3 wise men moving on...~1400 Miles to go
Global Yacht Racing's P42
Global Yacht Racing
Tue 26 May 2009 16:56
Azores, Isle of Faial (Portugal), 1400nM to Cowes, UK.
ETA with average speed of 130 nM per day is 8 June
On arrival in Horta last Sunday morning, 4 of the crew got off. We had a
great time on board! Pitty to see you guys leave...the boat continues.
Sunday and Monday, Flavio and I (Roy) cleaned ourselves and the boat
thoroughly. I wonder what was more dirty after 2 weeks of not showering and
shaving (just wet wipes and some saltwater). I am happy to indicated that
all the cushions are now dry again, the bilges are empty, plenty of fuel and
water. The water has been reorganised for more easy access and we now have
plenty. We can even shower once in bottled water if we would like so.
Today, we went shopping to get some nice fresh ingredients in addition to the
canned food on the boat. At 2PM Paul, the 3rd wise man and completion of the
crew, arrived at the Azores. He is already quite familiar with the boat ;-).
The weather forecast looks great. Departure was on Tuesday evening after
the breeze picked up. The first 3 to 4 days will be quite relaxing. A big
depression might hit us but in a favorable way as far as we know now. If we can manage to be at the right
latitude, we will have fantastic breeze (25-30 knots) that brings us to
Cowes directly. Maximum windstrength in this depression is some 10 knots
more....let's say it is gonna be a bit challenging, but heee, we will have
new waves to break the speed record we had so far. We also noticed we
will get wet again. A nice combination of ocean spray with the rain we so
love in the UK and Netherlands. To keep the business running, we will have a
watch system of 3 hours again during this last leg. Only change is that
every watch is just 1 person. Below decks, the next watch is sleeping in
full gear as a standby in case of trouble or just sail changing etc. So,
worst case we just get 2 hours of real sleep between 4 hours of workout...
I have noticed a lot of my friends and colleagues are following the boat's
progress and my adventure. Thanks for the fun mails so far. Keep on sending.
It took me a complete morning to go through all of it. Just like a normal
day at the office ;-) Luckily, I found myself in a coffeebar with harbour
view.
ciao,
Roy