cape Breton Island Crew Diary - jan Ridd

3:51 PM Tue 27 Apr 2010 GMT

'Cape Breton Island is back in the Pacific' Clipper Ventures PLC &copy Click Here to view large photo

It seems a very long time ago that we all set off from Hull on the race start heading south first of all to La Rochelle and then onto Rio. Well here we are again 18 hours out of San Francisco heading south along the coast of California toward Panama, for me it feels as if we have turned a corner in our trip round the world and it feels as if we started to head home!

For the Cape Breton Island Crew we enjoyed an extended stopover in San Francisco, which was very welcome, but also caused some problems as well. After completing the longest leg of the race and facing extreme sailing conditions in the middle of the pacific everyone was looking forward to some well earned rest and relaxation, myself more than most as my sister and family had flown out with my girlfriend Kirsty to visit. We were in San Francisco for three weeks and we all enjoyed our stay there but the problem with a prolonged stopover, apart from the damage to ones overstretched bank account is that you get out of tune with life on board the yacht and forget all but the most basic sailing skills! It was with much trepidation that we lined up for the start as I knew the forecast had predicted winds up to 40 knots overnight and there we be no honeymoon period for the crew especially the new crew joining; they would have to find their sea legs and get used to life aboard the big blue canoe very quickly. In many ways I felt as if we were starting all over again!

I am very glad to say that the amazing crew of the big blue canoe rose to the challenge and have sailed the yacht very professionally and the new crew joining have hit the deck running at full speed but not one of them has even faltered. Whereas on the first leg of this race I was constantly popping up on deck to check on every unusual noise, or sudden course change, this even became a running joke and each watch was measured on how many "Meer Kats" they suffered.?
So far on this leg the crew have sailed the yacht in some very difficult seas with no input from myself, I even managed several hours of sleep in the middle of the boat surfing down 5m waves at 20+ knots and I never felt the need to pop my head on deck for a "Meer Kat" moment, such a difference from the first leg.

For all the crews once we transit the Panama Canal, one cannot help but feel a sense of coming home. Once we start racing again on the Atlantic side of the canal the rest of the race should fly by as we have short races and short stopovers, before we know it we will be heading up to Hull for the finish of this great adventure.

But there is a long way to go and a lot of points to be won!

Cape Breton Island standing by.

by Jan Ridd

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cape Breton Island Crew Diary - jan Ridd

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