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Positions
173 27.01N 16.18W
Skardu Log Day #1 (22nd November 2004):
Well, our first day was full of fits and starts. After a hectic morning checking out of port, we were
still awaiting the 11th hour appearance of our elusive 4th crew member: sadly he was "lost in
transit" enroute from Chicago, so we are only 3. At 11.30, we enacted a much anticipated
pre-Atlantic ritual... head-shaving for all the Skardu crew on the dockside. The result: the GQ
boys have transformed into a cross between a boatload of convicts and white-headed Buddhist
monks, but it will make life onboard a lot easier!
A half hour before the start it was time for us to leave. We exited the marina as the Racing
Division starting gun fired, and rushed to the line, but it became an inauspicious start: as the wind
died, we were clocking a whopping 0.00 knots & it ended up taking us another 40 minutes to
cross it! However, over a 3 week crossing, 40 mins will be a drop in the ocean. As the wind
died even further, we were becalmed again, and registered -0.6 knots in a head current! At this
rate, we'd be getting to St.Lucia via the Pacific!
As the larger boats and the rest of the fleet moved ahead (were most of them motoring to find
more wind?), we finally found our wind a few hours later. We hoisted the spinnaker, and as the
moon rose over a wonderfully calm sea, we were joined by a pod of over 15 dolphins for nearly
an hour. Conditions were light enough to allow us to eat on deck with the table out, and using real
china (no plastic camping plates tonight!) "Maria's chicken" cooked up by Mark seemed to go
down quite well.
Running at over 8knots with the spinnaker up in the moonlight, we were pushing the limits of the
sail so we dropped it and put up our full genoa again. After a fairly uneventful night, we excitedly
set our new fishing lines at day break for the first time. Let's see how long it takes to get a bite.
It's amazing how much all the boats have spread out already, but for much of last night, it looked
like most of the fleet were ahead of us (maybe they motored!). However, after hearing a few of
the other boats positions at our daily net radio call, we seem to be squarely in the middle of the
pack of our group (the smallest yachts in this race). Lunch beckons... until tomorrow.
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