As race end approaches it is becoming more difficult to sleep in the 'off watch'. All minds are focused on the race and keeping the nautical miles smoothly slipping beneath our keel.
Kat (one of my crew mates on Starboard watch) has generously offered to swap 'mother duties' with me for today. The reason I had asked for this is I didn't want to spend the last day of the race in the 'galley'. It would have been a shame to come all this way, and had been washing up as we entered Rio! I'm sure I would have been on deck with everyone else, but I really wanted to be 'sailing' the boat that day and have the opportunity to take 'Welcome to Yorkshire' across the line. Kat being a generous soul offered me this as she will be going on to Leg 2 and 3, so will be seeing a further two race finishes.
During our daily crew meeting, an 'eagle-eyed' crew member spotted a 'fin' poking out of the water about a mile off our starboard beam. It was the unmistakeable fluke of a whale! Almost waving at the boat! The long white fin waved about as it slapped the water (clear behaviour of the Humpback whale). As time went on we spotted a further three Humpbacks in the 'pod'!
The final sighting of the group was that of a huge tail rising into the air, as the giant mammal slipped beneath the surface to begin a huge dive into the deep blue depths!
Regrettably I could not take any photos as my little Fuji-film could not focus on such a range, and the wobbly film I took does not do the event any justice!
We are now sailing dead downwind, under our huge lightweight Spinnaker sail! The hoist went well, and again Jim (our watch leader) ensured I was in the midst of all the action on the bow. Great fun, and very satisfying to see this 'tennis court' sized sail take off into the air over our bow!
Now the really tiring bit will start as we must concentrate on keeping it flying all the way to our next waypoint (a headland called Cabo Sao Tome), which is currently just over 200 nautical miles away. Sounds far, but that is not a long distance in a 68ft ocean racing yacht travelling at 10-12 knots!
The major perk of being on Mother Watch is that you come off the normal 'watch rota'. So once the crew are fed and watered, you have free time. As well as organising your kit and bunk for the next few days, it is also a great chance to catch up on sleep. So tonight I will have a good solid 8-9 hours of kip! Need to make sure the 'batteries' are fully recharged, ready for the last 48 hours of the race! COME ON ‘WELCOME TO YORKSHIRE’!!!!
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