Well, it’s done.  We think we are ready and have checked and double checked all we need to; Patience is now watered and victualed and several centimetres lower in the water than a week ago – and that’s before the crew get onboard!  The Owner received the final brief this morning along with a weather forecast for the next few days.  The situation in the Atlantic is not very typical in that there is a large depression stationary by Newfoundland with a trailing front extending quite a way south which is squeezing the Azores high to the east.  The result of this is the rhumb line route could be the fastest one to take (rather than going south first) because of stronger winds in the north but will involve encountering headwinds and a certain amount of rain.  Perhaps not quite we joined for.

 

One element that has disappointed us is the handicap system being used.  We appear to have been treated rather harshly and in spite of appealing, give away quite a bit of time even to boats that are bigger that us.  Naturally, the Owner is a little frustrated by this and it had lead to some discussion as to which route we should take.  No decision has been taken so watch the position reports.

 

So we are ready for the off and pretty keen to be going.  The flat has been a God send and has allowed us to cook meals to freeze and catch up on all the washing.  Along the way there have been a lot of laughs and quite a bit of hard work, plus the opportunity to sight see and socialise with other crews at a couple of the events organised by WCC, for example, last night was the Farewell Cocktail Party where we all looked very smart in team yellow.  Same shirts will be worn for the start so check the WCC website for a glimpse of your favourite athlete.

 

Hopefully, next diary will come from sea.