By Brian Hancock
I am sitting in the dark writing this so if there are a few typos blame it on that (not the Bloody Mary). It is, after all, ‘Easy like a Sunday Morning’. Now you won’t be able to get that song out of your head.
Watching the Yellow Brick Road Tracker I am worried about Godspeed. Maybe they never quite figured out how far it is to sail from Southampton to Cape Town. It’s a long way and they need to buck things up if they want to make it in time for the second leg, and that’s one that they won’t want to miss. It’s full of gale force winds, huge seas and an occasional iceberg. I should write travel brochures.
Now in my (most humble) opinion both Maiden and Translated 9 might be set up to find a gap in the high pressure zone. As I have mentioned before those high pressure systems can be a bit tricky (not unlike my ex-wife), but they have taken the inside lane and while Pen Duick VI is still looking to take a left toward Cape Town, they may be able to find the gap, shave off a few miles, and may yet come out roses.
Explorer looks like they are still looking for their caipirinhas in Brazil or maybe it’s a Spit Roast Sunday that they are after. Sterna (well, all I can is say is they are watching rugby – go Bokke). White Shadow, a beautiful Swan 57, and of course Galiana WithSecure (surely the heavy name of the boat must be slowing them down…
are all romping along in a decent breeze just forward of the beam; not champagne sailing by pretty close to it except for the occasional wave in the face.
Tannaguy Raffray and his crew on Neptune most definitely have not been drinking. Their course has been straight as an arrow and they eating up the miles.
Now, I did get flowers and I know her favourite restaurant that has curry mussels. I am a little lacking in the present department and I thought that I might offer myself as a present but I think that’s what I did last year…
To my most beautiful wife, Happy Birthday my love.
