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FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
Yacht: Courtaulds International During the past 4 days we have held station with two other yachts and with the fleet making the same course there are yachts seperated by less than 8 miles, this leads to a tense race which looks as if it will continue until the finish. During the night in our effort to maintain our position we blew out the heavy spinnaker, the damage is sufficient to prevent us making a repair before the finish so we must hope to have favourable winds for the remainder of the race. At pressent the Atlantic is trying it's best to dampen our spirits with grey skys and constant rain, but the thought of the end of the race in a few day is sufficient to mainttain the morale although it would be nice to see the sun again, or perhaps our memories are short and England is always like this, we shall see in a couple of days. C.Moss
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
Yacht: Courtaulds International Frustrating and absolutely infuriating is the only way to describe the capricious and fickle winds that have arrived overnight to taunt us less than 500 miles from the English Channel. Mixed with a short and awkward swell this has produced difficult sailing conditions with speeds way down to 5 or 6 knots. The fact that we can see four other yachts all experiencing similar conditions is cold comfort and only serves to increase frustrations when despite our best efforts we don't seem to be improving our position. Being so close and yet so far from home and our loved ones (never mind the parties) after all this time away is exasperating and we would almost welcome a full gale that blew us homeward rather than these slow and uncertain conditions. Mike.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
Yacht: Courtaulds International The wind has finally decided to come on side, whisking us past the thousand miles to go mark...and taking us a little further up the leader board for this leg. Our positions so far show just how close, and how frustrating, this race is. Moving up from the back of the fleet we briefly held first place, slipped all the way to last....and have now regained eigth as the countdown to the channel begins. For the last twenty four hours we've been running neck and neck with Ocean Rover..so close in fact that last night we could see the glow of their compass light on deck...to us the same as seeing the whites of their eyes. This 'duel' helped the normally slow overnight watch pass more quickly...and prove that we're not alone out here in the middle of the cold and grey Atlantic. The tuna fish caught on Thursday provided two fresh meals...the first since we left Boston. The last of the tasty fillets was finished yesterday, making a pleasant diversion from our normal fare. Now with days, rather than weeks left to go it can't be long 'til we eat 'properly' again. Personally I can't wait to cook something that has a little more flair and taste than boil in the bag, and in a kitchen that isn't on a contant rocking angle. Saying that, some of the core crew who've eaten this stuff on their epic journey all around the world are sure to miss it...and each has a favourite 'dish'. Crew dinners aren't complete without a conversation rating each pre packed meal, manufactured by the same company that makes hot dogs sold in cinemas. But this obsession must end in Southampton, as I'm sure that familes of the returning crew will not hold such a fascination for this foil packed food.
Richard Gaisford
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL The 12th day of this Leg has finally given us the winds we had expected from the start and with ideal reaching conditions progress towards Southampton has stepped up a pace. With the fleet now split into two groups there is some close racing with positions changing regularly, yesterday we saw two other yachts at close quarters and during the night identified another yacht on the radar. The close racing looks set to provide the spectators withan exciting finish into the Solent.. This extra wind may have avoided the possibility of running out of food which was becoming a serious concern on some boats two days ago, however on board Courtaulds International the question of food supplies is no longer an issue when the third Tuna of the race was succesfully landed. In fact 12 hours earlier we could have had another Tuna but this one got away when trying to lift it into the boat, still the one caught will provide three meals, and I must say was enjoyed with great relish at yesterdays lunch. With a well fed crew and wind in our sails we are now pushing hard to make BT's party, but even if we are too late for this party we are determined to enjoy the last few days sailing in what is now ideal conditions. C.Moss
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
Yacht: Courtaulds International
As we appraoch trhe final week of the BTGC one is reminded of
all that has been achieved and yet there are still things
outstanding, The challenge offers trhe opportunity for
everyone to achieve their own ambitions and to participate in
those activities they feel is right for them, In my case the
challenge offered the opportunity to race around the world
and to race means to win, on Courtaulds International we have
yet to win a leg, and it looks as if this honour will only be
given to two yachts, however we are still trying as hard as
ever and will continue to do so until the finishing line in
Southampton. The problem is the further we travel the better
all crews perform and the competion becomes harder and so as
we struggle accross the Atlantic trying to be first back to
Soutrhampton the weather continues to dominate the event and
is likely to be the final winner but if there is any chance
of tacking the opportunity to win Courtaulds are certainly a
team capable of acxhieving the result, and only rthen will I
feel I have achieved all that I had asked from the BTGC.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
Yacht: Courtaulds International My brother get's married today. It's his third marriage, so it is not so important that I be there, but even so, despite the fact that I am enjoying every minute of this trip I wish I could be whisked away for just one day to be with him on this joyous occassion. I cant help reflecting on his first marriage 25 years ago. He was in the navy, and the biggest problem about the whole wedding affair was trying to arrange a date between his shore leave and the imminent birth of my first child, who was starting out as difficult as he was destined to contuinue. I was in and out of hospital for months, but eventually the great day dawned and I was in attendance, unable to stand to sing or kneel to pray, but I was there. Today my son is nowhere to be found, but I have 3 other children who bring me enormous joy and pride, so why am I in the middle of the Atlantic? Because today I am enjoying a secret dream which I had even in 1972, to be at sea like my brother, father, all of my uncles and my grandfather before them. I have crossed oceans, faced my demons and loved every minute of it. I've experienced the homesickness and valued the tranquility, enjoyed the night skies and endured the night watches. Now, as we near Southampton, I am so glad that I took up this Challenge, and extremely sad that it is nearly over. I know that I won't want to get off this boat and say goodbye to my new friends. We have shared experiences which no-one in my normal life can relate to, and I will treasure their memories for ever. Thankyou to the BT Global Challenge for giving me this wonderful experience, thankyou to my fellow Skipper and crew for making it so good, and finally, good luck to my brother. I hope he gets his dream at last, and I will be thinking of him all day and praying that his dreams come true too. Dianne Timmis
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
Yacht: Courtaulds International
Having spent the past 5 days in light winds with lightweight
spinnakers it has come as a complete change to be beating in
20kts of wind, the only problem is that it keeps raining,
nstill we are now making good progress towards the way point
Alpha, and Tropical storm ANA has gone away. Colin Moss
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL It been a long time coming, but finally, I'm on board Courtaulds International, racing from Boston to Southampton. I've waited nearly 2 years since being selected to finally join the boat. It seems a long time ago since I sailed with the crew in the qualifying sail to the Fastnet Rock. At that time, everyone was still quite inexperienced, and learning fast. The change in crew competence since then is enormous. As a complete sailing novice with only the Qualifying sail and 2 training sails under my belt, I've joined a crew of now very experienced sailors, who have been great in going out of their way to show me the ways of the boat and help me to fit in (not just in the galley, as many of my colleagues were expecting), The sailing so far has been mainly slow and frustrating, but enjoyable all the same, We're now beginning to pick up speed, and it would seem that I will probably experience a snapshot of many types of weather and sailing in my relatively short adventure. The easy if frustrating bit has benn done, bring on the winds (and I guess the cold), so that we can make it back to Southampton in time for the BT party. Jackie Buller
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL The following report has been re-transmited after a failure in yesterdays transmission. The news for the past 24hrs is very much the same with light winds keeping everybody watching and waiting for the expected change. Having anticipated the normal weather one associates with the North Atlantic, the current high pressure system with its associated light winds and night-time fogs is most unwelcome. We had hoped for a mad dash across the pond finishing in a blaze of glory, the arms of our loved ones and thoroughly enjoying the promised welcoming parties. As it is we are drifting Oh so slowly, coaxing the light-weight spinnaker into life and ghosting gently along through the night and the fog with the only sound being the wake gently gurgling under the stern. By way of light relief we have become a rest station for a small flock of brown sea-birds, slightly smaller than pigeons with short curved beaks, species unknown, which circled us for a while uttering shrill squeaks before fluttering onto the deck obviously exhausted. They have been watered and placed in a box in the saloon so that they can rest for the night and then released in the morning to continue their journey. Mind you, what with our extended journey time and the possibility of food rationing there have been some suggestions that we invite them to stay for dinner.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL Whoever said the Atlantic was going to be a rough ride? The only drama so far.....sailing into a hole in the wind yesterday morning, The sails sagged, along with the spirits of those on deck...as on the horizon we saw the rest of the fleet keep on going. In that windless hour we lost nine or ten miles, and maybe as many places. But on the positive side....if it can happen to us then surely in the next two weeks others too will get their share of patches of no wind. So the wild atlantic has so far proved tame. Watch leader Dave O'Ryan from Westcliff in Essex tells me it's like the Thames. Pat Redman, our doctor from Fulham can't believe her luck. She had to pull out of the race following leg one, after becoming horribly ill from sea sickness. Now she's back on board and actually enjoying the trip. As for me? Well....I'm still learning. Training back in January in the channel seems such a long time ago. Everthing I attempt takes ten times too long, and the core crew are very, very slick. But they've made me feel more than welcome...and don't seem to mind having a video camera and microphone stuck in their faces. How can you compare this with reporting from the High Court????? As I write this it's three in the morning. All's quiet above and below decks, except for the strains of Buddy Holly drifting down from the cockpit stereo speakers. What a bizarre mix of music as you sit there staring up at the stars. Inadvertently Boris has chosen the music to my piece, But I'm already sure that Meatloaf won't be included....apparently the crew banned him after the last leg. Somehow though he keeps appearing on the stereo, and it's the only thing thats making any of us sick. For the the moment at least.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL Yet another fabolous start, with spinnakers being flown we had a fablous view of the other yachts as we made our way down the Channels at Boston. Despite the views felt that Boston was once stop too many in the end the warm weather and friendly welcome made this one of the best stops. On Courtaulds we have two new crews and three crew who have returned to do another leg. this has enabled us to quickly get into our stride and make rapid progress through the first night. Spirits are high after our good start and there us a detyermination to maintain the performance we found on Leg 5 to improve our overall position.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
This morning's ceremonial ditching of the last of the McDougall's
chunky chicken mix over the side has somewhat concentrated the minds
of the crew of Courtaulds International. With the chat show roster
now dwindled to five yachts, and most loved ones already on station
in Cape Town, all on deck sit transfixed by the instruments even more
obsessively than before. Those off watch stumble sleepily to the
chart table every hour or so to see the 'miles to go' situation. Our
plastic arrow on the wall chart in the saloon still points at the C
of Cape Town, as it has for four days, the scale not sufficient to
plot progress any longer. So we wait. Each night we spend at least
four hours stationary, a nightly ritual we might have pleaded for
once in the middle of the leg, but now seems only desirable at a
table with a glass of wine in hand.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
Yesterday developed into a testing day for tempers when our continued
lack of weather information due to the constant failure of ,now, both
PC's allowed us to sail into a hole. This coupled with two to three
knots of adverse current meant we sailed backwards for five hours,
making only two miles toward Cape Town in a seven hour period. The
rest of the fleet recorded high speeds and the consequent erosion of
our lead over Pause and Heath has proved to be another test to the
fighting spirit of the crew of Courtaulds International. Today we are
on the move again, but sailing somewhat blindly without any
Weather Fax and only partial messages from RHQ, our weather
information coming mainly from chat show snippets of 'Sunny here'
etc now what did I do with the seaweed?
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
After yesterday's festivities today sees the skies grey and drizzly,
the breeze warm and the yacht smelling heavily of tuna. We have our
usual Sunday morning hymns blaring out on deck, and the helmsman can
be spotted joining in with gusto as the strains of Jerusalem permeate
the Southern Indian Ocean. As the miles tick away the crew of
Courtaulds International still guardedly dream of a weekend arrival
in Cape Town, though the fading breeze holds hopes in check. We do
know however that our fantastic shore team will welcome us whatever
godforsaken time we arrive with open arms and plentiful rum and
tucker. Times for our shower, the first in four weeks due to a tetchy
watermaker, are being bargained for - a futures market is set up
around the gamble of which day will be the penultimate at sea, but we
must decide now. Clean clothes are a thing of the past, so it's
generally time to recycle week one, and hope the smell intermingles
with everyone else. I dream of a bath, and carpet under my feet,
though these dreams are rarely realised in tropical stopovers that
bear little relation to the conditions borne on the way.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL News :Great to be rolling along again after yesterday's frustrating lack of progress. We lost many of the miles for which we had worked hard over the last few days, and saw our Cape Town weekend fade. Spirits have soared now as an oasis in the form of a wriggling skipjack tuna found itself ensnared by our lure only minutes before freeze dried chicken curry was served. So today Robo's 50th birthday will be celebrated in grand style with a candle on top of a large tuna fillet, with the whole crew taking a happy hour to splice the main brace. Even the yacht's mascot, Teddy Webber , will attend in his new Musto foulweather gear in Courtaulds International colours of course, a Kerguelen present from the crew. Thoughts are regularly turning to Cape Town and attendant Rum, rump, fruit, ice cream etc - a step on from the hot coffee and warm feet desperation of the past four weeks. Orders for Marmite and other things peculiarly British are pouring home to relatives who plan to visit the stopover, and 'What will I want to eat first?' dominates any daydream. With our 'miles to go' register now at about 1,000, we have also been having a backwards history lesson for the last thousaed miles or so. Every time you spot the reading you have to think of an event from that year. 'There must have been a revolution somewhere' is a popular cop out.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
News :AFter several days of fast reaching we
today felt the effects of the large high pressure system situated to
the South of South Africa. Light winds and a moderate swell have
frustrated our progress towards Cape Town. Time has been spent with
constant hoisting and dropping of spinnakers and Genoas as the light
airs persistantly back and veer through 60 degrees. VERY FRUSTRATING.
We did however make time to cast our lure over the transom in the
hope of bolstering our dwindling food provisions. To date the lure
has attracted more interest from the numerous albertross which remain
our escort. I could have sworn that during one of the lighter patches
of breeze the lure overtook us. We hope this does not contreviene the
'Outside Assistance' Rules of the Race. We're pretty certain we
weren't being given a tow.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL Hi, hope you're not too stuffed on all the Easter Eggs we didn't get. Have just managed to lock into East Atlantic Ocean Region, Goonhilly. Hopefully it'll stay there now. I'll leave you in peace to get back to the choco-gorging session. Regards, Boris.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
After another frontal system threatened to remove the foredeck crew
in another sail change with winds gusting to 62KTS, the team settled
down for another stormy night and while the winds moderated to a mere
30 kts the sea state continued to build, giving large waves and hugh
swells. As is the norm in these conditions the yacht are either
thrown into a deep trough which soaks the deck crew or the yacht is
throw into the air and all crew below decks have to catch flying
books, and cooking utensils. Last night was no exception with the new
crew just taken over the watch and the off watch crew sitting down to
eat when a large wave threw the yacht airborne resulting in dinner
being thrown around the saloon, namely over Tom White, who was not
amused after just changing into clean cloathes.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
After 15 hrs of light winds with the barometer falling the strong
wind warning has finally arrived. The first call to reduce sail
resulted in another crew memeber injured when a wave propelled him
onto the foredeck cleats. Whilst the injury was only minor it once
again demonstrates the dangers of sail changes in these challenging
conditions.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
An unusual occurance for the Southern Ocean we are sailing in warm
sunshine, what is not unusual is that with the good weather comes the
light winds which makes for slow progress. This will be followed by
the next front and strong winds, last night was no exception and
15kts of breeze was quickly followed by 40 kts and large seas.
The quiet morning has enabled us to make good some urgent repairs,
namely the shackle holding one of the Runners broke last night during
the a strong winds and required urgent repair by Carl Tinson, but the
most normal repair is the constant fraying of sheets, needing
changing and adjustment.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
News :Having reported the problems with our
inner forestay breaking it was no surprise to find that after fixing
the jury rig that we had another failure, this time the mainsail top
car broke away from the sail and required the removal of the
mainsail. As this is not a simple task whilst at sea we waited for
lighter winds, but last night was not to be quiet and we had one of
the biggest waves and confused seas of the leg. At times we
were completely airborne crashing down 20 foot on the back of the
one wave only to be faced with the next one.With constant pounding of
the boat falling off waves, Boris felt it unsafe to remove the
mainsail until these calmed down.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
News :Apologies for not reporting in
yesterday. Whilst doing the report we were caught by a huge squall
which needed most hands on deck to reduce sail area. The good news is
that we came through it safely. Todays news: After a perfect nights
sailing, amazing display of the Southern Lights with the moon out,
steady 25 knot wind and the long rolling swell typical of the
Southern Indian Ocean, unknowingly we were to pay for it.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
MESSAGE FOR PETE GOSS
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
News : Today has brought some of the most
confused seas we have seen on this leg. A large westerly ground swell
with the smaller north-westerly wind generated waves rolling along
and constantly trying to knock the bow off course.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
News :After a couple of days of flopping about
we are back in the fury of the southern ocean. A perfect start to the
day with the Southern Lights entertaining the pre-dawn watch. Soon
after a spectacularly colourful sunrise we spotted our first ice
bergs fine on the starboard bow. The first was a small chunk which
had obviously broken off a much larger one. The second, about a mile
long, floated majestically down our port side with the sun lighting
up various crevises. These were accomponied by a small group of
penguins frolicking in the waves. Finally the crew of Courtaulds
International no longer feel short changed by not seeing Bergs. Suse
Goulder summed it up by announcing, ''... right we've seen the ice
bergs now take us somewhere warm.''
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
While we on Courtaulds International had a lollopy sort of a day,
trudging along in light winds, fortunes throughout the fleet seem to
have been varied. Global Teamwork, Group 4 and Save The Children all
reported sunshine and good winds, but others like 3 Com seemed to
share the same conditions as us.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
News : The Southern Ocean,it either fights you
or frustrates you. Today we are back to slatting sails and sitting
to leeward, what a change from 48 hours ago. We on Courtaulds
International started the day with a spinnaker hoist, a welcome
surprise, and cruised along all morning making great progress. We
look forward to the day we can receive and print a weather fax rather
than being totally reliant on text forecasts from shore.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
News :Much of the fleet have spent today
accessing and repairing the damage caused by Thursday and Friday's
vicious conditions, taking advantage of the relatively gentle 30
knots we have enjoyed all day.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
News :Yet another day of crashing through
these ice cold southern ocean waves. With the heaters in need of
tender loving care (as soon as the sea calms down), life down below
is a tad chilly and damp. A few hours ago we took a wave green,
breaking over the foredeck and washing down the deck. It found every
leak in the deck and found its way into the computer cupboard. The
result is the printer and weather fax computer are now permanently
out of action. from now on we'll be relying solely on weather
broadcast by RHQ.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
The past 24 hours have produced the worst conditions of the leg so
far, with winds of 40 to 50 knots and temperatures close to zero.
Overnight we changed down from no.1 and full main, through the
variuos combinations, until lunch time today when we had the no.3
headsail up and three reefs in the main.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL Hi, sorry to have been off the air for a few of days, but I have been confined to my bunk following a slight accident, the story goes something like this. We had 30 to 40 knot winds, and were still heading south, I was on watch, and moving aft in the cockpit when I momentarily loosened my grip on the handhold I was using. In the same instant a wave kicked the stern of the boat, and I was thrown across the cockpit, landing on a winch on the opposite side. Fortunately I landed on the winch between my rib cage and pelvis, a couple of inches either way, and there would almost certainly have been broken bones. As it was, I got away with some severe bruising that had me confined to my bunk for several days, with crawling to the heads an excercise that was too painful to contemplate. In these circumstances you develop an acute appreciation of the good helmsmen on board, as every wave taken badly sends a searing pain through your body. As the boat rises up every wave you start to anticipate how it is going to come down the other side, every tack becomes an excercise in how to adjust to a new position. Anyway, I can now progress as far as the saloon almost unaided, so recovery is progressing. Following the ice warning received from Race H.Q., Courtaulds International is taking a course slightly further north than the 51 degrees we were sailing. This is in keeping with the mission statement of Courtaulds International: To safely circumnavigate the Globe in our fastest time. Skipper Boris Webber said, (quotes) we have always had a safe and happy boat, and we intend to keep it that way.(close quotes) We are also watching the develoopment of the weather system that is bringing the icebergs north, with 50 knot south westerly winds. John Roberson - Courtaulds International
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL A day of mixed fortunes starting with flogging main and genoa in zip all breeze. A great deal of frustration on board with our position suffering as a result of sailing unknowingly into a hole, but the much improved crew work, evidenced on both this and the last leg, will allow us to realise a hard earned racing advantage. Life on board carries on as usual with days rolling endlessly into one another. Meals are now looked forward to with our basic menu plan changed to boil in the bag.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL While yesterday's high winds have abated to a repectable 20 - 25 knots, Courtaulds International is still crashing through big seas, which makes life difficult on board, both above and below decks. On deck it is cold, and no matter how hard the person steering tries to find a path around the waves, there are always those awkward ones that sweep across the deck throwing icey cold water in your face. Steering is particularly hard work, trying to keep the boat going at maximum speed in these big seas, without slamming too much, then just when you have got her settled down into a smooth motion, along come a couple of big ones from a different direction, and throw you off track. It is particularly difficult at night, when you are steering by instruments alone, and can see nothing of the approaching waves, the first thing you know is when they hit you in the face. Below decks life goes on at an angle of 45 degrees, but nothing is constant as the boat crashes through the waves, and the simplest things become a challenge. Putting on your boots and foul weather gear becomes a major logistical excercise, while going to the heads and eating a meal are both interesting experiences. At the moment Courtaulds International is still heading south west, with some of the fleet to the north of us, and some to the south. We, like everyone else, are waiting to see what the next weather system will do.
After 7 days of racing it is incredible to changing position every 6
hours. Inredibly tense racing.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL Well at last, on day six of this leg we have hit the real Southern Ocean, or to be more accurate, it has hit us, Huge great chunks of it keep crashing across the boat, while the wind takes the surface off it and throws it in our faces. Over night we changed from the number one headsail down to the number three, and put two reefs in the main, then at first light this morning we took in a third reef. All morning we have battled into headwinds of up to 45 knots, and huge seas, at times it felt as if we were driving Courtaulds International up a vertical wall of water, before crashing down the other side. Then to add insult to injury hail stones came blasting out of the sky to bounce off our eye balls. All this, while trying to control 42 tons of heaving steel, yes this is the Southern Ocean. Being in the middle of the fleet is keeping the crew working hard at maximum wcv. Morale very high with all five new crew members well settled in and enjoying the experience.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL This morning we were really starting to wonder whether we were in the Southern Ocean, we had a gentle 8 to 10 knots of breeze, and the watch on deck were trimming the spinnaker with their shirts off. But we knew we must be in the Southern Ocean, because we had porridge for breakfast. Since then the conditions have changed, and we are being gently aclimatized, with the temperature dropping, and light rain falling from a grey, overcast sky. However the wind and waves are not living up to the fearsome reputation of this area - yet. Last night we spent our second night with slatting mainsail and droopy spinnaker, trying to make the most of the light and shifty winds. We certainly hadn't expected to spend so long with our light weight spinnaker up at this stage of the race. Although the fleet has become more spread out over the past twenty four hours, in general the competition is still incredibly close, which is not only a tribute to the standard of all the crews, but also to the strict one design of the boats. Although we on Courtaulds International are in seventh place, we still believe we have all to sail for, and hope we are well positioned to take advantage of the approaching weather conditions. John Roberson - Courtaulds International
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL Welcome tO the Southern ocean. Today as we leave the coast of Tasmania and head into this much reverred stretch of water, it is suspiciously benign, Courtaulds International is running under 1.5 oz spinnaker in 12 knots of breeze as the southern tip of this Australian outpost slips into the haze behind us, the watch on deck are trimming sails with their shirts off, but no one is under any illusion about what this Ocean is capable of. We are all thankful for a steady breeze after the frustrations of last night's park up off Tasmania's Great Oyster Bay, and somewhat annoyed about how we came out of that lottery. When the sun set last night we were close to the front of the pack, vying for second or third place, but when the sun rose this morning we were in twelfth place. Since then we have been trying to drag ourselves back into contention, which in a one design fleet like this isn't easy, but by late this afternoon we had lifted ourselves to ninth place, but lost a mile in distance from the leader. We are currently debating that old sailing conundrum, reach up for speed, or take the more direct route to the next way point, while trying to work out which direction the wind will come from next. Last night off Tasmania was a classic situation, with the fleet all piling up from behind, and the race starting all over again. At one stage we could see twelve other boats, and in the fading breeze everyone was trying everything to gain an advantage. Some tried going inshore, others went offshore, some tried one thing and then the other, but what ever they did the order remained virtually the same.
FROM COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL
Colin Moss - After two stop overs close together it is good to be back on a long leg racing towards Cape town. The stops were great fun but we are here to race. The start and the first 2 days have been what we have always wanted up with the leaders, a great start and good to be back. Carl Tinson - Looking forward to the Southern Ocean and the Challenge of large seas, if only it wasn't so B---- cold. After a great start the task is to keep up and ahead of the leaders, should be great fun and look forward to being 1st into Cape Town. Stuart Watson (joined in Sydney) - There is a lot to learn in this yacht and the first taste of big seas is abit frightening, but it's great fun and a fantastic crew and skipper. Leg 3
Yacht COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL The start was the usual start in the Global Challenge wet and windy, but after the warm welcome given by Wellington during the stop over the start proved exciting and spectacular with the crowds and fleet of supporters. The first 24hrs would always be keenly thought with each yacht trying to gain an advantage over each over against tide and wind, we mad a good start and quickly settled down to sail the Cook Straits as planned, the rest of the fleet had another plan and so we find ourselves slightly North. The crew have quickly found their sea legs and have started to get back into the routines of sea live after such a long stop over. The leggers are beginning to find their way round the ships routine, although they have yet to enjoy the normal meals as we are still using fresh food for the first few days. With good sailing conditions the first 24hrs have gone very smoothly
Yacht COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL Having settled back into the routine of sea life and returned to the task of yacht racing the new leggers have all quickly made their own contribution to their watch, which is helping to keep the yacht sailing quickly. The weather system has once again lived up to the normal starts for these legs and provided fresh beating and reaching conditions. The next few days should however see the spinnakers shaken out once again, which should help to maintain the boat speed and eta to sydney. On the domestic side the last of the fresh meals have been eaten and we return to our old diets. It's strange how the special treats given in the Southern Ocean do not have the same appeal after the luxury of Wellington, perhaps we are just not hungry enough.
Yacht COURTAULDS INTERNATIONAL As the race reaches the final quarter the racing becomes more intense with other yachts crossing our tracks as we gybe for the best speed to Sydney. This afternoon the weather became very unsettled after showers this morning, the changing conditions kept the watch busy with 7 spinnaker peels in as many hours. The new watch system was put to the test with the mother watch responsible for the kite packing they were kept busy and nether had any rest.
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