Sec Hayai's Global Ocean Race Blog

Yesterday midday/afternoon we thought  to pick up the good westerly breeze but we  did not. All weather files annouced  westerly wind from about 20 knots  but we had 5 knots headwinds!

After six hours struggling to get south, we eventually succeeed and we find enormous grey seas and wind coming from everywhere!  In one minute  the wind went from 5 kts to a steady 22 kts!  A really strange experience ! 

Now we are sailing downwind again and making sure we let the next depression  pass ahead of us!

I predict that we’ll have the next couple off days with stable breezeabout  20 - 25 kts !  so we can make progress !

Unfortunately, we’ve blown up our A6 gennaker this afternoon. We just switched the

A2 for the A6 because of the increasing wind.  It was beginning to blow over 22 knots when we decided to make the change, but a gust of 25-26 knots hit the boat and she was overpowered, turning up into the wind, then the gennaker exploded quickly only on the second flap in the wind.

We took the pieces of it down and are sailing now with the Solent.  We were sad, but not for long; the race isn’t over yet.

Now at 23.33 UTC  it’s blowing 30-35 knots  and the sea is beginning to build up.

Yesterday we were beating into the waves and the wind, so not much pleasure, but things are better now! We are reaching with about 65 degrees AWA to the east.

Much more comfortable then yesterday. We need the wind to shift a bit more to put the gennaker up, but speeds are growing on Sec Hayai and with the forecast that these conditions will stay a while, we are happy as we can start our race to the scoring gate and beyond . The forecasts say we have these conditions until Friday?  Let’s hope!

Photo of Nico making some reef lines for easy reefing the main.

Nothing to worry about, no complaints right now!

On Hayai is everything is OK. We found our speeds and we had a nice day of hard sailing.

Now the wind will drop a bit and it will be back after Monday. We’ll try to avoid the worst of the two coming depression and if when they’re gone, we’ll be back on  course to Les Sables again.

We’ve practised our MOB drills this afternoon. Not for real, but we pushed the button of the NKE instruments and then go through and discuss the drill.

It’s always good to practice these things….you never know what might happen….

Looking out for fresh breeze   and sailing upwind in the Atlantic Ocean.  Another day, calm and quiet on Hayai. No much to do, cleaning a little, fixing some ropes and make some small sail repairs.

We’re already thinking and calculating our route after the windless zone.

What a day Thursday was! It was extremely hot, so we did less, there is also less to do, every job is done, we waiting and waiting for some wind. We slowy go east in the direction of France , so why are we complaining ? We live a good life, Nico smoked a cigar on deck while I was cooking dinner of Asian chicken with spices, rice and nuts. I fill added fresh paprika and an onion, a dilicious meal!

So we went in another dark night, but there was some moon, which I think has finally returned from holiday.

We passed another container ship and there seems to be at every watch a minimum of one ship to see! So we are not alone here!

I don’t even know what day of the week it is as we’re now completely reliant on the position schedules.

It’s been a good day so far and we picked up some stable, ten-knot breeze, but where it has come from we have no idea as it doesn’t appear on the GRIB files and we are jumping from cloud to cloud to make the most of it. This seems to be working as we’re polling the best averages in the fleet.

Navigation has become a real gamble right now. Should we go right, left, or keep gpoing straight? For now, we’re going to stick with the benefits of the Gulf Stream and keep in the current, so we’ve tacked north, but I don’t know yet how long we’ll stick with it.

In the maintime we had a visitor from land. A small bird landed on board and sat in the cockpit, but she left after an hour and didn’t even stick around for lunch!

Today was very calm and three times we were caught in a windless zone! Very irritating if you are in a race, but we see on the tracker that every was slowing down!

Last night we tacked away from Phesheya and we lost sight of her, but just a hour ago we see them on the horizon and we’ll try to get closer!

As the sea was calm I made my first mast climb on the Atlantic! I had to repair the solent - it was a hell of a job but i succeeded!

Everything is well here!

Everthing is going well here!

We are now entering the Gulf Stream and it is a different  evening from yesterday!

It’s now become calm, about 10-12 knots of wind. We are sailing upwind and waiting to tack north to get the down wind sailing.

Then we can repair our bunk which is lashed together with a net to stop falling out.

Finally I’m sea sick-free and have just eaten my first meal in 30 hours!

national day of protests

So, there we are again wel behind  the tables of hours sleep a day required for a sane human being. 2 hours of well deserved sleep after a bumpy night. During the day we pushed the boat hard and we had everything prepared for our plan at night. We intended do the unusual: make more miles, go for the hefty winds in front of Bahama’s and go with such speeds that you easily make up for the extra miles. Take the well calculated risk, leave the pack. No guts no glory. Excellent strategy still, if you ask me.

How were we supposed to know that it was national protest day? and not those ‘publc friendly’protests (or is that typically dutch?)
We were sailing in heavy rains, hughe waves (yesss!!) and between 32-35 kts of wind, with lots of gutst.

First the ‘equipment movement’ decided how to get their way and demand more attention. Their way to do that was to through in bugs in the system to unexpectedly throw in a MoB… imagine that when you’re in the environment as described, pushing your way with a big kite and then with a not of noise turn the boat into the wind….  ok, and this 4 times till negotiations stranded  and bit by bit Yvonne had disabled every possible bug in the elecricity system. Finally, it was really dark without those lights, but no time for sleep.

During the negotiations with ‘the ‘equipment movement’ this brought some idea’s to the ‘kite association’. They emphasized their demand for more attention during the MoB manouvres. 2 kites refused work and instead went for a lovely interaction with the forestay, one so intense, Erik had to entangle them after being hoisted in the mast with these waves [just a few black spots]. No breakages, no injuries, fortunately, but their timing was really worthless.

another try tonight? conditions are not as they were last night, but hey, let’s see!

today: 30 april - queensday

or, how a down-to-earth population can completely lose it for one day. Sorry friends, you have to do a year without me.
As a non-Dutch this day won’t mean that much, untli you’ve been there once. Let me try to explain:

the dutch like an excuse for a celebration, are proud to wear the colour ‘orange’ as a national symbolic colour or whenever is convenient.

So the excuse this time: the queens’ birthday. Or actually the queen moms birthday, as the queens’birthday is 31 January, and it’s just too damn cold. We have to stay practical there. So, during th day he entire country is on big flee market, concert stage, cafe, you name it, as everyone is on the streets. oh, and that’s te day  when a ride thoufgh the canal tkes you a fiul day, so packedwith any foating devies with loud music, beer and dancing people.  

For those not too familiar with the dutch: everything needs permits and planned ahead, except on queensday. This attracts many to own their own market stall for a day or just an ordinary plaid wil do. And preferably you sell your own oldstuff ad then buy again someone else’s old stuff. An excellent recycling program. Studies have showhat the demand for someone’s old stuff is far greater and a better business model [and clean up] than any commercial plan. and, dress up!!!!!!!!!!! Where come the dressingup in orange from? the royals are from the house of orange, tat’s the initial excuse. now orange = dutch, and somehow always  in a carnavalesque funny outfit.

for some the day in itself was not long enough sooo, many large cities we also have ‘queens night’. the extension of queensday with the night before. I’m not really a trave pogam, but if you are planning to come to the Netherands… savethe wigs, hats and orange clothing to bring along!