DAY 8: Which Yacht Will Claim Half-Way Point Bragging Rights?

This blog also contained a Fruit Flash! The crew are testing bags that preserve fruit and veg. The experiment wasn’t going as well as expected, however it seems some produce fares better than others. Read all about it here: Long Voyage Fruit and Veg preservation Experiment.

In this blog the half-way point is on the horizon and the FCS crew on Challenger 4 decide on their fancy-dress outfits while they keep half an eye on their rivals on Challenger 3 who are not far behind.

Sunday December 2nd

Saturday evening’s sunset was a Technicolour wonder, especially as it had been overcast all day. As usual a small crowd gathered on deck to admire the brief tropical dusk before darkness swiftly ensued.

A sultry Saturday night’s ‘Dog Watches’ were enlivened by first a cry of ‘Flyng Fish alert’ as a large one landed without permission on the port deck, only to be promptly returned to the deep by Jim leaving only a distinctly fishy aroma behind.

Later, Marsh truly became larger than life when his lifejacket unexpectedly deployed! Apparently he ‘didn’t do it’ so conspiracy theories as to the cause/perpetrator are rife and a fiddly repacking job was required.

As skies cleared later in the night (dark later each day due our westwards sun-time creep with a waning moon) folks on deck were able to enjoy another spectacular star-spangled skyscape.

However our reveries were interrupted by the need to put in a night-time gybe onto starboard with all the associated headtorch-lit sail and pole change sequence that involves. All went smoothly, reflecting the increasing levels of familiarity, careful confidence and teamwork.

Fancy Dress From a Tiny Clothing Allowance

Having covered over 1300Nm we are now rapidly approaching the significant halfway point of our ARC2018 race, and so are busy planning what to wear for the traditional fancy dress party celebrations, which will be delayed until Monday when lighter winds are expected.

We are continuing to make better than expected progress due to moderate ENE trade winds but are conscious that Challenger 3 continue to eat into our once-commanding lead – latest update puts us 40Nm ahead.

Marsh and Wendy are suffering from the second Sunday without watching their beloved NFL teams, the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively. However, both have managed to include some team kit in their (tiny) clothing allowance so they will be representing appropriately.

In Marsh’s case, the suffering is made double because, unfortunately, the provisioning for Challenger 4 does not appear to include Buffalo chicken wings and beer…

Simon and Wendy

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Posted by: First Class Sailing