Friday December 10 2010
Last blog of the trip from the sea, and we’re nearly there: it’s 5pm on a sweltering day and we’re coming up to 100 miles from the finish line! At last! Though we all know the last few miles are likely to be the longest and potentially some of the trickiest. This is because we may go through a calm patch in the interim and rounding the northern part of the island into Rodney Bay we’ll encounter some pretty rough water. Bring it on!
On the racing side, we’re still doing well. We have the title wrapped up in our racing division (we lead by 15 hours) but the overall racing class title is still up for grabs. We are 10 hours ahead of our closest rival, a Happy Morning, but they are 400 miles behind us so still have an opportunity to make up that time in the run-in. It will all depend on their run-in, the wind conditions and how they deal with them. It could be a couple of days on tenterhooks waiting, but saying that winning would only be a bonus for me, it wasn’t the main driver in doing this so if we do great, if we don’t well no worries. My main challenge has been to get through this without breaking anything and with 12 hours to go we’re looking good on that front!!
I’m knackered and really am looking forward to getting off Lancelot, but saying that there are elements I will miss. I have just been on the helm for the last hour or so realizing it would be the last time in daylight and it sort of hits home. This trip has all been about extremes, either incredibly good or incredibly bad. I guess I should have expected that crossing an ocean in what is a tiny yacht with seven strangers. I think I may need a holiday to recover from this and unfortunately my plans to have a week to recuperate in St Lucia have been dealt a blow by our long crossing. I had rented a villa to share with people off the boat, and one has decided to opt for a hotel for all the creature comforts (but thankfully she will still pay her share…) and I’m waiting to see if Lia will share with me or if I will have this luxury pad to myself. In any case, I am in a quandary: I’d like to do nothing for three days before flying on Tuesday but then again I would like to explore St Lucia a bit. I will endeavour to do the latter as god knows if and when I will be back.
More from dry land and an internet connection…
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