End in sight

Lia Ditton and Shockwave 70 miles from the finish line of the Faraday Mill OSTAR

Lia nears the finish and gets a ground rush as she gets prepared for the final sprint to the line.

After 26 days at sea she is getting excited about meeting up with the many friends and family waiting for her at Newport. She reported on the Iridium phone this morning to have seen dolphins as she approached the first of the shallow water off the coast. As yet she has seen no whales, which are known to be in the area, as yesterday as seen by fellow competitor Steve Gratton. At 1300 BST she had 70 miles in total to the finish and although she was blasting along at 11.5 knots, she knows that the wind will is going to be up and down for the last run in to the shore.

Her ETA at the finish line is now looking like 2000 BST tomorrow, which will be about 1500 local time in Newport. Lia has been using BST for the whole crossing and has only just started thinking about what time it will be at the east coast of America. Her report is particularly revealing as she is so obviously got the idea of fresh food running round her head, that she has mistakenly relabelled Eastern Standard Time (EST) into Eastern American Time which spells EAT...

'What's your E.T.A?' [Estimated Time of Arrival] Asked Abraham. [Team Shockwave shore crew manager to give him his full grandiose title] otherwise refered to in Americ as [THE shore crew guy] but with no reference to The 'Cable Guy,' the film with Jim Carrey. Lia peers at the T.T.G [Time to Go] box on Raymarine TV and adds 70 miles [the stretch from Nantucket to Newport] @ say 7 knots minimum to give an arrival of 17hrs time. 'Late Afternoon, Abes.' I reply. 'Are you sure?' He responds. Of course my watch was still set to B.S.T, [British Summer Time] for the UK, the race committee being on G.M.T [Greenwich Mean Time] and now with Abraham, Simon and James flying out for my arrival in the States, Team Shockwave had finally shifted to E.A.T. [Eastern American Time, which I don't think gets abbreviated, but obviously spells EAT which I thought was very appropriate, seeing as that is what I am looking forward to!] So suddenly it dawns on me that, 17 hours time is first thing in the morning local time, as in when I normally turn in for a nap. 'I had better get some sleep now!' Is my first thought. 'I'll be navigating in the dark and will need my whits about me,' being the second. Naturally this is impossible. My mind is going 'Ah!' 'Eek!' 'Wahoo!' mimicking adverts like 'Le Stella Artois est arrivee!' and I am quickly out of the bunk again and flapping around as if there is now a shortage of time and many things to be done, which there isn't.
 
Until this enlightenment, I had been holding nicely a course of 260 to 270 degrees, which was perfect inorder to lay my '10 miles South of Nantucket Island,' waypoint. The sun sets with a glorious smudge of crimson and pink [of similar hue to the Maybelline Fruity Jelly Lipgloss hidden aboard - yep, I found that one too] and subsequently Shockwave, is prefering to head for Cape Cod rather than Martha's Vineyard. And so at 05:32 B.S.T, thats 04:32 G.M.T or 00:32 E.A.T i.e now, we are trucking on a course of 173deg in order to go west. I am reminded suddenly of that hilarious book of boat terminology which states 'sailing' as 'the art of getting wet and becoming ill, whilst slowly going nowhere at great expense!' Anyway with the boat on wind pilot [37 degrees off the wind is all I can sustain in the current chop] Shockwave skirts around with the shifts and is pretty self-catering. This is therefore my last dispatch before the grand finale, the Finish, the Royal Western Yacht Club Distance to go waypoint and of course the end of my Faraday Mill OSTAR entry in 2005.
 
So they were the best of times and the worst of times. 'This is it. My race is all over.' I thought discovering the overflow of water into the main cabin. Don't go offshore without Under Water epoxy and a 'Kollision Kit,' with a 'K!' 

Hauling the jib up the foil, with only a block for turning angle at the base of the mast, is without a doubt the most physically gruelling, finger-blistering task I have EVER undertaken. I have woken with a start since, with the nightmarish thought of having to do it again. Worst moment number three, would be up the foil itself. Not just having to climb the foil once, but FOUR times! Like trying to climb a mossy wall in your bedroom slippers while a rottweiler attempts to take a bite out your dressing gown tail, still sums it up pretty well for me.

The highlights would be two nights. The night with the 'Lone Star.' A mild night comparatively, where I listend to the water rushing by and enjoyed the solitude of such a wide open space. 'This is pure 'Yeeha' sailing!' I wrote marking the second night of significance. I held the reigns as  Shockwave streaked like a wild animal throught the night.

And these last few days off New England have given me flat waters, blazing sunshine and some terrific boat speeds. After 26 days alone in a forever changing environment, to be listening to music in the afternoons while watching trawlers go by has been wonderfully mellow and a welcome restbite.  
 
Would I enter the OSTAR again? If one is nutty enough to do something once, one is generally nutty enough to do it twice. [Few of us learn!] I would certainly like to floor it next time and shoot for a win. But while the rose-tinted glasses begin to slide over my eyes, I will not deny what an absolute MISSION it has been to maintain momentum and get to the other side. Beside the generator, for example, is a small graveyard, ['The Surgery!'] of electronic items, which I have taken apart, dissected, derusted- [baby wipes are good for that] and attempted to revive. Alas for patients like the head torch, the stove and the multimeter, there was nothing I could do.

Out of a total of more than 36 individuals to whom I owe a debt of gratitude, it is 'Team Shockwave,' that has made my experience. Simon Harris, Abraham Treadwell, Andy Dare and James Walker have never ceased to entertain me. I have only just discovered 'Mercator: The man who mapped the planet,' a paperback by Nicholas Crane. [What would he make of Raymarine TV?!] The 2803 mile treasure hunt continues to the end.
 
Coined by thedailysail.com as Gobstopper paint, Shockwave is set to make a return to the UK for a re-paint. The paint currently being developed by Blakes /Hempel has never been used in a marine application before. It will change colour with temperature. Shockwave will be hauled out over the side of the Thames Estuary, Westminster, stopping four lane traffic for 2 hours on Sunday August 28th. 'Gobstopper Shockwave' riding down a wave, will be on display outside the Tate Britain, Mill Bank until the end of September.