Update from Hugo Boss

“So you reckon it is the dog walker?”

Midnight watch change handover, and we are talking about the latest clothing advise.

“Well, the bear suite jacket has been doing well, until I got drenched not long ago.”

With water temperatures down and the wind picking up, I am not about to take any chances. It will have to be the dog walker – the foul weather zip up jacket, useless for any work forward of the cockpit, and more suitable for walking your dog. Also the hat is out again; within a day temperatures have plummeted and there certainly is a bit of a chill to the air.

Of course it is all due to the water temperature taking a fall as we have now entered the flow of the coastal upwelling along the Spanish and Portugese coast, where cold water from the bottom of the ocean gets pumped to the surface. Great for fishing as it brings lots of nutrition with it, but bad for the shorts and T-shirts type sailingwe have been enjoying for the last few weeks. However, there is not a word of complaint to be heard here on HUGO BOSS as the wind is good, and we are pointing almost directly at the mark. Under a thousand miles to go to the Gibraltar Strait. On the big chart with our round the world track it is just a tiny bit.

The wind and wave conditions are rather changeable, so we are working hard to keep in tune with them. Hand steer, check the balance, adjust the trim, drive for 1.5  hours, have a bit of a break, trim and drive for another hour, wake up Andy and that’s another watch closer to Gibraltar. It is all beautiful sailing, with the boat in perfect balance, such a cool racing machine!

Wouter