What a race! As you can imagine it was virtually impossible to keep a diary while sailing so this blog is to be written in the stable conditions of Seattle.
We left Qingdao feeling positive and glad that Martin was back on board as skipper. One of our 'wives' commented last night that we looked to be a different crew in leaving: standing straighter and looking ready to take on the other eleven boats. Martin has always had confidence in us and from the first race to Sydney at the end of last year has said we were good enough for a podium finish. Thanks to Martin for his confidence!
It all started very gently with light winds in the Yellow Sea and to the south of Japan but as soon as we entered the Pacific the winds picked up and the seas churned. In total there were four storms that battered and tossed the boats around. We were lucky in that the damage we sustained was relatively minor compared to some of the other boats eg. broken and bent stanchions along the starboard bow. We had a sail tied on to the guard wires on the low side and an enormous wave came along and tried to take it away. The aft coffee grinder was ripped out of the deck when we accidentally gybed and the main sheet got caught on the handle. We were very lucky in that no one was injured! As you have probably heard, Sarah on Ichorcoal lost her life when she fell overboard during one of these storms and was in the water for over an hour before she was recovered. Unfortunately she wasn't tethered on at the time and no one but her will be able to tell you why. Her death had a big impact on the entire fleet, especially that as a circumnavigator she was known and loved by many. On UNICEF we lost
our focus but with Cloughy's support were able to refocus and continue with the racing.
It was a very hard crossing, especially with the boat heeled over at 45 + degrees at times. Winds were
regularly blowing at 50 to 60 knots with gusts up to 70-80 knots and with the highest 'spike' at 136
knots. Water was continually being washed over the deck and those of us unfortunate enough to be
sitting in the cockpit, and it was often very cold with sleet and hail stones coming down over us. At its coldest the watch split and there were only three or four of us on deck at any one time. It was too cold to helm for more than about 1/2 an hour and on deck we regularly swapped out after 20 minutes.
The crossing was also especially difficult as everything and everyone got wet and it was impossible to dry out completely. The engine room was full of gloves, socks, boots etc being dried out but more often than not they were still damp when the time came to put them on again. I would regularly get into my sleeping bag with most of my clothes still on in the hope that they would dry out while I was asleep. No such luck. I would wake up still damp but now wearing warm and wet clothes rather than cold and wet. Lovely - not.
Being mother was also an interesting experience but everyone managed to serve up a hot meal, some tastier and more successful than others. Bread was sometimes rather solid and at least one loaf landed
up in the engine room bilges when it 'jumped' off the shelf whilst proving. Not sure how Paul
Hollywood would have coped in similar conditions! My speciality on this leg was peach crumble and
custard which went down a treat both times.
Physically I found it very tough, especially when getting dressed, and then getting into my foulies before climbing up the companionway steps and struggling out onto the deck - all to be accomplished at a jaunty angle! I have to admit to not changing my clothes for the entire race but I wasn't going to risk an injury or getting too cold while getting undressed and then redressed. Sounds disgusting to those on dry land but I wasn't the only one. There were times when I would stay out in the weather rather than have to negotiate the stairs to go down below, especially when the washboards were in place in order to prevent water flooding below decks - it was all like an obstacle course. But at the end of the day we managed to overcome all those challenges and come second.
The racing was incredibly close with UNICEF and LMax swapping places on a daily basis. We had them on our AIS (Automatic Identification System) regularly and could often see them when they were close enough. I think their proximity helped our crew to focus on the racing and to put
everything into going as fast as we could. This, of course, resulted in our heeling over and the guard
rail in the water. The guys who helmed did a fantastic job in keeping us safe and going in a straight line and I salute every one of them. I was able to helm for a short time, enough to say that I have played a small part in getting us to Seattle but not enough to say that I played a significant part in getting us onto the podium. When we met up with the LMax crew after the race they were very complimentary about our racing and admitted that they were just not fast enough to overtake. The entire 'Clipper family' have also been very generous with their congratulations and I think we have gained a great deal of respect from everyone. We are not the UNICEF underdogs any longer but a
team to be reckoned with. Our challenge is to repeat this success on the exit Leg to Panama and New
York.
I feel proud to be able to say that I have crossed the North Pacific in a 70 ft yacht and to have overcome all the challenges thrown at me. It is not something I would jump at to do again and I think
that with time the memories of the bad parts of the crossing will fade - just like having a baby! As a team the experience has brought us closer together and this in turn will help us to achieve more in the
remaining races.
I want to finish by thanking everyone back home and all friends and family for their unconditional support. It means a lot to know that we are being cheered along and followed on a regular basis, and as for the hugs, emails and letters I get when arriving in port, they are so precious.
