4 September 2010
Yesterday (Friday) was a lovely day. We saw no other vessel save our first Indonesian fishing boat on the horizon. We kept a watchful eye on it but it kept its distance. It was a day when we can enjoy being out on the open sea just for the sake of it. As soon as you see another WARC you are reminded it is a race and invariably we end up being "chased". The pressure is on. The temptation to shake out that reef might be strong, but we try never to do that. The last thing we want to do is put our lovely boat under too much stress and strain not to mention her crew! We must be one of the few boats not to have a sail repair at some point on this journey. Indeed because of that we were unable to get any canvas work done in either Mackay or Darwin. Twice we were measured up and twice we were disappointed, the sail maker full of apologies. Naturally sail repairs have to take priority so once more our order is put on the back burner. Perhaps when we get to Bali?
The 9am position reports show we are now the furthest north. By early afternoon the grey clouds have rolled over, we have rain but also we have wind. We were badly in need of a respite from the drone of the engine, having motored all through the night and part of the morning. With the wind veering to the south south-east and strengthening, David changed our route through the first reef to a more northerly one. He is very sympathetic in making my life aboard as comfortable as possible. I had dinner to cook and I like my galley a level playing field. We forged on through the night under full main and mizzen and two thirds of the genoa, a lovely knot of current pushing us along, clearing the top of the next reef in the early hours. Now there was nothing in our path between here and Bali. The spell was broken as daylight came however, three other yachts converging on our course in sight. The race is on once more.....
Susan Mackay