Volvo Ocean Race - 400 miles to go for Dongfeng Race Team

by Woody - Dongfeng Race Team on 11 Apr 2015 Volvo Ocean Race - Update from Dongfeng Race Team:

400 miles to go before our anticipated arrival in Brazil. ETA Monday lunch time dock in….

The clock is ticking….tick tock tick tock!

It was one of those nights that makes you remember the joys of sailing. One that makes all the cold , wet, dark , lonely nights worth while. A Majestic night… one you will not forget for while.

There was no moon, but the heavens were as clear as crystal. The stars glistening like diamonds against a black velvet curtain, so many it was hard to make out the constellations as they were absorbed within the galaxies smeared across the sky. In the distant horizon off the starboard quarter, an electric storm lighting up the night sky, each flash of white light silhouetting the distant cloud line unseen in the darkness. Jupiter beaming, Orion, Tropic of cancer, Southern cross and the Milky way arcing itself across the sky.

Sporadic Starbursts and shooting stars giving us all a chance to make a wish, I’m sure lots aimed at our current task and its completion.

Good wind, enough to be sailing with no motor to pollute the night. It was perfect, making 11/12 knts and at times reaching speeds of 13.8knts upwind.

The sea was fair but every now and then you would be woken from the painting of the sky and brought back to reality as the bow crashes into the Atlantic, sending a shock wave through the boat and up your spine. As Gringo puts it, enough to make your teeth chatter as reality kicks back in of where we are and what we are doing.

Reports of the mast flying into Brazil as we were stargazing last night means we were probably watching our new mast fly over our heads, hopefully a perfect example of team work….

Days seem to be amalgamating into a groundhog day scenario, but days are warm. We are in shorts, driving with no tops on, topping up the tans.

The seas have changed from a tungsten blue marbled by the wind in the south to a deep navy blue glistening in the sun, flying fish popping out of random waves. We have seen humpback whales in the day and smelt them at night.

Today Wolf and I turned the foredeck into a gym. Sheets, shrouds, halyards even the daggerboard and deck fittings were used as makeshift accessories to help increase the intensity of our session.

Morale is high as always and the on watch discussions of what food we look forward to and what drinks we want when we get on shore have started, another reminder of how close we are getting to our destination.

Reports of us entering Brazilian waters enhances the carnival spirit on board, we can almost hear the Samba and taste the Caipirinhas to come…

We know that arriving in Itajai is only the beginning of the mission and we still have a lot to do before we can call it a success, but rest assured WE WILL have the mighty boat Dongfeng on the start line for leg 6.

Good night one and all.