12:26 AM Fri 6 Mar 2009 GMT
Latest news from onboard Puma as they head to Rio on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
PUMA Leg Five Day 20 QFB: received 05.03.09 0353 GMT (2)
Close but no cigar! Not literally, because we still have a few left over from Micky's (Michael Mueller/GER) baby shower...but figuratively.
After nearly 6000 miles of sailing the scoring gate was decided while going through a weather ridge about 500 miles from the scoring gate. Essentially Ericsson 4, Ericsson 3 and ourselves were lined up about one mile from each other ready for action. We took the leeward side expecting a large header. The breeze did head, but after a cloud literally came in and took Ericsson 4 away over the horizon in front of us. Ericsson 3 was next, off to about a two mile lead. Then il Mostro.
What ensued was a high speed port tack very wet reach, which had pretty much nothing in it. When we finally bailed out and started for the ice gate still 10 miles or so away from the scoring gate it was Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3 who held on to nip us by almost exactly the amount they nudged us by at the ridge. A frustrating third, but I have said before and will say again - not for lack of trying. The boys aboard are in great spirits and we have preached a short memory. Time to concentrate on winning the gate at Cape Horn.
One thing that ceases to amaze me out here is the quickness of climate change. It seems like it went from sweating hot to four layer cold in about a day. Literally a day. We have a bit of a reprieve now, but we are in for an upwind slog for a couple days before we can get to some quick reaching to take us to the first ice gate. From there on it is anyone's guess.
Except for a few new cases of the 'throw up and pooping flu', all is well aboard. The bug has almost knocked off all of us by now. Slowly and painfully. Capey (Andrew Cape) and Justin (Justin Ferris) have been the latest victims. But studs that they are, they have not missed a watch or a weather download analysed. Very impressive because, to be honest, they both looked like crap. Both have turned the corner though. And since I share a bunk with Capey I can say that my time is probably right around the corner. I am hoovering vitamins and water to try and ward it off, as well as sleeping with my jacket as a pillow and not our regular camping pillow - one of life's little luxuries aboard the yacht. Really hope I can keep this illness at bay.
One funny thing...Jerry Kirby and I live in the northeast US in Newport, RI. Our friends and family emails to the boat routinely are full of phrases like 'it is so miserable here because we have a foot of snow' and, 'you aren't missing out on anything by not being here because the weather sucks...' You get the drift. He and I always get a chuckle when we get these notes. And we are sure that everyone has the best intentions, kind of like trying to share in weather misery with us. But to her credit my wife Kathy finally caught herself today and said something like... 'would like to complain about the weather etc but I realise you have been on a gutted out race boat with 11 guys for 20 days now and I don't think I have a leg to stand on'...
How true. So to all back home - for us - cosy up in front of the fire after taking a hot shower and have a glass of Shiraz - with a nice thick steak. I am pretty sure that was the dream I had last off watch anyway. All is well on il Mostro and the more miserable it is, will only make the wine and steak taste all the better in Rio.
Kenny Read - skipper
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PUMA LEG FIVE DAY 20 QFB: received 05.03.09 0903 GMT
We're getting a bit of a reprieve today. This race seems to be a constant cycle of getting the snot beaten out of you for an unspecified number of days followed by a couple of days to clean yourself up, lick your wounds and prepare as best you can for the next ass-wuppin: because it's coming.
When it's game on, things start to fall apart pretty quickly and it's the galley that seems to get it the worst. It's up forward on our boat, so when the boat jumps off a wave there is a multiplying factor to the amount of movement up there ... think of a see-saw and the amount of movement between the seat at the end and the seat nearest the pivot point..... Add to this the fact that you don't see the waves coming and therefore have no chance to brace for the impact. As well as the potential for a huge mess, it's also quite dangerous. Add the final ingredient - food - and bingo; you now have a recipe for disaster... no pun intended.
It starts slowly with the odd little spill here and there - it's impossible not to. Usually the guys are pretty conscientious about clean up, but its dark and you're bouncing around so maybe a 90% job, and the grime slowly starts to build. Then it happens ... a big spill, let's say a half bowl of greasy beef and noodles straight in the bilge..... You're on hands and knees doing the best you can to collect everything up, but the grease is starting to spread, a call for some help up on deck. While you're away, someone unknowingly steps in the area of the spill..... And then before you know it, the galley has reached a tipping point beyond which there is no coming back until the weather eases up. Imagine little incidents like this happening over and over and you start to get the idea. After two or three days of tough weather the galley can start to look like a major environmental disaster area. Noodles stuck in every corner of the bilge, a thin layer of grease on every hand hold, the trash bag overflowing. There's no paper towel until tomorrow and you still can't find the spray-n-wipe.
But not today! The whole galley area has had a major going over and is positively sparkling; everything is squeaky clean as they say. The ever-vigilant Rob Salthouse gave it the whole soap-down this morning and I came in this afternoon and did the disinfectant treatment. Rob also gave our failing stove a full service. We haven't had any problems with it yet, but a little preventative maintenance never hurts. Imagine a stove failure during our next heavy air upwind session ...... coming soon. The whole thing is now held together securely with steel wire and should see us to Rio.
Rick Deppe MCM
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