| At sea. Volvo Ocean Race: 35 knots of wind and movistar charges on more under water than above |
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| Friday, 14 April 2006 | |
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Bouwe Bekking – skipper: There was a bit of fortune on our side yesterday afternoon, will it finally be our turn? With good positioning for movistar the little low pressure system, which is building just northwest of and with a bit of luck, we made huge gains against the guys behind us. We stayed after two skeds the same with Black Betty, still in striking distance. But we expect that the boats behind us will gain back again a substantial amount. The boys have done a fantastic job (they do always!!!) and haven't had much sleep in the last 16 hours. Difficult conditions, lots of variance in wind pressure. Heaps of changing spinnakers, gybing, stacking and re-stacking all the gear, meant if you were lucky you maybe had a quick nap on the floor. But they all knew, how important it was to keep full throttle to squeeze around the low. At one stage had 35 knots of wind, full main and a masthead spinnaker up, we were more underwater than above, but decided to hang on. Skippy (Chris Nicholson) on the helm, big smile on his face, he loves that stuff. In the last Volvo race, he was known for his very fast driving, and I think this type of boat suits him even more, as he improved even from last time. We are fortunate that besides Skippy to have a couple of other excellent drivers in Jono (Jonathan Swain) Fernando Echavarri & Stu Wilson, same style, just sending movistar. As well Mikey Joubert & Spike (Peter Doriean) drive a fair bit, but mainly when the conditions are steady, as we need them in fluky conditions to concentrate on their jobs as bowman & trimming the sails. Fernando got his first taste of a fast ride, and asked: "How do you manage this for so many days after each other down South?" Good question, bad answer: You just do it. Now the conditions are light again. Back to a normal watch system and routine. One thing was strange that after sailing for nearly 12 days, with the wind coming in from starboard (the right) side, how you had to get used to moving downstairs again, when sailing on the other tack. I felt like a zombie, nearly crawling through the boat, but then I saw Stu, struggling as bad as I did, a quick glance to each said enough and we both burst in laughter. |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 14 April 2006 ) |
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