Beauties layed ahead...

Hello again...

I could not stop jotting down about the lovely night we have just been
through: sitting at 9pm-1am watch, we had a lovely breeze of 20-25 knots
coming from behind, the spinnaker up. Again, strong concentration
essential at the helm with all the ocean swells of ~2m forcing the boat
for a turn, and strong trimming to keep up with the movement.
We had the most lovely view laying ahead of us through, a half moon
illuminating our route like a highway, and the boat gently steering on
this glimmering path. Merely chilly weather, not too many clouds. A
comforting conversation about what music may best accompany such a
lovely scene (Louis Armstrong, Norah Jones, Mozart, Charles Baker, Pink
Floyd were the top calls at the end)
To top up our pleasure a school of dolphins decided to join us, playing
all around the boat, jumping, drawing lines on water. My first dolphin
interaction on this trip:) They are such beautful and charming
creatures. (As may be imagined), I was completely overridden by
excitement, cheering them all the way... It has been a wonderful memory
captured...

The night had a great end to it as well: on our 5-9am watch, the wind
started dying out a bit. With the confidence daylight brings along, we
decided to change to a lighter weight spinnaker. And so came my next
moments of joy: going up the pole (2m above and 2-3m sideway to the
deck), setting the new spinnaker, hoisting and opening it, spiking the
heavier one to let it peel form over the new one. Such a lovely scene to
watch from the pole, it resembeled a flower blossoming, and definetly
looked cool. Cheerful, uplifting moments...

Finally, we were further greeted with good news that we were able to
pass Singapore overnight as well, now at 5th position. Slowly climbing
up the ranking:)

Forgotten to give one more news from eysterday: WE SAW WHALES! 2, medium
sized. Still they were pretty massive, and really flushing water as they
surface, just as is the stereotyped in the cartoons. I felt like I was
in a National Geographic scene. What an experience:)

So much so for the happy news about sailing. There has been quite a few
tough moments as well
The exhaustion is slowly building in. My shoulders are as stiff as a
rock and hurting desperately. Blame is on helming and trimming. I was
not expecting my shoulders to let me down to be honest, but here they
are...
I'm starting to feel the lack of sleep, particularly at the end of 1-5am
and beggining of 5-9am watches.
Everything and everyone has started to get smelly (almost a week out
without a shower, and lots of exercise are not the best combinations),
The toilets regularly giving us trouble by blocking, unscrewing the
pipes to identify the blockage, and getting rid of it (which, as
expected is not a clean, nice smelling piece of art) feel filthy.
A bit of a cold is running accross the crew, and many are not feeling
tip-top.
Well, these are the prices to be paid, and they are worth it. That's the
good news...
Still several things I miss dearly: showers, a sleep at a quiet and
stable place, also stability while using the toilet and toilet flush.

I'm heading back to my bunk for 2.5hrs of sleep now...
So take care and do keep an eye on me

More stories from Bay of Biscay

Hello again...

More news on the tough sailing. Well, after the rough previous night, we
continued to have a tough day. As I was anticipating the wind picked up
to 30 knots, and by the time of our watch, we were screaming downwind
with the spinnaker. Well, that is enjoyable if anything under normal
conditions. Biscay is not "normal conditions", the waves do not follow
the wind, the swells of the ocean, tide, waves of wind and of those
bouncing from shore muse together, and they literally come from every
where. This swings the boat abnormally, causing the spinnaker to wander
around in front of the boat, threatening us with a gybe or another
wrap...

Another hard working time, getting one yankee sail down, getting another
up on deck, before dropping the spinnakker. We hoisted the yankee, the
stay sail, and still screamed down at 10 knots speed through the night,
fighting against the wierd pushes from the waves.
MANY HIGH POINTS THOUGH:
- Continuously working was great, lots of learning, and a nice tiredness
- Going up to the pole to spike the spinnaker, when making way by 14
knots, and the boat was swinging like a toy
- Helming for hours on end during night, and particularly at a gybe.
Tough responsibility, as an accidental gybe on the process would
literally risk loosing one (or more) of the crew at the foredeck

Finally handed over the watch, after hoisting the spinnaker again after
leaving Bay of Biscay. Sunny, windy lovely day outside. Already looking
forward for my next watch

The only low point: We did loose our position during all the hassle.
We're ranking 7th:( But there are 4700miles to go, too early to be
sorry...

Keep an eye on me
Hande

The first tough night challenge at Cape Breton

Hello again...

I'm through a tough night, and a very long watch...

the struggle started right before the start of our watch at 1am: we
woke up (from our 3 hour sleep) with the rushing noises the previuos
watch was having. They were struggling with the light weight spinnaker,
and suddenly and finally it caught on the forestay and ha a long tear:(
we helped briefly to carry it down, and they hoisted a heavier one. This
was yet the predicissor of what was to come.

When we took over the watch, the status was pretty tricky, we were
having the wind right behind us (which is called the dead run), which is
exactly what we aimed for to get ahead of the fleet. However, what we
was not calculated was the severe shifts in wind, shifting the spinnaker
from one side to the other like a ghost puppet, giving us very hard time
on the trim and the helm.

Holding the trim was challenging but still ok, however, I cannot claim
the same for the helm. When I was on, I had a wild swing, ended up with
the spinnaker pulling to one side quite far, then to the other side, but
behind the forstay rather than in front of. So here we were, with our
second spinnaker wrapped around the forestay (the line that connects the
bow of the boat to the mast). I left the wheel shievering to our skipper
who was up on the deck as quick as a falshlight.

5 minutes later,we were able to retrieve the spinnaker from the forestay
without harm, and I was back on the wheel for another hour.

However, the night was long, just before we handed the watch over to the
other shift, already exhausted, the mate on the helm had exactly the
same problem as I had, a wild shift in the wind. But this time, to make
things more interesting, the spinnaker first wrapped around the
forestay, then around the innerstay (another wire, that connects the
mast to 1m aft of bow). Here we were, with our second spinnaker
hoisted in double 8s.

Getting the sail down, (it didn't drop as it should when the halyard was
eased, because there were wraps close to the top of the mast as well),
then unwinding it from the innerstay and the forestay, then checking for
holes, finding one and reparing it briefly with sail tape, wrapping
the sail for hoist , then hoisting it back again was a massive struggle
at each step. And already 1.5 hours past our watch time.
The nightmare continued when we realised that there were more holes, and
get it down again. We had to go through every centimeter of the
spinnaker searching for holes to repare later on. That was 2 hours 15
minutes past our watch. We started resting, but withuot much sleep, as
the other watch was now hoisting the windseeker, and it was as busy and
noisy as a fare down at our bunks.

Up for next watch, whihc was another frustrating one: this time, very
light wind, and here we were without any wpinnakers to fly. Slow and
painful, with the realisation that we were loosing much ground to the
other boats, and have lost our position advantage after the tough night.

The sails are sorted now: Katherine has reparied both with a spinnaker
sewing machine. And one is up already

I'm finally off watch, have eaten, winded down a bit after very long 14
hours, with only 1-2 hours of sleep. However, the wind has built up as
we were leaving watch, and probably very heavily now. I can hear the
other watch struggling keeping the spinnaker trim, and the boat
speeding. Hope we'd have no further accidents for the day.

No harm done to the crew, no harm done to the boat, all was
challenging, thrilling and teaching. So all is well:)
Need a bit of sleep now...

Routing down to Rio...

So here we go again... 24 hours into the second race of the first leg...

The race start was a bit a miseray for everyone; the whole fleet was
drifting more than sailing. What would have been a lovely autumn day
with bright sun shining on the sky, and its warmth pomping positivity,
turned out to be a bit of a struggle for us, because there absolutely
was no wind. No wind is hard work: we had to change sails several times,
keep on the consentration despite the demotivation of no movement and
the heat driving the body to "standby" mode. We will be having more of
these at the doldrums, crossing the equator. I can't say that I'm
looking forward to it.
Fortunately the condition did not last, and we had a nice 10-12 knot
breeze filling our sails in the evening. We trimmed trimmed trimmed our
sails continuously, and had some real concentration at the helm, winning
us two positions over the night

The high-lights from the day: helming for more than 2 hours. Getting a
few critical trimming decisions through, which paid back with good boat
speed.
Low-points from the day: no wind at the start, and falling behind in
picking up the wind when it arrived:(:(

Well, so much for the sailing news, let me introduce you a bit to boat
life:
Life on-board is a disciplined one, there are two watches to run the
boat. AS you may already have guessed, we sail through day and night,
and have to keep the speed building for 24 hours. So each watch is on
and off for 4 hours twice a day, and 2 hours once a day. When we're on
watch, we concentrate on sail trim (making the sails work according to
the wind)and helming, as well as navigation. The biggest effort is in
keeping the motivation and concentration going; it's very easy to get
lazy and let the trim go, or loose concentration and let the helm off
course. Off-watch is free time, which includes all preparation for
sailing(we need to dress up a bit, particularly when it's cold. Trying
to wear two salopeds (mid layer and foul weather gear, which have many
sticking plastic all around it for water-proofness, when boat is rocking
around, does take some effort and time) eating, sleeping, personal
hygene and anything else you may want to do (ie: writing a blog). As the
hours off watch are quite limited, most of this time is spent sleeping
by most o fthe crew.
Which I now want to join in to do as well... I will be back on watch at
14:00., and have 2hours 15 minutes to sleep, before waking up to get
ready & have lunch

I'll try to tell more about boat life as the opportunity arises. Until
then, take care and keep an eye on me:):)

Hande

Final notes from land...

Sooo, once again it's time for a start.

This time, it is a start for a tougher and longer journey... We will be moving out of the marina at about 7:00 am tomorrow morning, once again directed by the times of high tides. The start for 4 weeks of racing is at 10:00am.

We will be escorted by a legendary boat: Joshua: this is the boat sailed by Bernard Moitessier in the first round the world solo racing in 1968, competitor to Sir Robin (Bernard Moitessier abandoned the race to keep on sailing round the world, leaving Sir Robin to become the first one to sail round the world, and the only one to finish the race back then)

There seems to be not too much wind awaiting us, once again not a dramatic story to tell about Biscay... What will mark this race (apart from luck, of course) will be full concentration and unity of the team at all times, endurance and resiliance. We are looking into several different wind and current paterns to sail through, and each may change the rankings severely. Exciting times....

 

But before sailing off to the experience, I can't help mentioning the very sipritual day we lived through yesterday. Our boat was blessed by the chief and drummers of the Mi'kmaw tribe with a smudging ceramony (Mi'kmaws are one of the American Indian tribes of Canada). Sage and special herbs were burned and thier smoke was blown over our boat, our sails and each of the crew members, with blessings for a safe journey, good winds, calm sea, and strong speed. The smudging was followed by 4 drummers chanting for us, and a Mi'kmaw dancing with the chants on the pantoon. It was a very intense and enchanting experience for all of us; and considering my past interest in the American Indian culture in my high school years, even more so for me. Finally, I have met real American Indians, and have heard their chants live. What a priviledge

Our boat sponsor Cape Breton, put even further effort into the event and organised a Michelin Star worthy dinner. They introduced their Lobster, some fine wine, and some more sea food to the crew and to contacts in La Rochell. The lobster would be worth travelling all the way to Cape Breton Island to enjoy, sooo gooood:)

 

I have added on some sites to the blog where you can follow the race, the news from the boat closer. And also added the link to the news and pictures about the smudging, for your view:)

 

 

Personal notes from today: I was up the mast once again for rig checking, I absolutely love it up there:) And more preparation to the boat, and for the crew as well. Feeling very ready to start sailing tomorrow, and actually looking forward to it!

 

Keep an eye on me, and wish me all the best luck, because I'll need it!

Cheers

Hande

 

 

Notes from land...

It's unbelievable how time passes bye... We ended up on the Saturday night at a blink.

Not many complaints though, great times passed by.

 

We finished the race sailing upwind against an unsteady wind gusting upto 40 knots, very tough on the wheel, and lots of trimming were the names of the game. Some tough highlights during the race:

holding the spinnaker under 30knots of wind (the force on the sheets were basically unbelievable)

then gybing the spinnaker under such wind

finally dropping the spinnaker, when the boat and the wind so did not want to let it go

 

There were several times when the whole crew got pretty wet, exhausted and tired of the adrenalin rush.

 

Experiencing once again the immense power on these sails demanded and emphasized once again the importance of being alert all the time. And basing the decisions on achieving a position in the race, taking calculated risks and pushing the limits at times, proved the fact that we were up for a BIG game. Once you're out there, the ocean, the wind, the tides and waves treat every level of experience equally. And once you're racing, with boats that are not made for leisure, and with intentions of speed, it becomes pretty demanding very quickly

 

Yet, the challange, and the impressive power of nature, the impression of eternity and infinity ocean beholds is more than a fascination. This feeling exceeds my mind, it is a feeling beyond any words I can possibly express in any language. It uplifts the soul beyond all the daily worries we are exposed to, and honors it with what it deserves: the feeling of integrity with the whole universe...

 

OK, that's enough sipuratualism, coming back to the race:

We gave a finish at about 4pm on Wednesday, followed by Jamaica and Singapore... We missed the timing for the lock to the marina (this is a huge door that locks the entrqnce to the marina, and keeps the water level at bay during tidal changes; very useful as the boats do not end up on land twice a day:), however keeps the boats locked in or out during low tides), which meant hard work: we anchored at the bay, Jamaica and Singapore being tied up to Cape Breton. Dropping the anchor was not a huge deal, however once it started dragging, we had to pullit up and anchor again, bonus work...

 

It's hard to believe how much there is to do on a boat to maintain it, and prepare it. To save some of the hassle at port, we made use of the anchorage time to start with the repairs and packing the sails. Got quite a few settled before a delicious dinner which definetly was a treat with a diversity of freshly made vegetables topping pasta:) A bit of rest until 2am, when we lifted the anchor and motored to the marina. Although it was a pretty short sailing (and fast one, we reached the destination 2 days earlier than intended), it was still a good feeling to take berth, to be greeted with cans of beer, and the welcoming faces of the Clipper Team.

 

The next two days simply flied out with a buzzing preparation:

deep cleaning the boat, and I mean it. We literally clean every little corner on-board, remove whatever we can out, wash whatever we can, pick & choose the fresh stuff, repack everything.

then make the maintenances, mend the ropes, check the equipment, check the rigging, repair any broken pieces (ie: leakages)...

and further prepare for the crossing: make the final touches to have a more comfortqble journey

 

And we had such good afternoons: the crew really mended together, we had a team dinner worthy of the royalty, then a boat dinner, cooked by John (one of the crew members) which challenged the previous dinner! Lots of chats, a bit of social drinking, definetly a boost of morale before setting to 4 weeks of no land & people

 

Today was finally a freeish day, and had the opportunity to go around La Rochell a bit. A cute city which still feels medivial, and definetly has a Meditarrenian city. Also serving GREAT MUSSLES, god I could eqt those until being hospitalised...

 

Tomorrow will be a busy day for Cape Breton, as we'll have a ceramony of blessings for the boat, than a sponsor dinner.

Monday, more preparations, including the shopping

Already looking forward to Tuesday morning to set sails again

 

I will keep on updating later; keep an eye on me:)

Hande

third day on the race

hello again,
coming on to wednesday now, we are in good shape and mood. we're ranking
5th, and it's probable thatwe will finish as such. That is not too bad,
as w did not push the boat too hard. had te strategy not t risk damage
n the boat n the first race, still not fall behind. tis seems to have
worked out fine so far.
we had a wonderful sailing yesterday, the boat speed went upto 23 knots
under spinnaker. exciting surfng on the waves, with a wind of 30-35
knots. currently, we're ging upwind, against 20-30 knots of breeze, with
not too heavy seas, a sunny, cool, breeze, lovely sailing day!!!
the crew has already bonded, and we're working pretty well all together.
great luck!
I'll write more on shore, it looks like we'll be there late tonight!
Keep an eye on me:)

First Notes from the boat

Hello and a warm welcome to the blog of my small adventure.
well, I've luckily been writing this blog from the boat, sailing in the
channel and Biscay Bay between UK and France:) exciting!
Unfrtunately the blog you're readig is the second one, after loosing the
first on to system abnormaities (not so exciting)

several notes before the story:
Please excuse the spelling from now on, the waterproof keyboard forces
very istakes (an slow writing), the mail access is limited, and so is
the time to rest. So as fatigue creps n on th folloing days, or weather
detoriates, you will be exposed to a "words" puzzle rather than a
letter, it looks like.

I have to admit that I'm so very happy to be finally off sailing.
Clipper Race start has been celebrated as a huge event in Hull, combined
with the Hull festival and accompanied by wonderful (for UK conditions,
miracolous) weather. Hull Marina had been buzzzzziiinnngggg with both
locals and with spectators coming to watch The Start.

We moved Cape Breton Island (the boat, not the landscape:) ) from Hull
marina to Albert docks on Saturday, to have an easy exit for the start.
There were a few moments to rememer:
the marina was still surraounded by a ring of spectators at almost
midnight, and they waved us goodbye, sentimental moments, preparing us
for what was to come on the following day.
Another moment to remember was the sight of Hull, the modern aquarium
building standing out in its beauty, the pavements at the waterfront lit
up by torches and fires, and a weak-orange moon rising slowly on it
all... what a sight...

This was all only a preparation for the Start. The Start was absolutely
sectacular. Each tam was introduced on stage to a cheering crowd. Then
as we moved to our boats, an amazing flight show was staged with the air
squats. when we left the docks for the start, we were cheered by
thousands (tens of thousands actually). The whole waterfront and
rivershore as far as we could see, was completely covered with
supporters cheering, waving, and wishing us good luck.. We were escorted
by Navy Ships as a fleet, and waved good-bye to all. The scene falshed
back the memory of a year ago, the finish of 07-08 race in Liverpool. I
was among the crowd waving welcome to the racers, imagining what it
would be like for me, once I was on-board sailing off. Well, time flies.
Here I was waving goodbye, moved by the intensity of the moment, with a
few butterflies in my stomach, and a strange sense of reservness. My
little moments of fame...

coming onto the race, we culd not be luckier about the weather. 20-30
knots, N-NE meaning it would blow from behind, 1-2m waves, pushing us to
our destination nicely. Not too light, not too hard either to start out
with.

We started the race in the 4th position, and have ben keeping our
positio in between 3r and 5th throughout yesterday an today. Great
to be sailing against identitical boats, being able to watch the
perfrmance

High points in the trip:
5-6 hours of helming, first with a beam reach, then with the spinnaker.
It was heavenly to surf on the waves, feel the immense power of the
nature. Personal speed score: 16.4knts! this is the fastest seed I have
travelled to in any boat. Awsome!
Trimming the spinnaker at night, when it ws blowig 30-35 knots. The
power on the spinnaker was like no other (imagine holding the momentum
that speeds 35 tons to 15 knots). And looking at a background of
millions of starts while watching the sails, thinkng that we always kill
the beauty of the real lights while shining through with our own.
Low points: We had 6 peole suffering sea sickess heaviy. Poor guys... I
had a share of the situation by cleaning sails after one of them could
not hold it any more and threw up. OK, that was not as bad as I thught
it would be, I suppose we come to our senses when something needs
doing...

I'm now on my mother watch, meaning I have no shifts, but have to
keep the boat tidy and clean, and cook all that's to be eatn. Duty
calls, I have to make my move now.

Keep an eye on me:)

Yarış başladı :)

Merhabalar,

yarış başlama telaşı içerisinde kısacık yazıyorum. Yarış başladı... :)

http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/Follow/RaceViewer

adresinden yarışı,

http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com

adresinden ise genel gelişmeleri görebilirsiniz. Vakit buldukça güncelleyeceğim...
H.