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From the yacht Adventure - 28 December 2006

From the yacht Adventure - 28 December 2006
RSHYR 2006 entrant

From the yacht Adventure - 28 December 2006

The Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is notorious throughout the world and being on a yacht that has sailed half way around the world to get to Sydney for this prestigious race adds a certain element of pride.  Over 40 people have crewed Adventure to Australia and they are all a major part of this exciting round the world expedition, as well as those who will take it the rest of the way back to England, including crossing the Southern Ocean.

Adventure is a 50 tonne steel hulled yacht designed for maximum team work, which translated means maximum physical exertion for the crew!  The Royal Corps of Signals team trained hard from Perth to Sydney and encountered over 50 knot winds going through the Bass Straight so we were prepared for what the race would throw at us.  The stong Southerly winds to date have suited us well, but the dread of the high pressure pushing up and no wind are never far from our minds.  Anything below 10 knots of wind speed is agonising for the crew and it takes immense patience and skill to keep a 50 tonne yacht driving through the waves.

I have been one of the helms during the race and feeling her easily glide over the large swell that has been kicked up by the Southerly low is a satisfying feeling.  However there have been a number of waves that even our steel 67ft yacht has fallen off with a loud bang that has certainly shaken all below, and thrown an unsuspecting crew member on the heads into the air!  It is during these times that we think of the smaller yachts in the race and the effect that the swell is having on them.

The past 24 hrs have been more settled and with fewer sail changes, the crew have dried out and got some sleep. We have the Genoa and full main up and are charging across Bass Straight with a small current with us.  After the events of the past few days,  morale is now increasing again and ailments are slowly recovering.  The Northerners in the crew did the meal plan, so pie, mash and peas was on the menu last night which certainly made morale go sky high for a few of the crew!  The press were certainly fascinated with the difference between our meal plan and the dried food on Scandia!  With a large fresh melon hovering over my head as I type, I feel that we don’t have it too tough in this sense!

As Adventure gets closer to Tasmania, we are planning our tactics around the coast and up the Derwent River.  The race has thrown a number of different challenges at us but there is no time for complacency as there is still a lot of the race to go!

Rachel Thompson
Adventure
www.mercurychallenge.mod.uk