96. Captain’s Log, star date 291019

Those of you following this blog will know that I have quoted our skipper, Ian Wiggin, once before (see blog 88: We’re a funny lot us sailors ….., published 13 October). Those of you following the “action” on the official website will know that one member of each crew blogs to the official website on a daily basis AND that each skipper blogs every day. For those who might have missed it, here is the UNICEF skipper’s blog from 29th October (Leg 2, Race 3, Day 6 – somewhere in the South Atlantic:

Good Morning,

‘It is another crisp and clear morning down here for us. Excitement is building for some stronger winds which are due later today. The smooth seas and gentle breeze of the past few days have been most pleasant but we are all now ready for what will hopefully be a wet and wild ride all the way to the finish (KW Editorial note: IT WAS!)

Yesterday during our rig check, we found that the cover on our old main halyard had snapped. We were able to lash the sail to the top of the mast and conduct our repairs without any drama or loss of speed. Big respect to the guys and girls who race single handed and have to conduct all repairs on their masts solo.

Personally I think there is something quite reassuring about having a team to help and look out for you. To show our team how cool and down with the times I am, I even took a virtual 360 – slow motion video of my face on the way down. I say virtual because I didn’t have a video camera. But, imagination doesn’t require any batteries and my “epic selfie face” still got me some respect from the millennials. From the top of the mast I was able to see a few small white dots on the horizon. UNICEF getting points at the scoring gate is looking unlikely at this point but we will keep pushing as hard as we can.

You may notice that I often tend to avoid discussing food. So please indulge me briefly. It was pointed out (KW Editorial note: NOT by me it wasn’t!) that my dinner was made by one of the (former) most senior ranking officers in the Royal Navy. Now who can say that 1. they have a Commodore on their team and 2. that they personally made them their gluten free pasta. “Come dine with me” eat your heart out!!

The food this trip is bittersweet …… not because the chefs are confusing the sugar with the salt but because our amazing victualled, and valued RTW crew member Angie was not able to join us on this leg. Having sailed 5500nm on Leg 1 sadly she took a slip in the shower ashore in Punta del Este on the first evening and injured her wrist. In spite of this, Angie helped us organise our provisions which is above and beyond anything that we could have asked. We are thinking of you, can’t wait for you to rejoin.

Here we go.

Ian and Mike.