38N 0E Hot or Damp
IDEA Sailing
Idea Yacht Racing Ltd
Sun 14 Jul 2013 10:35
As we travel slowly along the Spanish coast IDEA gets no relief from the extremes of nature.
Hot: During the day the sun blazes a beat on the decks heating up the inside of the boat. Yet there is no relief on the outside either as there is no shade to be had. Being a racing boat IDEA has no bimini or dodger to shelter under leaving us stifling on the inside and burning on the outside. Due to the haze in the air we can see almost no detail of the land as we go by. As this is being written we are passing between the ilsand of the Ibiza and the mainland.
Since entering the Med we've seen an increase in traffic. Not just the massive cargo carriers that plie the waterways of the world but smaller craft as well. Sail boats and powerboats, and all of this translates to more stress at night. It's an odd thing to think about how while out in the ocean we lament the lack of any other form of human life. Yet as soon as we get it the stress levels ramp up because they, like us do not broadcast on the AIS, and so can't be seen other than by actual eyesite, and the haze (especially at night) makes that near impossible until they are very close.
Damp: At night, the haze translates into a damp dew that settles on everything. Water drips off hte sails and rigging, and there is no place to sit down if you wish to keep your bumm dry. Even inside condensation clings to the sides of the boat and ceiling.
Hot or damp, which do you prefer?
We're looking at an ETA in Tarragona at somepoint tomorrow where we will gratefully stop moving for a little while. We have plenty of work to do on board to prepare IDEA for the racing to come. After all this is why we have come to the Med. To race hard and have fun doing it. The entire trip across we have been putting together our work lists, ticking things off one by one, and once we have reached home base the pace at which we do this will ramp up quite a lot.
Since Mr. Brooks has been on board IDEA he has been improving her systems and making her faster than she was when she first appeared in the Caribbean and broke the Round Barbados record. This trend conitnues and IDEA performs noticably better now than she did a year ago.
150 Miles to go!
TTFN - Ta Ta For Now
IDEA