After leaving a rather wet Bergen, we motored out of the fjord to the starting co-ordinates, however due to a lack of wind the race was postponed, so started at 9 pm compared to the planned time of 7 pm. At the start of the race all hands (apart from those already feeling sea sick!) were on deck to ensure sails were hoisted in the correct places and to see the other ships over the start line.
After passing over the start line in 2nd we quickly lost our impressive place to many other vessels due to the low wind speed of around 3 Knots. However this disappointment was quickly replaced by many gathering out on deck to watch the sunset, which was spectacular.
After this I went to bed as our watch began at 12 am to 4am- so a bit of struggle to get up especially when those coming off watch told us how cold it was outside! Although out on the bridge it was freezing it was also magical with lots of shooting stars and the silhouettes of other boats. Upon leaving watch we were travelling 7 Knots and on a rough bearing of 230 (I think!)
This morning getting up was a struggle, and with several people feeling unwell with sea sickness and the boat rolling from side to side it was really unappealing to get out of bed! However we had a lovely breakfast and promptly started Happy Hour duties!
After this we had smoko, and then off to muster stations for an emergency drill. We have just been given an update from the captain and we are running 16th out of 19th in our class and _31st_ overall. The northerly weather front has stayed in roughly the same position with many boats taking a more northerly course, however we have remained along the original planned route hopefully meeting the waypoint 10 miles off Aberdeen tomorrow evening.
Update By: Abi Higgins Aft Port Watch