11 Jul Day Nine Update From The Transatlantic Race
Our good fortune has, indeed, come to an abrupt end! The day started strong with a steady 8 knot southerly that gradually gave way to a dying southeasterly, that also “gradually” disappeared. We didn’t know when or where it would happen, but it has and it’s put us in a bit of a tough spot.
We’re drifting about with no real direction or method of propulsion at the moment, and it’s not all that much fun watching a potential 3rd place finish get away like it currently might be. Jazz is making 7 knots towards the finish line, with 180 miles to go. We need to finish about two days behind them to correct out, and it’s looking less and less likely. Beau Geste is 12 miles to our southeast and struggling as well, so it’s almost a race restart for the two of us.
Even though the sailing is a bit dull, life out here goes on as always. We’ve started rationing paper towels by cutting our remaining roll in half with a hacksaw (ingenious), we got a too-close-for comfort flyby from a fleet of whales (species unknown), passed–within sight–three slower boats (Nordwind, Prodigy, and Scho-ka-lola), and witnessed the first sunset of the race. It’s about time!
Well it’s time to go move the sail stack again, all the way forward and to leeward, and get geared up for a quiet night on deck. The sun’s down now and temperatures have dropped quickly so we won’t be moving a lot to keep us warm. It’s all layers on deck for the next few hours.
Hopefully we’ll have some progress to report by the morning!
-Amory