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From : Sarah Brice
Yacht : Concert
Date : SUNDAY 11th MAY
Once again we're happy to be on our way. And we're even happier this time with the prospect of spinnakers and sunshine rather than three reefs and big scary Southern Ocean monsters. With every day of shorts and T- shirts, calm seas and kites I am more amazed at what we went through on the last leg. This is a whole world apart. The worst moments are when there's no wind - what a contrast!
Everything is easier - moving around the boat, cooking, eating, sleeping. We're all well slept instead of being chronically tired - we get at least 40 minutes more sleep on each off-watch, which previously was taken up with getting dressed and undressed. This makes life more sociable since we don't all dive straight to our bunks at the first opportunity, but sit around chatting. And what a load of rubbish we can talk about! Spice Girl fever is the latest thing to reach mid-Atlantic as we try to get up-to-date with events in the UK since we left, quizzing the leggers. We had to send an urgent e-mail to Matt's Mum to find out the name of the fifth Spicer. That's not sad, is it? We did, in our defense, have an in depth discussion this morning about why salt water boils at a higher temperature than fresh water. Hmmm.
So, to business. What a start, with the backdrop of Table Mountain! It all happened rather quickly - or else I wasn't paying attention (shocking but possible) - all of a sudden we had screamed over the line at breakneck speed and were then sitting in no wind, next to thirteen other yachts, with the sails flogging lazily. But the breeze found itself again and we popped the black bag (our promotional spinnaker) as we passed the VIP spectator boat. What a bunch of tarts we are!
Then a week of downwind sailing and spinnaker trimming, peeling and gybing like mad. It's all so much more pleasant than dragging a screaming number three up a heeling, lurching foredeck. Amazing how reasonably slick we are now compared to all the fumbling around on the first leg. Mind you, after 20,000 miles you'd hope so! After a fantastic start covering 500 miles in two days we had a frustrating time as we headed north to escape the centre of the high whilst those yachts in the middle of it took miles out of us. But things have improved - we're back up in 3rd - but I won't say any more for fear of voodooing the wind away. There is, incidentally, only ONE isobar where we are on the weather chart!
There's something else I should add: Our boat song is "Walking on sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves, who won the Eurovision song contest this year. Is that a good or a bad thing?
Yours in shorts and T-shirts, Sarah.
PS We've just crossed the Greenwich Meridian, so that'll be 360 degrees we've sailed. Have a drink for us.
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