Musandam passes halfway mark of Record Attempt

12:38 PM Wed 11 Feb 2009 GMT

'Mohsin and Loik on watch' Oman Sail

Arguably, this is what they ultimately went in search of. The ride may be bumpy, comfort may seem nothing but a very distant memory, yet roaming the hostile latitudes of the Pacific Ocean is a rare privilege, making for memories that are bound to last for a lifetime.

Down there, it's only them, the waves, the albatrosses and maybe a few blocks of drifting ice they'll carefully stay clear of!

Ahead of the 80-day pace boat by almost a week, Mohsin and Musandam are pursuing her non-stop circumnavigation attempt in very convincing fashion: less than 150 people throughout history have managed to sail around the planet aboard a multihull without stopping, which gives a good indication of the difficulty of the challenge. For Mohsin, who despite having accumulated a considerable amount of ocean miles in the past year is still relatively new to sailing, the aim is to become the first Arab sailor to complete such a journey - undoubtedly a life-changing experience, and a fantastic source of inspiration for everyone in the Sultanate of Oman and beyond.

Lets take a look at the last week.

Day 29 - 5 February

Hooch gets ready for his watch - in the cramped conditions onboard - Oman Sail

Back in the Western hemisphere, the crew is still set on GMT hours and the difference between night and day - not to mention the notion of date - becomes increasingly blurry. As the 'Musandam Chronicle' permanent onboard correspondent Charlie Darbyshire, reported, 'it was dark and people were asleep so no major celebration onboard. Once day broke and to celebrate being in the same half of the world as his Mum and Girlfriend, Hooch decided it was the right time to open a gift package from them, to say he was happy would be an understatement. He couldn't stop smiling for the best part of a 3 hour watch and every 5 minutes he would turn to me and say 'and there was milky bar buttons' or 'and there was haribo' what ever else was running though his mind.' A welcome heart warmer in an otherwise grey and wet day, with heavy rain but good boat speed on the menu.

Day 30 - 6 February
With over 9000 miles covered since the start and 12,500 miles distance to finish, Musandam has to cope with very unpleasant sea conditions which take their toll on the men, but also on speed as gear preservation becomes a constant preoccupation. Nevertheless, both Lo?k and Thierry, who have been key players in the French high-octane trimaran Grand Prix scene for years, manage to make the most of the situation. sometimes to their crew mates' dismay: 'The motion down below is quite unreal, especially when Loik or Theirry have the helm. They nail it down the face of the wave during which time there is speed wobble sort of side to side wobble, then as we bottom out and go up the next wave the boat slows and you move forward and left as the boat is headed up to gather speed for the next wave. The longer the wave length the longer each cycle of events takes, in current short seas it's madly short, and it makes life down below, sleeping, pouring water into a meal, a cup, or typing on the computer a real challenge. I now seem to be able to sleep with one hand on the side of the bunk to hold myself in', explained Charlie in an email.

Day 31 - 7 February
Weekend? What weekend? It might have been a quiet Sunday for us back in Europe, there was no rest for the men aboard Oman's flagship racer, as the watch system completely ignores days off. No long breakfast, no daydreaming by the fireplace, no newspaper session! Instead, the team could start to get ready for an anticipated rough week, with strong winds forecast by Commanders Weather. Furthermore, the first iceberg has been reported at 53 S / 140W and 56 S / 141W approximately 500 miles south of Musandams Latitude (44 S), so vigilance is clearly required. But more than ice cubes, the crew closely monitors a very active low pressure system, as Charlie points out: '{It shows} well on one model to our north and heading in our direction quickly, in the other computer forecast we use it's not so well shown so planning for it is not so easy. We have decided to work on the principle that it's there and it's going to cross ahead of our path and if it does we will see some strong winds for 12-18 hours on Monday. But that's a lot better than being ahead of it where winds will be very strong and sea conditions very rough, If we believe we are going too quickly and there is a risk of our getting ahead of it's path, we will slow down to ensure it passes ahead of us. After that the weather looks more predictable, with good winds taking us well to the east until it's time to head south east for our approach to Cape Horn'.

www.omansail.com/

by Oman Sail media

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