AZAB Day 1 - into the Atlantic
Nutmeg of Shoreham
Ollie Holden
Sun 2 Jun 2019 22:34
Today has been pretty tough actually. In the grand scheme of things, all is fine, but it's been a difficult sea state and we have both been wrestling with our demons.
The wind veered and we were hard on the wind, heading straight for the Traffic Separation Scheme no-go zone south of the Scillies. I originally planned to go to the North of the TSS, squeezing between the no-go zone and Bishop Rock, but common sense got the better of me and we tacked out. Very painful as the current was setting us back into the channel so it looked like we were going back on ourselves. I saw a few others do similar.
Emilia and I couldnt really eat much, just no appetite, but we played music and did some crosswords together in the evening which was really companionable and nice to shift our minds onto something else.
The night was really busy. The wind got up, so there were reefs in and reefs out, ships to avoid, and trying to shape some tactics for the wind shifts. I didnt get any real sleep - snatched a bit around 0500. It is starting to get light at 0430. IN the early light I swapped over to the heavy weather jib. THis is a proper ballache as I have to attach the emergency forestay - getting a pin into a wire which is waving around whilst balanced on the bow which one minute is inches from the water and the next, 15 feet in the air. Not a great system - works when you know youve got a sustained strong wind forecast and have the time to set it up in advance; I was wishing I had a staysail on a furler.
A front came through at 1000 - all the classic symptoms, rain, wind got up and veered - got up to 26kts true. As soon as it went through I tacked, and then the wind eased so I had to get the heavy weather jib down on the deck and unfurl the genoa. The sea state is horrible - I'd say it was moderate on the sea state scale - but typically all over the place as you get with fronts. But the good news was we were now heading direct to the Azores on 240 degrees, with Nutmeg leaping off waves and crashing with a hell of a thud. It was quite brutal. I'm sure all the seasoned sailors think nothing of this, but it was really uncomfortable for us and this coupled with tiredness meant a lethargy set in. E stayed in bed - there was little to get up for - and I dozed.
It is interesting watching my mood change throughout a 24 hour period. With activity and some food/water overnight, I was full of beans, excited about the race. During the day, with a lack of food and water and sleep, I was trying to find reasons to give it all up and sail home. I could tell Emilia was similar - she felt a bit ill, just from anxiety - and wouldnt eat, which made it worse. But we both gave ourselves a kick up the backside this evening - had a simple dinner of pasta with olive oil and cheese, and played our tunes loud in the cockpit, and we both felt so much better.
It is weird, it feels like I'm wrestling with this race, trying to control it, not liking the fact that when I'm out here I dont have much control over events and timings, and I think thats what I've been struggling with. In any other thing we do in our daily lives, we're pretty much in control or at least have a set of options; here we're at the mercy of the elements. I will get over this and start enjoying the race soon!!
By chance, we've ended up sailing very close to "Lazy Otter", sailed by Ertan Beskardes, who is qualifying for the OSTAR and GOlden Globe. We've chatted on SSB and VHF, he is very kind and shared the weather forecast that his wife had texted him. I hope we can stay close by - all other boats have disappeared from the AIS. We didnt set up a decent radio net, or swap email addresses between all the crews before the race, which is a shame - I've no idea where the other boats are.
So we're a day and a half into this race, beating out into the Atlantic - something I never thought I'd do. I can't quite believe we've actually made it to the start of the AZAB - just writing that reminds me what a massive effort we've put in to get here. Hopefully the weather will remain OK and at some point it would be a bonus if I can catch some proper sleep rather than dozing in between the shattering thuds as Nutmeg launches off a wave.