Volvo Ocean Race - Day 12 for Team Alvimedica

by Amory Ross, Team Alvimedica on 24 Oct 2014 Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, Day 12 onboard Team Alvimedica. There is no question as to the origins of the phrase 'down in the doldrums;' the monotony of these days is painfully apparent. It’s a pattern too familiar: a night of variable conditions—torrential rain and 20 knots of wind one minute, no wind and starry skies the next. Feast or famine.

Then the sun comes up and we watch the minefield of cumulus grow high into the sky. Then we drift, or sort-of-sail, until the sun goes down and we get to do it all again. It’s pretty and dramatic and all, but I’m tired of taking pictures of clouds and I’m absolutely sure we’d all rather get south than bask in the high-pressure for another slow day. Charlie, Mark, and Alberto might be content putting off their scheduled meeting with King Neptune but little do they know that their special 'stew' in the bow is only growing stronger with time…

At this rate though the Equator seems weeks away. We’ve had a tough 24 hours of scheds, watching the edges of the fleet find breeze, the edges we used to occupy. Mapfre appeared on the horizon yesterday and it’s been great having them in sight—I think it pushes everyone a little harder, helps to up the intensity a bit. We’ve somewhat resigned to the fact that Abu Dhabi and Brunel to the west and Vestas to the east are probably gone, out of the Doldrums and into the SE trades. There’s nothing we can do about it but push harder to come out of the middle group on top.

This is a long leg and an even longer race, but the way we carry ourselves now when conditions are testing, frustrating—it’s going to be really important to our development. Everyone’s well aware that it’s a marathon and not a sprint and for as tough as it’s been, these waters are always going to be a roll of the dice and spirits are still high. The team’s doing a great job of staying positive and fingers are universally crossed that today is the day we can move on--today we hope to finally put the doldrums in the Team Alvimedica website