Postcard from Wouter and the Hugo Boss

And so we opened up the package of ham for lunch time…We were still a bit skeptical. A little smell test later, and it was confirmed; nothing wrong with the ham! Perfect, we dug into it, and had a delicious lunch. Good thing we kept the package for more than 90 days! We don’t have a lot of luxuries on board, and this one definitely made our day!  

Otherwise, winds have been very light over night, and we are very much looking forward to the forecasted increasing winds later today. A big bonus is that the seas are flat, and so when the wind comes we will be able to make good progress. Ticking of the miles north and climbing the latitude ladder, we certainly notice that we are back in the northern hemisphere and that  this part of the world is only just starting to warm up after winter. Although we are relatively still far south, the fleeces are out again for the night. Our expectations were to be able to sail in shorts and T-shirts from the equator to the finish, but it looks like we will have to adjust our clothing program and find our hats again.

Before the finish and the return to crewed racing, we are also keen to enjoy the opportunity to do lots of trimming and helming. When we will join our maxi programs later, we will be back into more specialized roles, with less opportunity to do so. The boat is a dream to tweek and tune, and even though it is 18 meters long responds like a high performance dinghy. Get the balance between the keel, daggerboard, mast, jib and main wrong, and you are easily a knot under targets. Get it all set up correctly, and she needs almost no steering and drives herself. Perfect!

Yes, we can’t wait to get to the finish, but we are really enjoying the sailing. Warm and well fed, and with sleeping conditions near perfect, the cold and miserable conditions of the Southern Ocean are but a faint memory and we are counting ourselves lucky to be racing this unique race. Can’t wait to do the next one, and so already thinking about the million pieces that needs to be put in place for that. First piece: spend some good quality time with my family and friends!