Day 16 - We Race No More... 02/06/09

1830hrs

Race is over! It was called early due to a severe lack of wind. We relayed our position at 1400hrs and realised that it was going to be very tight between us and Jolie Brise. So we sat until 1515 and you could cut the tension with a knife! Then it was anounced that there was a delay and Harry at Race Control would re-broadcast in 30mins.

30 mins later...

"We have received Belle Poule's position, and this has been forwarded to the Race Director. You can expect positions shortly"

Can you feel the tension?

SHORTLY?! SHORTLY?! shortly on whose clock....

Results didnt come in until 1715! by which point we were all sunburnt and wrestless... at the end of the day we came 2,2. But it was very close between the Jolie Brise (5 hours we later found out) 2nd is still really good, so the bubbly, beer and crisps were brought out. The THREE had gone to sleep... no surprise there.

Finally all emerged... willfully or not is yet to be decided. Then we said a big cheers. Personally I'm feeling a real mix of emotions right now, because I feel annoyed because we have 1045miles to go... and the race is over.

We all went swimming which of course cheered me up. Many are very upset that we are no longer sailing... but at the end of the day thats the way the cookie crumbles.

Swimming in the deep blue sea

Now the motor is on (which incidently sounds like a Black Hawk helicopter) I now cannot wait to get to Bermuda as I already miss the peace and quiet of being under sail, and the motor has only been on for a couple of hours.

On a different note, last nights night watch wasn't as bad as it could have been and we saw the BIGGEST shooting star I have seen. It lit up Jets face and the aft of the boat. Almost as if it was falling in slow motion. Amazing and everything wasnt as bad as it couldve been. However Ben has now become all introverted and quiet due to the race being called.

...later note... It is believed we witnessed the Air France plane crash... very very sad...

Now I am exhausted and sunburnt so I'm going to catch some shut eye before watch at midnight.

Slaap lekker!

Day 15... the day of all days 01/06/09

1911hrs

"Here is what happened. Today we had a watch meeting, and it was really rather ridiculous!. It's almost as if our watch was jealous of waht watch's problems, and we wanted our very own group meeting. I guess people just like conflict, deep down."

Well that intro was courtesy of Ben... because to be honest I didnt really know where to start.

So shall I start with the positive things?
1) We've crossed halfway!! at 1940hrs last night
2) We were in first place today!
3) We saw pilot whales
4) We are now 1100 miles away from Bermuda
5) We are moving albeit very slowly at 2/3knots
6) It was shower day today
7) It was cleaning day today - whether thats a possitive of not is debateable
8) I've watched Journey to the Centre of the Earth & Interview with a Vampire and bits of Finding Nemo and Kung Fu Panda

So I spose I have to move on the the horrible parts of the day.
1) We had a group meeting
2) What was said at the group meeting
3) Members of my watch... they know who they are

Basically I felt tiny during this stupid meeting which basically turned into a "pick on Jocelyn" session. I just burst into tears, due to the shock of what was said. Thankfully Jet, Nele and Ben have been there for me today because I was a mess. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing all this!

... I have cut out a lot of my original entry as it mentions peoples names...

Now I'm in a state of confusion. We're on a boat miles and miles away from Bermuda and there is no room for ego or arguments. I also can't change my personality in a day. I'll work on my "sarcastic" comments, which I would just classify as banter.

Regards the other issue... what do I do? Not talk? so my "inane nonsense" doesnt annoy a person who is in a state of constant misery anyway? All she does is whinge, much like a little kid on a long car journey saying "are we nearly there yet?" So why should I change myself and ruin MY experience just to solve a little part of a miserable womens problems.

Civility... I can manage that much.

Nele is struggling with the serious lack of harmony... to be fair it is painful.

Watchleader tonight... won't THAT be fun!

Ciao for now!

Day 13: 30.05.09

1720hrs

8.9 knots! We have wind again, during our watch the wind picked up again after royally dying out during the night watch. We covered 24 miles during out 4 hours and now Bermuda is only 1313 miles away! Its amazing what a little bit of wind can do for the morale of everyone onboard. Hopefully we'll hit halfway by 2000hrs. Nele and I did excersizes and we will continue these every day as sitting stationary the majority of the time isnt helping either of us.

Night watch last night was... interesting again. However Nele videoed some of the brilliant singing that was going on this afternoon and tonight we're going to do a Blair Witch Project style documentary of the night watch. We had rain earlier and are now ticking along at 6 knots ish.

Deep in thought...

Bad news is Etoile retired and I believe others will now follow suit as we have to be in Bermuda in 11 days and we havn't reached halfway. Harry from Race Control on Khruzenshtern asked us our average speed and range on engine and how long it would take us to get to Bermuda. Never a good sign. I just pray they dont call the race. Because in my opinion motoring to Bermuda defeats the purpose of this experience. However Janette told Harry that we will give our decision on Monday so we have at least another 2 days of sailing so PRAY the wind keeps up.

Intense concentration

Some of the crew watched Pirates of the Caribean this afternoon and I believe they're watching Grindhouse now. I just finished my shower so I'm chilling on deck. I cant wait to reach the half way mark. Also Monday marks my longest time at sea. Very exciting! Apart from that Nele and I are working on our Dutch to keep ourselves sane. Anyway I'm gonna go grab a book before dinner...

Ciao for now!

Day 12 : 29.05.09

1845hrs

Strange to think that I will be back in the UK a month today. Last night at 0045 we were so excited as within 5 mins we went from 2.5 knots to 6 knots. It stayed like this so we trimmed the sail and at 0100 we wrote the log. Within 5 mins the speed dropped off to 2 again. Be the end of the watch we were only going 1.1 knots. Due to this slap in the face, tempers were raging and I very nearly lost it with the youngest member of the crew. So now I have decided to just treat her, like her age rather than an equal. I'd given her that respect, but she hasn't earned it and to avoid further confrontation... which on a trip like this you just don't need, I'm going to stop trying to be overly conversational with her.

The night was stifling hot again, probably 30C down below. I think the heat kept Nele and I asleep as we didn't wake up until 1100! We emerged up on deck to discover the sea flat as a pancake again and drifting gloriously at 1 knot. The brilliant news was we were allowed to go swimming again! But the boat picked up speed within about 45mins (speed as in about 1.2, which is the average speed someone can swim comfortably).

Before general swimming started the immersion suits had to be tested:

They're made of something similar to wet suit material but less permeable. So 4 people (Ben, Andreas, Ashley and Nele) donned this highly attractive garment and proceeded to form a raft & paddle together. They also made a help ring and practised swimming. They were all knackered afterwards, not surprising in this heat. The feet of Ashley's suit filled up with water so she couldn't get up the ladder. HILARIOUS for us... for poor Ashley I feel with 2, 5kg feet she was unimpressed.

We had dolphin fish around the boat & lost 3 lures to them. Now we have wind! finally. The morale was so low today as the weather report say 3 more days of becalmedness. Fingers crossed the wind stays otherwise Bermuda is a far and distant dream!

Ciao for now!

Day 11 28.05.09

1920hrs

Well since 2000hrs last night we have been becalmed int he middle of the Atlantic. The 'wind' is here slightly now so we're doing... JUST OVER 2 KNOTS... Last night we came up for watch at midnight and the sea was dead calm, with a non-exsistent horizon. Very very strange. The previous watch had only done 3 miles in 4 hours, so we didnt exactly have high hopes. We centred the rudder & tied it in place so there was no need to helm. Then the 4 hours ensued...

At 0100 it was log time (however the actual log hadn't moved since 2000 or earlier) I accidently shone the little white LED torch at the water and discovered this set off the phosphoresence! So that created a good 30 mins of entertainment for everyone. Next came spitting/dragging a rope/pouring tead etc. to create beautiful patterns in the water. It really was stunning and its a memory I will not forget for a very long time. The stars were exquisite and the milky way was a celestial cloud reflected in the satin water (could I get any more poetic? debateable)

We then found the red torch and made shadow puppets on the sail, Nele then took night portraits of everyone. Spaghetti next! I also though quite a few low stars were ships as we couldnt actually tell where the horizon was. Oh and we saw the waning moon set, it was cool to see as the dark side was visible. It turned orange and looked like a dissapearing yacht with its sail lit up. Total mileage? 4

Today...

Well the water was flat... flat, flat, flat! Calmer than it had been in the Bay of Biscay in 2006. After much deliberation (and following ship cleaning as it was indeed Thursday... Cleaning Day!) it was decided that we would be allowed to go swimming at 1400hrs. It was the most fun I think all of us hadd had in ages! However as we had 2, 1.5m Barracuda circling the ship since 1300 we were constantly on the look out... also for Portugese Man O'wars as an encounter with one of those would not be pleasant. But I took loads of photos of people jumping in and under the water using Seamus' water proof camera.

We finally got out of the water at 1530ish. I then played Phase 10... a bizarre day as we didnt move towards Bermuda at all... we just sat. It was a lot like sitting by the swimming pool, playing cards/sunbathing. No one at the helm. 35C in the shade, and a lot of sunburn going on. No epic peelage (touch wood) Almost too hot to eat at 1800UTC... because of course we're going back in time so we're geographically speaking 2 and a half hours behind. I'm sitting here at 2000hrs and the sun is no where near setting. Nele and I are sleeping on deck until nightwatch as its obscenely hot below decks. I'll write if anything amazing happens on night watch...

Ciao for now!

Day 10: 27.05.09

1715hrs

We made a jacuzzi in the dinghy today! We cleaned out all the junk and filled it up with sea water... 28C in the shade 38-40 in the sun. Definately bikini weather. We had a talk about celestial navigation followed by a dip in the dinghy. This evening is the most refreshed I have felt in ages!

Nele got bad news from a friend yesterday by email, this of course is terrible for her as what can she do about it when she's slap bang in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! Thankfully she was better today.

Night watches remain surreal, and one of my watchmembers I believe has lost it, as she is now claiming to have blackouts... mmhmmm OFCOURSE! un poco raro?

We have also blown up inflatable Grolsch chairs, which I am currently siting in. Very cool, but almost impossible to balance in with the boat rocking. Concentrating on not falling over backwards!

Ciao for now!

Day 9: 26.05.09

1745hrs

Well Khruzenshtern have been to our aft pretty much all day we were in first place yesterday but have now slid back to 2nd.

Cracks are beginning to appear in most people's facades now. The watch system on Tecla is split into 3 watcher: Red, White and Blue (The Dutch flag). I'm on Red watch and we're holding together pretty well adn seem to be sorting out our issues as they arise. However white watch yesteday exploded into WW3. Its worrying to think they are 20-30 year olds and are incapable of acting civil. Sitting between them is like an argument between Kindengarteners. I feel bad for Gijs and Loes who lead that watch. The sort of stress required to sort out something like that! You'd think these people would remember they were on a boat. All should know, that on a boat there is barely room for everyone much less petty arguments that people seem to be bringing up!

I'm enjoying just sitting watching the sapphire blue water go by. It really is beautiful out here if not a tad monotonous. The great news for me today was we crossed the 1500 mile mark! So hopefully in a couple of days we'll be half way there! I also hope we gain miles on Jolie Brise!

Current preoccupations? Learning to shuffle cards properly, designing team t-shirts, playing phase 10 & chess and still reading 1984! Give it a couple more days and I'll be writing poetry!! The food is of course still good. concerned about tonights concoction of white fish fillets with Langoustine sauce! But I shall reserve judgement until I have stried it, as I'm sure it will be delicious.

Ciao for now!