RORC Transatlantic Race - Spirit of Adventure led by Derek Hatfield
by Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges on 9 Dec 2014
Ocean Challenges - 2014 RORC Transatlantic Race Spirit of Canada Ocean Challenges
2014 RORC Transatlantic Race - As with every distance ocean race the first 24hours is a bit of a shock to the system, the crew step off a transatlantic flight and spend the next two days shaking off jet lag while going through a vigorous training aboard the boat. Most of the crew have sailed or raced aboard the boat before so it was not the normal steep learning curve that we have for some of our events.
The start was delayed for 24hours, a good decision by the race committee not to start a transatlantic race with potential damages on the first day. The weather system left behind a very violent ocean state that some of the crew had difficulty with but all recovered well and are now having the time of their life.
On Friday we were sailing along when a squall came through with monsoon like rains for an hour and a half. The boat surged to 15 then 18kts of boat speed - which unfortunately blew up the light air spinnaker and has left the boat without a masthead kite. The crew quickly made lemonade from lemons and soon the soap and shampoo came out and everyone enjoyed a much needed shower which left us all in good spirits.
Our crew is doing very well overall, we did not enter this race with a boat load of pros like the other boats. We have never had false expectations on our crew or our vessel, our home for the whole way across the Atlantic. Our race is more of an adventurous endeavour; taking an amateur crew across the Atlantic, experiencing the wildlife, the monotony, loneliness and excitement.
Being tired, hungry, sun up, sun down, no laptops, no mobile phones ringing, just a very narrow thought process; focus on moving the boat towards Grenada. Most of us don't even know what day of the week it is. This is an endeavour very few people will ever get to experience; Joes racing against the Pros as they say. So we are happy that our crew is safe, pushing themselves and working together to get to Grenada while competing in such a prestigious ocean race.
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