1:50 PM Sun 21 Feb 2010 GMT
Cape Breton Island - Rhymes, Pirates and a Fulmar - by David Kay - 12th Febraury
"When the North wind doth blow, so we shall have snow." So goes the old rhyme or ditty. I don't remember the rest, the significance here? Well, this leg of the race, from Singapore to Qingdao, is supposed to be pretty unpleasant, with very strong winds from the north on the nose and very cold temperatures. In addition, and because of the relatively shallow water as we approach Qingdao, the waves will be very short and steep, which means the bow will be crashing down almost constantly, making for a very unpleasant ride. When the fleet departed Qingdao on the last race there was snow on the decks.
What is strange is that many of those on board the Big Blue Canoe have got in to a mindset that says it should be cold now - even though we are only around 16 degrees latitude north of the equator. From the steamy heat of Singapore we are heading for temperatures of well below zero. Yet as this is being written it's a beautiful, hot day with not much cloud. I think the BBC shipping forecast would describe the sea state as slight. So when will the nasty stuff arrive? Maybe in a few days. But for each day we continue to enjoy good weather, albeit with lighter winds, so it means we should have one day less of the nasty stuff before we arrive in temperatures of around - six degrees.
Pirates.
Prior to the start of each race leg, there is a crew briefing, where we are given information relating to the forthcoming race, as e.g. the order in which we leave the marina, where the race start will be and so on. Also included in the briefing are any possible hazards or things to be particularly aware of. At both the Geraldton briefing and, more recently, when preparing for the Singapore to China leg, we were given warnings about pirates and what to do if encountered. They will neither look, nor be dressed like, Jonny Depp. No cutlass between the teeth or parrot on the shoulder. Rather, if they were to appear, it would more likely be in a small fishing boat. They wouldn't want to harm us; just take a few goodies, cigs, money etc. It would be a sort of soft mugging. We'll come back to pirates in a moment.
On the morning of the Singapore race start, we motored across to the start area, crossing a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). I can best describe this as a very large, two lane "motorway zone," where all the large vessels are obliged to travel in the same direction on a specific side of the zone. Small boats are not allowed into a TSS unless they have to cross it. In that event there are very strict guidelines and procedures as to how that is done. Singapore has, I am told, the second busiest shipping lanes in the world, after Dover. The Clipper fleet crossed the TSS under motor and in line astern prior to the race start in order that we would be clear of it and it would not be an issue, once the race got underway.
Due to the conditions at the start of the race, i.e. wind direction, all the boats had to make a number of tacks during the first couple of hours. As a result of an error or miscalculation on our boat, unbeknown to us, we strayed into the TSS - only briefly and by around one tenth of a mile, as we were readying to tack. Had we made our move a few minutes earlier, we would have stayed clear. We infringed the rules by entering the TSS and now carry an hours penalty. All we can do is try and be first boat in to Qingdao by a margin of one hour and one minute. That would be very satisfying.
Fulmar
Yesterday afternoon we were visited by a fulmar. I haven't a clue what a Fulmar looks like, but was told what it was by a fellow crew member, who shall remain nameless, but whose legendary bar bill - ran up in the Nongsa Point resort on the island of Batam, - apparently almost doubled Indonesia's GDP in the week we were there.
Now a fulmar is not one of the best looking birds you are ever going to see. But what a mover! About the size of a large seagull as seen in the UK, but with a sausage shaped body and a wing-span of about three feet. It's another of those effortless flyers we have encountered on our journey. Just like the albatross, it soars and wheels over the ocean, changing speed and direction, seemingly at will. It would shoot past the boat downwind and then turn and hover almost motionless, just its head constantly moving as it scanned the water for lunch. Once locked onto the target, its wings would fold in and it would go into a steep dive towards the surface and lunch. Most of these attempts at lunch-on-the-go ended in failure. I don't know what its success rate is, but it put on a spectacular show for us, and for that, I thank it.
by David Kay
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Macquarie Island, TAS
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