"Actually it was the first time I saw a bit of stress in this man…an average speed of 29 knots for a few minutes is a lot for this boat." - Charles Caudrelier
Hello everybody – well it was a tough start to this leg and there are tough days to come. The start was a classic one from Cape Town, sailing upwind to Cape Point.
We did a good job playing the shifts to help us to come back after a big loss in the wind shadow of Table Mountain. Then we started a new game against our rival red boat, MAPFRE – once again match racing with our former two-boat testing partner.
But in the last 24 hours we have changed modes to manage probably the strongest wind of this leg.
We are under the influence of a big low pressure system that has produced a speed record for this boat of 33 knots in a 56-knot gust made by “Magic Stu” (Bannatyne) on the wheel. Actually it was the first time I saw a bit of stress in this man…an average speed of 29 knots for a few minutes is a lot for this boat.
So we have had a very rough night and since this morning the sea state has been terrible and it has killed our small chances to rest or sleep.
The progamme for the next few days is a bit better but not very exciting with four days of gybing along the ice limit. I am expecting it to be one of the toughest moments of this race.
This is really the problem with this ice limit - it does kill strategy. The big advantage is that we are not so cold. Our sailors are starting to wear gloves but the temperature is around nine degrees for the water and the air.
Charles
