It was a torturous start after not the greatest day yesterday; we had to wait 9 long minutes and 13 arduous seconds as Telefonica, Groupama, Abu Dhabi & Sanya all started before us.
As it turned out it became a slight blessing in disguise for us.
The breeze was very light as we virtually started directly into a transition zone between two different breezes. We could see that they were all a bit parked up not long after the start so knew we didn’t want to go the way they did.
Sanya & us worked very close into the shoreline and managed to squeeze inside the other 3 boats. It feels a bit like an even start again now, except maybe for Puma who you have to have a bit of sympathy for. Yesterday illustrated just how much of a cruel sport this can be.
This morning’s start truly was a calm before the storm…
Now the wind speed is building, we just had our first big bang off a wave sending a massive shudder through the boat and we aren’t even clear of the shelter of the Southern side of Sanya. Rather a daunting prospect I am afraid.
I have slight concerns that within a matter of hours once we get into the remnants of the tropical storm which kept the fleet on the dock for 12 hours I wont be feeling so fantastic… there are still big seas and high winds, which is a perfect recipe for sea sickness.
I wait in hope that it will not rear its ugly head.
There is a long hard few weeks ahead of us. And perhaps the hardest part of the leg is the next 48 hours until we get clear of the Luzon Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines. Our short-term goal for sure is to be the first out of the Luzon Strait, no need to guess our long-term goal.
We have had a tough few days, in fact a tough race so far with lots of stopping and starting an onshore schedules which border on impossible. At times you feel like a block of cheese being rubbed up against a cheese grater, slowly withering you away physically and mentally, but the guys are resilient and focused, and it feels fantastic to finally be heading for home to Auckland… Although in no time at all its become rough and windy and everything is far from fantastic. Most of the guys and I seem to have a different opinion of conditions when they are like this, they call it great, I call it miserable.
Its times like this that you try to think happy thoughts… like arriving into the Hauraki Gulf on a stunning Auckland summers day in front of the pack.
If you don’t know anything about the Hauraki Gulf- it was once described to me as, ‘The Jewel in Auckland’s crown, home to a million hectares of sheltered sparkling blue waters, dotted with beautiful emerald islands.’
I think that about sums it up nicely… And that’s where we are heading!!
