Phil writes in 15:00 UTC
“I’ve just come off shift from the most insane two hours of helming! Literally, 38 knot squalls using our big reacher (sail)… the boat is on fire! I’m relieved to see that despite being on a less competitive at ‘reaching’ boat, we are moving up the rankings.”
So how are they achieving the impossible?
“We have a secret weapon on board. The large reaching sail we are currently flying was re-developed and optimised specifically for this race, and for precisely these strong winds. So, currently, in these conditions we are reaching top speeds and maximising the boats potential.”
What’s gone wrong so far?
“On board we’ve had a few problems. Firstly the spinnaker pole flew off, which we have now retrieved and reassembled, and secondly (would you believe it?!) after considerable time preparing the electronics before the race we’ve already had an issue. The wind vane malfunctioned so we were left unable to receive any wind data! Luckily our blindness was short-lived as we have rigged up the emergency spare – phew.”
