Leg 6 Race 2.. The run.

10.04.2024

The fishing line was not 13 miles in the end. It was 40. This sent the watch after us into a tacking frenzy to nowhere as we raced down the line hoping for an end. At some points we were doing -8VMG (8mph in the wrong direction). Our dragon was caught in the worlds biggest snare, and as we beat our way out of it we were joined by one, then two, more of our yachts. Smelling blood in the water, Perseverance had come from 30miles back to see what the fuss was about, a further 10 behind them was Unicef. When we came back to the deck we were approaching what we had hoped would be our last net marker, no guarantees. We started to prep the Code 2. 25knots of wind and a slight sea state, we had to shake our followers somehow. As we passed the last marker we all went for it, bearing away gradually from 35 to 120 degrees, we popped the kite and she sprung into action through the now thick wall of fog that had mustered around us. This was another line start, only this time we were hoping we didn’t come to an abrupt stop once we crossed the line.

Powering into the unknown made a faint light become apparent off our starboard bow; 400 meters away, Perseverance were getting close, Rick called me to take the helm as he shot off down the rabbit hole in search of answers. They were heading a fair bit deeper than us, in a dangerous manoeuvre ahead of us, but this only spurred us on to reclaim the ground we had lost in the nights fannying about. Adjusting course to starboard to take them on their windward side, our apparent decreased from 120 to 95 degrees as we came up to hug the wind and she pushed us hard away; what we couldn’t handle now was a rejection, a broach,  I called out into the darkness to Smiley, who was on trim, “don’t let that kite collapse!” Whilst telling myself exactly the same thing as we sped down and surfed the small waves around us, furiously grinding the kite to make it tame. As we saw their light pass by our beam we straightened up to course again, Unicef weren’t too much farther from us and we wanted to make the most of the confusion in the dark. We pressed on, learning that Perseverance had someone up the mast untangling lines in the mess that had freed us, unlucky. After about two hours into our new course, we turned to check how we were doing, the mucky water had settled and the two other boats were two miles apiece behind. We felt good, but disappointed with the lead we had lost through this bottleneck of our three boats; the northern fleet had all taken 50 miles out of us in the previous 6 hours, the situation wasn’t looking great. It was time to trust the plan and take it back.

Once the kite was up, she stayed up, and for the next two days we battled with the boats behind. Whilst the wind stayed consistent and strong at around 20-25knots, the sea state went through the seasons, flat, lumpy, gurney, long, it was everything, one after the other.

Perseverance and Unicef were never more, never less than two miles behind, for a while it felt like a simulation, you wake up, they’re still there, you keep sailing the boat into the void. Whilst we struggled to shake the close threat, it soon became very clear that our plan was working; our slog east was on the up, and each position report we began taking on the northern boats; starting off in 7th place following the fishing incident, we felt cut down, but we became a new shoot, growing very quickly up its ladder, fifth… sixth… each report we were taking as we bounced on at thirteen knots, fourth, no… second! We had surpassed ******les to take second place, HaHa were still 170 miles ahead, another date, but of the sensible boats in the pack, we were leading.

A little luck in the evening saw a wind shift an hour before sunset, prompting us to change our kite for white. In a whole watch effort we dragged the Yankee 1 from the hole and sent it up. The code came down and we lowered forward on our correct course. UNICEF were slow to see the change, and whilst we adjusted with the wind, they followed it north for a good half hour after us. Quite quickly we had put 5 miles on them, more than we’d done in the past couple of days, but once they caught on they continued their copying. They honestly won’t leave us alone. Can’t get enough of our tactics. It’s driving Rick mad whatever it is and it seems to be a trend that will long continue, we’ve just got to make sure we keep our nose in front. Our goal is still the top, but while we’re fighting little local races we’re becoming distracted. A storm ahead, as well as 2,700 miles. Halfway feels great, but it’s definitely only halfway.

The weather is wet and wetter, and the cold of northern latitudes is creeping through prompting the return of gloves. Yuck.

Will x