0.0 knots boat speed
Caribbean 600 Race (Day 4) - Montserrat to Guadeloupe
The past 24 hours have been slow progress. 0 knots wind speed. 0 knots boat speed.
Ever the optimists, we saw this as the perfect opportunity to send Sam up the mast. Purportedly, this was to fix a loose baton in the main which had been scratching the mast as our sails flogged, but really it was just another excuse to get my drone out (don’t ask about the drone, I have PTSD from the experience).
Anyhow, Sam all but free-climbed the mast like a monkey, and on his way up noticed - surprise, surprise - another little issue.
Sam: “…the aluminium plate, there’s another plate here.”
Charles: “Yeah…?”
Sam: “Not attached.”
Charles: “That sounds horrendous.”
Sam: “It looks it.”
As luck would have it, the block that had separated mostly from the mast was the block which Sam was currently reliant upon. Let’s just say he was grateful to have a safety line attached!
Suffice to say we broke out the rum to recover.
After that, boredom crept in. But that sweet kind of boredom, where in that moment you have nowhere else in the world that you’d rather be. We filled the hours with snoozing, grazing on a delicious cheese and cured meats board, and watching the world go by. Well, so to speak. Nothing moved.
Power consumption has become a major concern. The main sail being up impacts our solar panels, and therefore our ability to power the two most important instruments onboard: Starlink and the fridge. So we are considering taking the main down. In the meantime, the crew are occupying themselves with a spot of backgammon. Yes, really, that’s how flat it is.
Being a serious racing machine with laser sharp focus, we have now set our sights on smashing a course record… for the longest elapsed time to complete the Caribbean 600. The current record stands at around 5 days 4 hours. And at 0 knots, we think we’re in with a shot! So watch this space.
Charles has 90 days worth of dehydrated meals onboard left over from Cape to Rio which we are determined to sample, so it really is in our best interests to drift for a little longer.
But for now, the watch of squalls is back! The universe sensed that Sam was about to take the helm and promptly soaked him. Really, Sam, try using some soap next time you shower. Or don’t, because we need squalls to get the boat moving. No wait, please do use soap, we can’t afford to keep the boat moving, we have a course record to beat!
This morning I awoke to an all hands call from James. Despite the 0 knots, the whole crew was on deck within seconds with lifejackets. Cue much laughter. Hilarious. Clearly we are well drilled after the toe-rail incident on the first night.
We just had a crew vote on whether or not to retire. Our routing has us arriving in two to three days, missing the party. The skipper abstained. Crew voted 5-1 to keep racing. Sorry Richard, didn’t you hear? We’re a serious fucking race boat.