Days 5, 6 and 7 – Noon May 10^th to Noon May 13^th

The Bermuda triangle is having fun with us.

On day 5 the wind continued to drop and drop until by 0600 on May 11^th we were down to 1 knot of wind and going nowhere fast. Skipper stubbornly refused to put on the engine because the forecast said there was a big front approaching with winds up to 25 knots. Where on earth was it?

At 0800 we found it and by 1000 it was blowing steadily well in excess of 30 knots and gusting over 40. The forecast wind was a trifle on the light side! And of course you guessed it - it was coming straight from where we wanted to go. To make matters worse it kicked up a big swell. 3 metres was forecast but the stronger winds made it bigger than that. Life became uncomfortable – sleep was impossible and we took half hourly shifts at steering the boat through the waves. Pat did a brilliant job staying below and continually passing up hot food and drinks. How she does it when she’s being thrown around from side to side is beyond me. Nice one sweetheart. It was baptism by fire for Graham on his first big trip and took him well outside his comfort zone. Even Barrie looked more than a little circumspect and he has already clocked up over 7,000 miles this trip. It was a very long night for all of us and the front battered us for a good 24 hours before we got through the other side. Spray was everywhere and during the night there was one huge amount of solid water from a breaking wave that drenched the cockpit and two of the crew.

By 1000 on the 12^th the wind started to ease down to about 25 knots which really felt quite light after what we had endured. The sea started to calm down and the very tired crew started to catch up on much needed sleep. By now we were nearly 120 miles off course to the West but finally the triangle gave us a break. The wind veered round to the East and we were able to head North again towards Bermuda.

During the night of the 12^th we finally started making good speed in the right direction and by breakfast on the 13^th people were feeling elated. We had to get to the finish in 9 days or we would be declared as not finishing the event. We had 166 miles to go and two days to get there. 83 miles a day is easy if the wind behaves itself.

It was a rollercoaster ride for 3 days both physically and emotionally. Fear of the nasty conditions, relief when they passed, exhilaration at coming through something difficult, frustration at no wind or wind in the wrong direction, excitement at the prospect of finally making the finish in time without resorting to using the engine, joy at seeing a pair of tropic birds flying round and round the boat, and disgust at finding maggots in the raisins! But we now have a brilliant team spirit on board after a testing 3 days and the laughter is in free flow.

Two days to go – has the triangle tested us enough yet? Who will have the last laugh?

Paul - Peejay