Cape Breton Island Crew Diary - Jan Ridd

by Jan Ridd on 27 Jan 2010 Cape Breton Island – 16th January – Jan Ridd - Time for reflection

This race has been the most varied and exciting of the trip so far! On board Cape Breton Island we have experienced so many different sailing conditions it has stretched the crews sailing ability and physical strength, a task I am glad to say they were all up to.

We have enjoyed close racing with other boats all the way from the start at Geraldton to where we are now just 100 miles from the finish, this was partly down to the course as the fleet all had to pass through a narrow gate to pay our respects to all who perished on the HMAS Sydney, and again to pass through the Sunda Strait, both these points brought the fleet back together again, it is also because the crews have become better sailors and can extract the same performance from the matched fleet of identical yachts.

It is nice to see my role as skipper evolving into supporting the crew to race the yacht instead of instructing them to sail, on this leg the crew have been making all the decisions on routing, sail plan etc, and just running them by me for my input. This is really important for me and was one of my goals from the outset that the crew take on as much responsibility as they can so they truly can become Professional Ocean racing sailors.

The news of Cork going aground in the Java Sea came as a shock to all on board, Adrian answered the initial ‘Pan Pan’ call on the radio, but we were a fair way ahead and just on the edge of radio reception, we then heard Team Finland answer the call and quickly plotted the relative positions, we were about two to three hours away and the other boats in the fleet were much closer, I contacted the Race Office and confirmed that other yachts were on the scene to assist. It was only the next day that the seriousness of the situation became fully apparent as we received an update from the Race Office. At the time we were in a close tacking battle with both Spirit of Australia and Jamaica Lightning Bolt but after reading the report the racing which had been everybody’s focus for the past few hours suddenly did not seem so important. I thought back and cannot imagine how terrifying the situation must have been for those on board Cork; that night we were experiencing a steady 20kt breeze, but with the squalls that were coming through the wind was gusting to 50+kts, it is a testimony to Richie the skipper of Cork and the yachts standing by that everyone was evacuated from the stricken yacht with no injuries in a situation that if not handled correctly could have resulted in loss of life.
It brought home to everyone on board that the environment we are in can quickly become life threatening, which is why the crews receive extensive training in all emergency drills, I hope I never have to experience a similar situation but it if I do I know I can fall back on my own and the crew’s training.

We are currently at the front of the fleet and charging towards the finish, with Spirit of Australia in close pursuit behind us, not allowing us a moments respite we are all fully aware that one mistake will cost us the chance to take line honours. Because most of the fleet had to standby to assist with Cork we will not know the final positions for this race until all the boats have finished and the race committee comes to a decision, whatever the result it really does not seem that important to myself, the crew would probably be most upset to hear me say that, but putting things in perspective the actual result is secondary to the safety of all those who were on board Cork, and I can without a doubt say that I have enjoyed some of the best racing of my life on this leg, with an amazing crew who are getting stronger every day, I do not think we could have done any more, every member of Cape Breton Island’s crew gave over one hundred per cent and our position at the moment reflects that.

We are now all looking forward to arriving at Nongsa Point and taking full advantage of all the luxuries the resort has to offer, the Big Blue Canoe is in good shape with no major repairs just some routine maintenance, and safety checks needed in preparation for the next race, hopefully this will allow the crew some well earned free time to relax and recharge themselves, I know some crew members are planning an extensive rehydration program! I myself am looking forward to being clean, air conditioning and a full night’s sleep.

Jan
Skipper
Cape Breton Island (The Big Blue Canoe)