© Sam Davies
Hello everyone!
Well, Roxy and I are now resigned to the fact that we probably won't be getting our spinnaker out until after the end of this race now, as I can see low pressure after low pressure coming at us.
Last night we punched through a cold front with about 30 knots of wind under it. As my route plan had indicated, there was a big wind-shift so I needed to tack onto starboard tack. That was a bit of a rude awakening at 5 in the morning in the pitch black!
A tack is something that, in smaller boats, you can take lightheartedly and just "throw one in" not worrying if you got the timing wrong as you can just tack back again. In these IMOCA 60s that's not the case and a tack takes around 30 - 40 minutes, plus a bit of time at the end to re-fill and re-empty the appropriate ballasts.
My tack begins by getting undressed (warm stuff off as this is intense physical effort) then dressed in waterproofs.
- First of all a trip forward inside the boat via the ballast valves to start the transfer, then to the sails to re-stack all 200kg of them onto what will be the new high side.
- Then back to stack the three "toboggans" that slide across Roxy on a pulley system. This is where I stow all my food, safety gear, spares and clothes;
- After closing the ballast transfer and opening to top up the new windward tanks, I jump on deck. I have to be quick now because all the gear and ballast is to leeward so we are not quick and Roxy is not happy!
- Prepare new runner, new daggerboard down, release a bit of mainsheet, keel release to leeward...
- Pilot to tack, then winching the sails back in is not an easy task especially as you will agree after all the preparation I am already knackered!
- Old board up, tidy leeward runner forward etc etc.
- Then back down below to finish emptying the leeward ballast (with electric bilge pump!)
THEN - as you can imagine, I am totally knackered. Usually (last night
included) the following manouver is a frantic tearing off of all my clothes as I am totally hot and soaked with sweat, and gulping down a litre of water. Followed by a collapse on the chart table seat. Followed by rapidly putting all my clothes back on, because actually, post cold front in the N Atlantic it is actually quite chilly and I cool down too quickly!
So, now happily on starboard tack (and yes, I did tack at the right time
fortunately!) and heading towards the Ice Gate. The sun is out, blue sky and nice wind, just a rather bumpy sea which makes doing anything hard work, and Roxy is complaining because she's crashing into the waves.
There's rather a lot of water on deck, so I'm limiting my time outside to when necessary!
Sx
