Winds are like busses.......
11:00, 11 June 2003
by Tim Hedges

After several days of frustratingly light conditions the forecast winds finally kicked in with a vengeance yesterday. Having studied the various weather sites on the web, and after sending notice of a deep low to the south to a rather sceptical fleet, it was with some satisfaction that the office bound team in Southampton read Bristol's message describing 40 knot headwinds from the west south west.

Bristol's southerly position ensured that they were the first to be affected but before long the whole fleet were charging around in winds of over 30 knots and this led to some interesting position changes. Liverpool cracked off the wind and reached fast to the south east in a seemingly suicidal move that lost them 4 places in one fell swoop. Yet there was method in the madness and by this morning they had blasted into first position, again taking advantage of a freer sailing angle to get a major speed boost. Cape Town and Glasgow also decided to sacrifice distance to the south by tacking off to the north of west, a decision that has certainly paid off for Cape Town who are now in second place a mere 2 miles behind Liverpool.

The wind has even filled in for Jersey and Hong Kong who were beginning to feel somewhat left out as they drifted gently off the coast of Madagascar. They may have missed the first bus but can probably now relate to the saying about busses all coming at once - Jersey Skipper Simon Rowell reports that it "seems to have been a bouncy night for all, weather is a fairly steady 25-32 kts from the SSW, waves about 2-3m occasionally breaking". They remain at the tail end of the fleet but feel they are now making progress.

Tactically this race now has real interest. Bristol, London and New York have all decided to keep south on a starboard tack and have suffered because of it, but they too are working to a plan. The theory goes that as the low pressure, which is causing this strong wind, drifts to the east, the winds will back round to the south. The further south they are the better the angle when they do tack to the west. By extension this will cause problems for those in the north who will eventually want to tack to the south. The risk of course is that this may not happen. As Richard Butler comments "If the wind just goes light, we are out on a limb compared to the rest of the fleet. Not sure how this will pan out!"

Neither are we, but it will certainly be interesting to watch, and as we settle into our chairs to watch developments in the southern hemisphere we may decide to put the kettle on for a cup of tea. I will leave you with a description of this simple act as performed on Bristol Clipper in 35knots of wind.

"Life on board is hard work, the sea very rough and its very difficult to sleep. At the same time, there is lots of work to be done, so everyone is getting very tired. Imagine making a cup of tea for someone on deck. Firstly, you need to fill the kettle and light the cooker while being madly thrown about, and with the boat heeling away from the cooker, so you have to use the galley strap (which cuts in to your bum) to hold yourself in place. The kettle boils and you get some of the water in the cup. Tea made, half will be lost before you get it on deck. If the tea drinker is lucky, they will get a third of a cup but more likely, it will then either get filled with a wave or thrown overboard as a call is made to drop the yankee. Oh dear, lets put the kettle on again. Typing is quite difficult as
well, braced in the nav station, holding the keyboard between my knees and
typing with two fingers."

Thanks Richard, the office now seems quite civilised!

Tim Hedges

Source: Clipper 2002/2003 Round The World Race Official Site