I have only known since we bought Freedom 3 years ago , however since then we have spent several weeks together on the water. A more dependable man you could not wish to meet and in many ways an opposite character to many on board , he is quiet , considered, thoughtful , knowledgeable, easy going ….. no need to continue, I think you get the picture.

Anyway , back to the task in hand
Yesterday was named No WInd Tuesday by the fleet following the ARC briefing the day before we left . As a result of the briefing , boats were seen to be buying spare fuel canisters in anticipation of the extra miles of motoring anticipated. I thought about this as the wind got upto 25 knots and we undertook our first reefing exercise. As the day went on , we became better at putting in and shaking out reefs . In a breeze we all had a role ; Nige at the mast , CJ at the wheel , Stu on the main halyard , Simon on reefing lines with me on the main sheet. My other thoughts were those boats with only 2 people on board ; they were going to be real busy … Similarly we have the luxury of 5 people doing watches which means you might be able to get your head down for 7/8 hours. With 2 on board and a 2 hour watch , it’s a 2 hour kip if your lucky.
Moving onto this morning , No Wind Tuesday appears to have caught up with us as we are suffering a dead calm this morning . The donkey ( engine ) is on , the decks have been scrubbed , showers taken and the fishing line is out. Read tomorrow’s post to see if our investment in expensive Canarian lures was worthwhile .

Love from all those onboard Freedom.

PS Having just stuck my head over the hatch I see that CJ and Nige are not going to let the elements get the better of them. The Spinnaker is being manoeuvred into place and I’m sure will be flying before long. Good work boys.

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