Allure Day 8

ALLURE DAY 8 - 0600 ROLL CALL BRINGS MORE THAN SUNSHINE

So this is really a boat race for second place, unless something truly awful happens to Horizon. We'll take it if we can get it, and that's far from certain. The 6 AM PDT standings had us in second, but four of us, us Deception Flaca and JWorld were all within 2 hours of each other after 7 days of racing. Pretty close and exciting. We still have 2 and one half days to go. Our ETA is Tuesday morning about 6 AM HST.

Two nights ago was the most fast and furious sailing I have ever been on, and that is a lot of sailing. We had 25 plus knots of wind, and the boat just charged down waves like a bat out of hell. Gowie hit 19.1 knots of speed, the record so far.This boat is powerful, steering takes total and I mean total concentration, we are exhausted after 30 min. not so much physical but from tension. Every little move of the wheel jerks the boat one way or the other. The wrong move, missing turning down on the face of a wave or worst, up when the wave finally passes you causes all sorts of havoc. A triple E ticket ride. Wooping and hollering like kids on a roller coaster. Hard to hold a cool demeanors and nobody cares to even try.

Last night was milder but also fast. We made some really good jibes in difficult circumstances so we are feeling much more confident in our boat handling capabilities. Steve just told me to say how great it is to be with him what a guy. Anyway, confidence will be important when we get closer and the wind picks up permanently and the waves get bigger.

Sleep is a problem because the boat is LOUD and lots of action on deck by the on watch makes banging and grinding noises all the time. Plus it is stifling hot inside the cabin during the day, plus all hands are called on deck to do any kind of sail change or maneuver. My schedule is on at 6am for 6 hours till noon, off till 6pm, then on during the night from 6pm to 9pm, and midnight to 3am, then back to the beginning at 6am for another 6 hours. Tom Jorgensen is my opposite on watch, and so we share the bunk. He is 6'9" 280 lbs and is like waking up a dinosaur. I've heard quieter steam shovels. It's a little scary to sneak up on him in the middle of the night.

Many of you might be wondering why we are zig zagging down the course instead of going straight for the finish. In a nutshell, a sailboat goes slow straight down wind, and so it's faster to head up and sail "hotter angles to the wind" even though it's not the shortest distance. We'll be doing that the rest of the way in.

This race, like life, has been a matter of putting ourselves in the best position for success given we can't control all the variables. We have protected the south like Stonewall Jackson, letting no boat get more south than us. We paid a price to get down here and stay down, but if you look at the others, they are 50 miles or more north of us. In a previous blog I said this would hopefully pay off by Friday, and well, you saw the standings. So, so far so good.

The crew is getting along with each other great. This a small living space to share for 10 days, not like going on a camping trip with the guys where you have some privacy and can get away. Add the need for perfect teamwork, the stress when things go wrong, the need for everyone to carry their own weight all the time, to respond immediately with a call to action even if you just got in your bunk for your precious off time…it's amazing there are absolutely no harsh words, no cliques. We're all the same in a communist commune.

ALOHA! - JB

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com