BT Global Challenge - Leg 3 - Buenos Aires restart 10/12/00

madforsailing's diary writer is about to head into the Southern Ocean

madforsailing is following the BT Global Challenge through the diaries of Conrad Humphreys (skipper) and Andy Magrath (crewman) aboard LG FLATRON. Leg three starts on Sunday December 10th, and this time it's into the Southern Ocean.
Andy Magrath, LG FLATRON, Sunday 10th December;

We are completing our final race preparations after being here in Buenos Aires for three weeks now. The first and last weeks have been spent working on the boat. During the middle week I spent a few days away at the
Iguazu falls in the north of the country.

My jobs on the boat have been based around the sails and the rig. The sails are an enormous task. We check every stitch of every sail and repair ourselves where we can, if not we hand the job over to Hood Sails. In the last race, on this leg four years ago, the yacht Concert lost her mast! This is not something we wish to repeat, so the rig check becomes rather more detailed ...

We leave today, the start time is 15:00 hours and it will take six or seven days to reach Cape Horn, a real milestone of the trip! The total time to reach Wellington will be 31-35 days. All of the crews are busy completing their final race preparations. There is definitely an air of excitement mixed with respect for what lies ahead in the Southern Ocean.

There are also a few nerves no doubt, for what we are going to experience. I can't wait to get sailing again. All of my kit is loaded onto the boat. Plenty of warm clothes and gloves! I will let you know how the start went in the
next couple of days!