Day 4- pre race start

It has been incredibly hot so far since setting off. We left subic at midday, paraded out and then we were off, but strangely not racing! MOB drill completed we started the unofficial race up the coast of Luzon, around 250 miles until the start line.

It’s always a strange feeling leaving port- anticipation of the leg, excitement, nerves and sadness at leaving friends and loved ones behind. Normally you then get to concentrate on racing and getting the best out of the boat, but we still four days to get to the start, so it’s a strange feeling. It’s so hot it’s hard to be motivated, my watch are suffering too, everyone is very quiet – several night watched passed with minimal conversation and there’s not much urgency shown when asked to complete a task or trim a sail.

Order of the day was skills and drills- it’s tough in the heat- taking down, flaking the Y1 and then hoisting the Y2 really took it out of us on day 2 and to add insult to injury I also managed to lose my new visor in the process which was disappointing! Now resorted to wearing the fisherwoman’s hat!

Yesterday (day 3) was mother day with Kaz in the “we aim to please cafe”.

Started off ok- boat fairly flat and little wind. Burgers for lunch, they always go down a treat! By the afternoon we had some reasonable wind, finally managing to cool the boat down. After a beautiful burning red sunset Bob fell over the side again, least reliable crew member that he is, and a swift MOB recovery drill occurred- this somewhat delayed the start of dinner prep, so the pasta putenesca was somewhat “al dente”

Had an excellent rest overnight, it’s amazing how a good chunk of sleep (and a slightly cooler boat) can really improve your mood! Just had a full body soap and water washdown in the sail locker with a cup full of fresh water so now I’m really feeling human again!

Now for some Netflix and chill until the boat heats up too much to lie in my own puddle of sweat!