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Makena - Nov 14 - Leg 1 Finish. PW Reporting



November 15, 2014

Race to the Finish

Just after midnight, we were treated to a spectacular dolphin show. There was just enough phosphorescence in the water to make the dolphins look like little torpedoes. What was really amazing was to see the flying fish, silhouetted in our starboard running light as they flew clear of the water. We watched in awe as the dolphin would make incredible course changes and grab the flying fish as they were darting away.

Early in the morning, with a steady 15 knots of breeze, we put up Tequila Sunrise to try to make up some time. We sailed pretty deep and were making good speed and VMG. We began to sail a little higher course and really saw our speed increase. The sailing was really exhilarating through the day and into the late afternoon.

At twilight, we have been dropping the spinnaker and reeling in the fishing lines. Today was no exception. With the first line already pulled into the boat, the second line began peeling off line and screaming, Fish On! The procedure to get a fish onboard is a little complicated, as we cannot bring in a big fish while ripping along at 10 knots. All hands to pull the sock down on Tequila Sunrise, then head up to stall the mainsail. My arms were burning when the dorado landed on deck.

With our turn of speed during the day, we had really made time on several catamarans ahead of us. We decided to stay with the spinnaker and go for broke. Out came Tequila Sunrise. Wind was stepping up a few knots and we were flying.

Original dinner plans were scrapped in order to eat the dorado fresh. Half the fish was cut into thin slices and rolled with sticky rice (we found out that olive oil makes the rice sticky) in the nori to make some very fresh sushi. The other half of the fish was sauteed in butter with heaps of garlic and basil. Our wine for this meal was a very delicious 2010 Muga Rioja.

Back to the sailing: By sailing hotter (a longer course, but faster) we were able to pass the first of the six catamarans ahead of us. The two Outremer 51s were already near the finish line and we didn't have a chance of catching them. Throughout the night we edged ahead of boat after boat. No was I was going to go to sleep now. By early morning, there was only one boat ahead of us. They were well ahead, but sailing a deep, slower course. We really heated up the boat and decided to stick with Tequila Sunrise even though the wind speed poked over 20 knots at times. Minute by minute it looked like we were making time on the last boat. An hour before the finish line, as Sao Vicente was coming into view, we knew that we were ahead. At 3 minutes after 4am we crossed the finish line off Mindelo in Cape Verde. The crew was ecstatic, high fives all the way around. In less than twelve hours, we were able to claim a third place among the catamarans, only behind the well sailed Incredible Elk and Archer. It appears that most of the boats in our class used their engines during the rally. This is acceptable, but there is a penalty for doing so. We never use our engines for propulsion.

By 6:30 we were tied to the dock and when the first rays of light began breaking in the sky I hit the sack. Leg 1 finished.

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