First day....
Freespirit
Sun 26 Nov 2006 21:43
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It is 2130 on 26th November and we have been
underway for 8 1/2 hours. As the boats left the marina many of the crews
made a real effort to dress up and put on a show. One boat left with Jerusalem
blaring from the stereo. Another had all crew members dressed in bowler
hats and carrying umbrellas. We left with the National Anthem and Sweden Yacht
T-shirts as the skipper had failed to buy matching crew kit. We made a good
start (if I may be so immodest), crossing within a few seconds of the gun and
definitely in the first 10. We had clear wind and put much of the fleet
behind us for the first few hours - now, some of the larger yachts flying
spinnikers have passed us and we have separated from the majority anyway as
we follow a southerly route to pick up the trade winds earlier when they pick up
to the south of the Canaries. Time will tell if this is a good
strategy but we are making great progress with about 20 knots of wind on
the port quarter under genoa and full main. We have rarely been under 8
knots for the last 6 hours and have touched 9.5 in the gusts. These are
the best sailing conditions we have experienced since I bought the
boat.
All in all, it would have been difficult to write a
better script for the start and it is a superb culmination to the weeks and
months of effort to prepare. Wattie produced a fabulous dinner at 1930, we
have settled down for the night and Free Spirit is simply lapping up the
miles.
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