Sunday, October 26, 2008

Update from onboard: VOR


Some dental work on a crew member.

GREEN DRAGON:
“It has been a tricky 36 hours on the Green Dragon as we have watched some of the boats chip away at our lead and pass us to windward. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that it is day 15 and we are in sight of Puma and Ericsson 4 fighting for the lead. Now the wind has dropped and freed up a bit and we are no longer in ‘stability reaching’ conditions, we can feel a bit more confident about our speed. Having said that we are still learning the boat and the sail combination’s and we know we can and will do a better job. We are collecting data all the time and using it to get faster.
Ahead of us now is a day or two of light air before the leaders pick up a cold front. This looks like being a significant feature, which will literally launch us across the South Atlantic. It will be a rough ride and we have started preparing the boat for it and will rest up the crew. Everyone is getting on fine although Anthony (Youngster) incurred the wrath of Justin when he was called from his bunk for a sail change - he leapt up naked and threw on the first pair of shorts he could find - these were of course Justin’s. No pants is one thing but rushing upon the bow to help he got completely hosed from head to foot before returning the shorts to Justin - thanks mate! You have to watch the Aussies!”

Green Dragon Skipper, Ian Walker