Hola,
Well its been a fairly wet and wild night on board the good ship last night. Like they say in this part of the world when it rains it pours... I mean the sort of rain that inspires you to build an Ark and start collecting animals in pairs.
Yesterday afternoons sailing was a mixed bag with the occasional squall blowing through giving a mix of rain and higher winds followed by a huge hole in the breeze behind it. It made for some frustrating conditions sometimes listening to the sails flapping from side to side, the only option of getting the boat moving was to sail upwind (and off course) to try and generate some apparent wind to get the boat rolling again. As the sun started to set yesterday it looked like the breeze was filling in again from the south east and we were in for a great nights sailing...
It was about midnight when the first large squall hit. I was woken up by the guys telling me that there was a black cloud approaching that resembled theaftermath of an atomic bomb. Of course I thought they were exaggerating... I poked my head up and it dawned on me quickly the falling liquid misery this cloud was about to deliver. It was a giant cumulus nimbus cloud and from the surface of the sea to the top of the cloud it was black. I mean the sort of black that appears to suck in light and not give it back. The only good news was that the wind had not appeared to increase. We eased sheets and started to bear away in preparation for the squalls arrival... Then the rain started, it came down so hard it felt like you were taking a bath standing up. The wind only increased by 10 knots or so which was a welcome boost to the boat speed, giving us a couple of extra knots in the right direction. Thankfully both watch teams are now more than capable in dealing with these squalls so it left me no option but to monitor the situation from the chart table (I felt guilty for about 2 seconds).
Several of these squalls arrived through the night, luckily not bringing too much in the way of wind. As the sun rose this morning it has bought a fantastic fresh breeze on the beam which is powering us along nicely under full main and number 2. We are still focused on keeping our VMG high over the last 3-4 days to try and maintain our position in the fleet.
With just over 700 miles to go the miles are really starting to fly by. The topic of conversation amongst the crew this morning involved what's the first thing everyone wants to do when they hit shore... it mostly involved the absorption of rum or beer. I know I will be sure to give the boat a massive hug for keeping us safe for another Atlantic crossing...
Well that's all for now,
Nick and Crew
S.V 'EH01'
www.GlobalYachtRacing.com