Fight to the finish – it’s anyone’s game
The race from to Abu Dhabi was long, most of it upwind. The good news was our speed was generally good, until we took on massive amounts of weed in the night. Lost some places there, but after a back down, it was time to start chipping away and hunt our competitors. Our work paid off. After we rounded some islands and the morning light came through, we started identifying our near competitors, and we were in touch with the leaders. Going into the finish the wind got light and flukey, and it was a battle between us, Commercial Bank (helmed by the renowned French sailor Bertrand pace), and Team Renaissance. It was a close finish!
Members of Team Renaissance and Bank Muscat
Task #1: Sail repair/replacement
In Abu Dhabi we had a day off to do laundry, personal time, etc… Dee and I went down to the boat to check on a few jobs. My mission was to either find a sail loft (to repair a fractional spinnaker we had blown up during the previous night’s fight to the finish) or to find a spare. Allegedly there were neither here, so I was very concerned! But I finally found ONE spare spinnaker for the fleet, which we now have. Sadly, it is a runner fractional, which means the shape is not as good as other teams. Alas, at least we have one.
Next stop: Ras al Khaimeh…. finally a beer?
Now we head off from Abu Dhabi to Ras al Khaimeh. This keeps us in the UAE. The leg is 115 nautical miles, and wind is forecast to now be from the north and slowly going left into a reach. The sail inventory with the fractionals presents a problem, so we will just have to play the angles to try to overcome that. The team from RAK is really excited to showcase their home, and we hear will have the yacht club ready to for a big welcome- aka we might be able to have a celebratory beer at the other end! We Westerners have been missing that social aspect of the sport, as it is a great way to unwind and share sea stories with the other teams.
Supporting women- enthusiastic Oman team members
The coverage of the women’s team and reception continues to be exceptional. There was a big picture in Muscat’s newspaper yesterday. As all the girls were swarming around me asking about why our spinnaker broke (‘Coach, coach- why’d it break?) and what the next leg would be like, I was thinking how special this process is for them. Our two Omani racers, Intesar and Raiya, are loving it and growing in confidence as women and sailors, which is magic. It’s not easy on them, they don’t get the most interesting jobs on the boat because they aren’t equipped yet to do them, and they get told continually what to do. But, they never ever complain, always work with a smile (or at least without a grimace), and are ready for more. You can’t teach that kind of attitude.
Ok, heading down to the boat. The leg after this is the Strait of Hormuz — that should be interesting…Can’t wait!
K
