By Brian Hancock
Ok, Godspeed is in Cape Town now and enjoying a coke float (joke), and a clean towel and a toilet that doesn’t want to try and kill you each time you use it and some warm sunshine and the beauty of that beautiful place. The winds were light and the almost summer sun was putting on a full display. There was that magic on the dock, the kind you can only experience after 59 days at sea. Just magic. Enjoy it all of you and gaze out on that mountain and enjoy your babies. They are only babies for a very short time. My advice; don’t feed them. They will grow into teenagers and that’s a whole ‘nother story for another day…
I know that time is short (they have to stay a minimum of four days in port) but if you have time, visit the penguins in Simonstown, I would recommend it. It used to be better before it got so commercialised. There are boardwalks now and visiting hours. Back in the day, and I am not even that old, you could sit on the beach among the penguins who were so friendly that they would sometimes sh*t on your shoes. This is true. Now that’s a sign of a true friendship.
Meanwhile back to the race. There is good breeze to be had by all. Translated 9 has the most gas in their tank and are rocking and rolling at a healthy 10.1 knots. Co-skippers Vittorio Malingri and Marco Trombetti must have cranked up their pasta machine and feeding the crew well. They have a good things going and I am sure that they will keep it up.
They all are getting ready for a nice southwesterly breeze right up the chuff including Maiden, Spirit of Helsinki, (don’t forget the whipping) Pen Duick VI and the rest of the wonderful competitors in the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race. It looks like a few good days of fun times ahead. There is a pothole looming, but with any luck it will be gone before they get there. They need to get settled in and hunker down. It’s not all going to be this good and some tricky times are ahead. Just wait and see.
Our friends on Neptune have taken a left turn and are heading for Port Elizabeth. Now I could tell you about a girl named Elizabeth that I once met there (true story) but this is not about me. Neptune have issues with their rudder which I don’t think that I have to add, rudder issues are an issue. If they don’t fix it they will find themselves driving down Interstate 95 (or the A4 if you live in England) without a steering wheel. Not that much fun. They seem to have figured things out, but rightly enough, they are looking for a calm place to take a real look at the very real problem. Smart move in my opinion. They can’t dock or get outside assistance; that against race rules and they will be disqualified, but they can anchor and take a deep dive. It’s worth the time and trouble.
But rock on all you sailors in this great adventure. If there weren’t smurfs and the occasional pothole along the way it would not be an adventure, would it?
