received 18.12.08 0513 GMT
Going upwind in a Volvo 70 sucks. I am beginning to question the merits of the new route through Asia if so much of it is upwind. The first problem is that these boats don't point very high so it takes forever to get anywhere truly upwind.
The second is that the hulls have so little rocker and are so flat that they slam on every wave.
The third is, of course, that the boats are so powerful that in any wind the waves that make life so uncomfortable come thick and fast. It hasn't really been windy (an average of about 20 knots overnight) or with big seas, but still it is hard to even stay in your bunk at times, let alone sleep. The next leg to China will be a nightmare.
So what’s going on out here? Well we have all made our way northwest and are set up on port tack near the layline to the scoring gate at Pulau We. It has been a real drag race for the last 24 hours - something we are not too well equipped for in these conditions and we have slipped to sixth.
Our last tack to the east was probably a mistake, but we realised this really fast and fortunately only went for an hour. There has been more wind in the north which, coupled to a left shift has made gains out here. Our plan now is to stay close to the leaders so we can capitalise on any shut downs towards the end of the leg. We are comfortably ahead of Kosatka and Delta Lloyd at this stage.
Onboard all is quiet as we are enjoying crossing off some miles finally. There is the normal battle with saltwater sores in this heat, but otherwise nothing major to report. Probably the funniest incident in the last few days was young Freddie Shanks, who went on the bow at night in the pitch black. We all heard a bit of a scuffle forwards and were rather surprised to see him coming out of the companionway hatch cursing and swearing 20 seconds later.
He forgot that we had opened the front hatch to get some air in the boat to help people sleep and had fallen straight through. A 7ft drop onto solid carbon, landing on your back is not something I would wish on anybody and in truth he was lucky to escape serious injury - a broken back or neck would not be out of the question and has been known. In typical Freddie-style, he hardly said a word, picked himself up and went straight back on the bow to do what he had meant to do! Lesson one - don't leave the front hatch open at night.
Ian Walker - skipper
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