Sam Davies’ daily log - The glory of the Vendée sunrise
Hello everybody!
When I write in the night I often forget the beauty of the sunrise, and yesterday morning made me want to record it for my "souvenirs box"!
Dawn out here is a magical moment: the start of a new day, sometimes it marks victory over a difficult night. By far the best dawns are those where the sun peeps out through the clouds, warming up the tired chill of daybreak.
Often for me it is a time of immense tiredness, either due to an active and sleepless night, or because I have had such a great cat-nap that my body is aching for more. This tiredness just accentuates the emotion of witnessing the incredible beauty of daybreak. Sometimes I should just make the most of my desire to sleep, but I can never seem to tear myself away from spending this special moment of the day on deck, or peering out of my window at the rapidly changing horizon.
Yesterday morning was no different: there was a glorious scene to greet my tired eyes. The sun was rising to the east behind some trade wind squall clouds. The edges of the clouds lit up as if they were on fire. The tops of the clouds ahead of me were glowing a golden pink colour, the sky was a newly-washed blue and the sea had a slightly angry look about it.
My eyes stung through lack of sleep and salty spray that was whistling over the deck, but they were nonetheless fixed on the beauty of my surroundings. Even after nearly three months at sea, I still can't get enough!
Roxy was charging along at top speed. Nothing changes for her – just the start of another day in the Vendée Globe, racing around the world.
I’m off for a bit of a break now...
Hello again from 4° South!
A hot day and a hot, muggy night...
I can tell we are getting closer to the doldrums as the humidity is increasing and the wind is becoming more and more unstable. When I lay down to have a sleep, Roxy was doing 16-18 knots with 18 knots of wind – that produces top quality sleep! I didn't need my alarm, however, as the slowing down woke me up immediately as the next squally cloud approached.
The previous squall produced 26 knot gusts, but this latest one only managed a pathetic 10 knots. Lots of trimming was therefore required!
My energy boost was welcomed in the form of oatcakes and honey, although the trouble is that even the thick honey has a mind of its own in this heat and is impossible to keep on the biscuit. This is made even worse in the dark: sticky fingers and a sticky cockpit floor are often the result!
S x
At 1100 UK time, Sam Davies aboard Roxy was in 4th position, 2,086 miles from race leader Michel Desjoyeaux aboard Foncia
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