Getting Shallower!

I'm writing this on deck, crossing Georges Bank. In a few hours time
I'll go over a shoal that will see only 5m of water under Dinah's keel.
We're nearly at the other side! Of course we're still 100 miles from
Nantucket, but that's tomorrows business.

It's been a day where anything was possible. Before dawn another
lightning storm brought an enormous lull with it. I managed to get back
into breeze without losing too much time, but only after a few full
circles with absolutely no steerage way whatsoever! Very frustrating. I
can just imagine how Marco feels after being stuck inthe same lull for
hours today.

Then we had breeze, no breeze, lots of breeze, cold breeze, wet breeze,
sunny breeze, spinnakers, assymetric kites, it's been all go non stop
today to eek out every little mile we could towards Newport.

Sadly, after all the effort, it seems that we have not managed to take
back any of Oscars lead on the water today. His dive to the North the
day before yesterday is paying nicely, as a new weather system has
formed over that way leaving him upwind of me the whole way to
Nantucket. I need to take a minute to talk about Oscar. The extreme
courage he showed going through the ice
field early last week at such high latitude, and then the incredible
foresight and knowledge of weather systems that led him to head to the
the position he is in now to take advantage of a weather system that had
not even formed yet, are no accidents. Both are race winning moves in
themselves, and both myself and Dinah are working harder and better than
ever before just to keep up with him. Oscars exploits on this race lead
me to believe this is just the first of many extraordinary performances
we will see from him as he embarks on his career as a professional
yachtsman. That said, there is no way in hell I'm giving up yet. There
are only a few hours between us, and I fully intend to push the young
man to within an inch of both our sanities. I have a feeling it's going
to go right down to the wire, and that's only fitting given the efforts
we have both put in over the last three weeks. For now he has the
advantage being to weather of Dinah, but things could change very
quickly in the coastal section of the race tomorrow evening. We'll
see...

After dinner earlier I had the immense pleasure of watching two Right
Whales pass by in the distance, blowing water spouts every few minutes.
They are amazing animals, and it is a privilege to see them in their
natural habitat. Another timeless memory from this amazing event.

Rob Craigie on Jbellino has finished the race this morning, followed a
few hours later by Roberto Westermann on Spinning Wheel. That's all the
racey 40 footers home now. Hannah White should be the first 35 footer to
finish early tomorrow, and she's just on the verge of taking the 35ft
record. Go on Hannah! Then either myself or Oscar should be the next
person to join the Half Crown Club, probably on Monday morning. But
let's not get ahead of ourselves, eh!

Time to set up for the next wind shift which must be coming soon as the
fog is clearing slightly. The next 24hrs are key. Wish us luck!

Barry

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