By Brian Hancock
The fleet is sliding along. Four weeks ago they were enjoying some pulled pork sandwiches and the pleasures of the Race Village in Southampton. Now they are just slip sliding along, as Paul Simon sang so sweetly. They are into the race. They will all make it to Cape Town and if they want I can give them some restaurant recommendations. I used to live there, but for now there are some miles to eat up and, for those that have taken the eastern route, some waves to take on the chin.
I am watching Windy on the Yellow Brick (Road) tracker. By the way I love the tracker; so much information there. The boats can’t get it but I can and I see some nasty little low pressure cells roaming around the southern latitudes and Pen Duick VI is going to bump into them at some point before they hitch a ride on one of them and head for Cape Town. Others are going to (yes Outlaw I am watching you) going to deal with the eastern side of the High. There is a wonderful saying in Afrikaans. It’s “snot and trane”. It means snot, you know what that means, but trane means tears. Outlaw and Evrika are going to find some troubling situations ahead and it won’t be pretty. Both snot and trane are going to flow freely as they head upwind into some nasty headwinds.
Explorer seems to have gone on a ‘walkabout’. Ask Don what that means. I personally think that Don has been on a walkabout for most of his life (a bit like me), but that’s another story for another day. Explorer took a sharp right and may well be heading for the coast of Brazil where I hear (and maybe to maybe know know what they are) that caipirinhas run fast and free (Google it). If they stop they may never leave. Which reminds me of a story.
My wife has run many marathons. The last one we did was Los Angeles. It was an unusual heatwave and the temps were high, very high. At mile 23 there was a beer tent with air conditioning (I missed it). Now that’s unfair but my lovey wife Sally thought that it might be a good idea to stop in. She downed a pint and then the nice lady offered her a second and she said, “If I have one more I might never leave and my husband is waiting for me at the finish.” I love her. it’s her birthday tomorrow. 25×2 plus a little…
I am rambling because the racing is good and the sailors in the McIntyre Ocean Globe race are all doing what they signed up to do; to race around the world blown only by the wind.
