and so the zigzags begin... Crossing the north sea in a square rig ship heading for Hartlepool, which is in the exact direction from which the wind is coming, calls for some nifty manoeuvres. Since racing off the startline, we have worn the ship twice (ie turned her stern through the wind, which helps when bracing the yards with only two out of the four watches). We know we will be masters of this activity by the end of the voyage (our illustrious watchleader Chris calls it an evolution, we may call it revolution soon!).
The sun is shining and Tenacious is looking gorgeous with every sail up even the one that no-one can remember the name of. The North sea is looking more like the Med than expected which is good because we'll be here for a long time, having travelled 70 plus miles to do 14 towards Hartlepool. Our estimated time of arrival at this rate is January 2013, so we'll be in time for the London Olympics.
We are currently standing 8th in our class and 41st overall so need to keep up the good work if we want to be on the podium at the end of the race, but Captain Simon and the rest of the officers are keeping a keen eye on the faster vessels and have a few tactics up their sleeves for later.
The food is lovely as always, but all this rope-pulling helps to work off Graham's lovely buns.
Forward Starboard Watch (Chris, Kris, Emma, Fiona, Tina, Helen, Dan, Geoff, Robin, Clive).