Getting warmer

Back into the Indian Ocean, Paul Larsen reports from on board Doha 2006

Well we certainly can't complain about the sailing. We've enjoyed some pretty special conditions over the last couple of days. We have been positioning ourselves under this High pressure system for a few days now trying to get east and then North without having to bash the boat to windward or sit in a windless hole for ages. A window of opportunity presented itself in that the high had split in two so we went for it. What was still expected to be a slow day trying to claw miles across the centre of a windless high has turned into a doddle. Four hours of light stuff, a sail change or two and we're off again. Just long enough to give the boat a good clean out really.

It was great to be heading north towards the finish but down below in the nav station all eyes are still on the low forming to the north. The word is that we still have to go east to get out of its clutches.

It has been incredibly flat. Yesterday while we were flying hulls and hitting 30 knots, the albatross were still having to flap to stay up as there were zero swells in which to soar. Sorry guys, it's your turn to watch and wonder how we do it!

We finally left the thick fog behind as we climbed above 44°S. The night was crystal clear. One of the highlights of to be enjoyed on any yacht is smooth moonlit sailing. Last night was gorgeous. It's such a difficult thing to capture on film as the light is so gentle requiring loooong exposures which don't lend themselves well to a moving platform like a sailing vessel. Nonetheless I'm determined to pull off at least one cool shot and will keep trying until I do.

The full moon is a few days away but the conditions then mightn't be so forgiving. The news that no-one wants to hear is that there is a possibility that the weather gods could extend the trip by a few days so after a quick check with all the relevant parties we have decided to begin rationing food early. Nothing drastic yet. We aren't trawling for seaweed or anything, just getting prepared. On some trips it is about this stage where you realise you have an excess of food so you start going through the bags and picking out the good stuff. Anyone going through the boat afterwards would probably get the totally wrong impression of what we live on by what was left..."Hey check these food bags out, these guys/girls have been living on nothing but freeze dried chicken satay for two months."

So now the countdown of miles to the finish will begin in earnest as we compare the length of the remaining passage to other more familiar trips, i.e. 'it's only a trans-Atlantic to go', 'Only a run down to Gibraltar to go' etc. I personally am not that concerned any more as I know that this countdown can be a long drawn out and sometimes painful affair. It will take as long as it takes. These trips aren't something you do very often (well for most people as we do have Jacques Vincent on board) so now that the back of the trip is broken so to speak, it is a good time to enjoy what is left as other more familiar worries are fast approaching with landfall. They can wait a bit, so can I.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly your clothing changes when you start travelling north/south on these boats. Within a watch or two you go from three underlayers and a drysuit to a base layer and sandals. It's remarkable. It's a one-way trip to the warmth now as it is only going to get hotter. There is a lot of washing of the long stowed, smelly light weight gear going on in preperation. Right now the temperature is perfect.

I'm a bit disappointed that after two circumnavigations I still haven't seen an iceberg. Oh well, maybe third time lucky.

Paul.

Here's a moonlit shot using 15 second exposures. They'll get better as the moon gets fuller but I hope that they get the calm mood across all the same.

For more - click here