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Challenger 3 - Disappointment



Day 10

 

Well an eventful 24 hrs … running with the spinnaker trying to catch wind and veering from 250 degrees to 310 degrees and yet only making 3 to 4 knots has been frustrating for all, but of the many things we can influence out here the weather isn’t one of them .... at this pace we are still another 2 days from half way and as much as none of us want this the inevitability has dawned, the only way to get to the trade winds and pick up pace to St Lucia is to motor sail for a period possibly 2/3 days.

 

I can’t stress enough what a major decision for us this has been as it renders us unable for race qualification .. dropping us out of the 37 yachts racing, albeit time will tell how many come to the same conclusion, we suspect the field will diminish greatly in these light winds .. however we are now part of the wider cruising division ( circa 250 yachts ) of which we are placed in the top third under sail alone and as engine power has already been used by many and is permitted in this division we are still very much part of  The ARC 2013.

 

There is one significant upside though and that is the boot camp regime of watches gets relaxed whilst under power meaning we shall get the benefit if more than a maximum of 3.5 hrs sleep in the night..what a treat the thought of almost 6 hrs ! Oh and the half way party aboard gets closer, I say party lets be clear, its rationed to one can of beer each and a smoke, its been a dry boat and will remain so other than this one indulgence..

 

Whilst you can see from the tone of this blog there’s an air of disappointment we are still in good spirits. Reflecting back on these past 10 days we’ve had every sail condition possible; sailing at every point of sail both day and night from light winds to force 7/8 and from flat seas to 4 metre breaking swells .. we’ve seen flying fish, dolphins and even a stray migrating eagret .. the star filled skies are spellbinding and the shooting stars are so common we are almost taking them for granted now .. Finally the 360 degree vista day and night makes us all release just how small we really are on this vast planet !

 

The crew Challenger 3 .. 1416 NM run

 



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