Thursday, February 24, 2011
30 miles to go to cold beers!
Well another nail biting day, and Hydrocarbon is nearly home! They have been trying very hard to extend their on-the-water lead from EH01, but still this yacht is being sailed very well, and will not be shaken off. All of the crew are now exhausted, with tiredness and heat, but the thought of those cold beers after the finish line is spurring them on. Philippe texted in to say that they had spotted a whale just alongside the yacht this morning, a spectacular sight indeed – he commented “we were graced with the presence of a magnificent whale as it wagged its tail above water, waving at us, a few times before disappearing to the depths below. What an amazing creature..”.
Philippe has described the sailing conditions as just perfect, with bright blue skies and sea, with a constant 15-20 knot breeze – lovely!
At 1800 hrs GMT Hydrocarbon has just rounded the last mark of the course, Redonda, and they are now headed to the finish line. They 30 miles to go upwind, which means they will slow up a little but their eta is approx. 4-5 hours which means 10pm earliest in UK and about 6pm local time in Antigua. Waiting for them on the dockside is Maire, wife of Brian, who is eagerly waiting to share few cold tinnies with the crew. Hydrocarbon is still 3rd overall, let’s see if they can get 2nd, which would be just great!
Quote of the day from the yacht has to be – “my liver thinks that my throat has been cut due to the lack of alcohol onboard”..... we have been trying to decide which crew came out with this interesting prose, and back here in the office we think we have it sussed....we will let you know tomorrow after it has been confirmed! It’s amazing after just 4 days at sea what everyone craves; whether it be cold drinks, baths and showers, a loom that doesn’t move or just space to be by yourself – everyone is different. At this point, we think they are all singing from the same hymn-sheet and just wanting to get over that line as quickly as possible, and to keep EH01 at least 15 ,miles behind them. They can still achieve this as this last leg to the finish is quite tactical as it is a beat and not a straightforward sprint – still very exciting, and everything still to play for.
Fingers crossed!!!!
