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Doldrums, what doldrums?
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Tom Gruitt tells the story from on board Cape Breton Island as the crew manages to catch the weather window that sees them in the leading bunch of boats...
"Our skipper Jan Ridd prepared us for the doldrums, saying that huge gains and losses could be made and that sailing just a few miles a day could see anyone gain the lead.
"In my line of work I get to talk to a lot of people from cruisers to professional round the world sailors, they have all said basically the same thing, the doldrums are tough and really test your patience. Imagine our surprise as Jan popped his head through the hatch saying he reckoned he had found a way through without sailing into a light wind area! He explained that we needed to catch the next weather system to get us across, so to the hour we got there, completed a really slick spinnaker drop and hoisted the Windseeker. An hour or so later the wind built and we hoisted the staysail and the Yankee 2.
"The relief on Jan's face was visible. Still sailing upwind the breeze built on the nose to 27 knots apparent meaning two reefs were needed for a while, nothing like what any of the books have mentioned! About five boats have got through and the other half of the fleet are stuck, with Qingdao doing 1.5 miles in 6 hours in the wrong direction! The next big highlight of the trip is the equator, we are about 160 miles away so will hopefully cross on Monday.
"We all feel pretty lucky to have sailed through the doldrums without dropping below 5 knots of boat speed, this will be story for all of us to tell back at the yacht club bar for a long time to come!"
posted by Hyde Sails at
09:52
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