By Brian Hancock
Something must have pis*ed Ms Marie Tabarly off because she is booking (South African term) with a decent south westerly wind up the chuff (nautical term…
and legging it out on the fleet. After a bit of a shaky first leg from Southampton to Cape Town she and her crew have finally found their groove and are looking for gold on Leg 2 of the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race.
There is a chasing pack of Translated 9, Maiden and Spirit of Helsinki. Not much separates them. Just 40 miles. I guess that the low flying bananas story had some people worried some about wasted fruit, so maybe the crew on Spirit of Helsinki can chuck some pickled herring. I love pickled herring, especially after a sauna and a bit of whipping (read my earlier post… ).
Evrika and Gialaina WithSecure with my mate Tapio calling the shots, are also in a close race and both boats have the same southwesterly wind pulling them toward New Zealand. In a couple of days there will be a change in wind direction and it will switch from the south to the north, but still coming from up the chuff so the sailing will be good, albeit a little chilly and most definitely time to pull out the woolies and put on the hand knitted socks that you aunt made for you last Christmas. She knew what she was doing. My wife, Sally, is a knitter and she goes at it like a fiend every night while we are watching TV. That’s not a joke. The only problem is the cat who thinks that it’s a game.
Looks like Sterna have split the difference between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and are heading for, or may have already arrived in Mosselbaai. Now this is a good decision. Mosselbaai is Afrikaans (which I am fluent in by the way) means Mussel Bay because they have the best mussels on the coast of Africa. Simmered in an onion and white wine sauce with a little curry powder added it’s just delicious. They might never go back out to sea again. But the world is round and they can always come back around to them. Jokes aside, we/I wish them a quick stop to fix the leak and then back out to do battle with the elements.
I don’t see too many potholes for the rest of the fleet. The tricky bit will be keeping north of the Kerguelen Islands which is a mark of the course. They are a remote spot that seems to have been dropped in the middle of nowhere. I will come back to them as the boats get closer but I have seen them and they are spectacular. It’s all part of the adventure that is the McIntyre Ocean Globe Race.
