So Close but yet so far

by Richard [Clarke] on 17 Feb 2002 We can almost taste the pizza and beer, but we are in too much of a
battle to give it much thought. The bubbly always tastes better when you
win and we are trying hard to maintain our lead, even though Mother Nature
is sure making it interesting. Two days ago we reaped the rewards of
being first and furthest north, extending our lead to nearly 100 miles.
Yesterday we watched in horror as this was more than halved. Most of the
time we look forward to sked time, but yesterday each six hour report was
anticipated with dread. We have never lost over 20 miles in one sked and
yesterday it happened. 10 was bad, 15 hurt, but 20 was excruciating. The
worse thing was there was not a lot we could do about it. Mother Nature
decided she was in a surly mood and was going to take out her frustrations
on us.

On the positive side, with just over 500 miles to go, we have over a 30
mile lead on the chasing pack behind. Given the chance to have a 30 mile
lead in the start of the Sydney to Hobart Race or the Fastnet Race, every
sailor would gladly take that advantage. We are shifting into more of a
coastal racing mode and will push hard to keep that advantage until the
finish, where it [the wind] is forecasted to get a little lighter.

The warm smooth conditions have allowed us to peal off most of our stinky
Southern Ocean kit and put on fresh shorts and silk weight shirts. Add a
good wet wipe and scrape off the beard and you feel like a new man. Still
smell like the old one but at least you feel like you've improved your
personal hygiene.

Must dash as my next watch starts in 10 minutes and with each watch
finished I am that much closer to the finish. Four more after this one..