A drag race to the finish
This is intense. It looks like we have a 1200 mile drag race on our hands to Tete Anglais at the northern tip of Guadeloupe. I can't tell you how proud and excited I am to be currently lying 11th in the fleet. But its tense. I'm sick with nerves, pushing the boat hard but hampered by my damaged mainsail. Overnight I had to change up from my J0 to the mast head zero because I didn't have the power in the main to keep up with Sebastian ahead of me or out of the clutches of Romain and Nicolas behind. There were some big squalls which took me outside the range of the sail for a while and I had to stay alert all night to make sure I steered the boat downwind in the breeze to avoid further sail damage or wiping out. The volume of water over the deck is incredible. It's tonnes, you can feel its weight as it thunders down the deck. When the boat lurches all this water can run forward in the cockpit and straight down the companion way so I have had to put the cockpit dam up which provides a barrier against this type of tsunami.
Onboard Medallia
Having come in from the North I think I am in a good position, as I think the boats to the south will need to gybe up to the north of Guadeloupe and though I may need to also it shouldn't be too long. I'd love to hold this position to the finish but I know the back of Guadeloupe is a fickle place. Boats park up in wind holes allowing those often hours behind to sail around them and past to the finish. I also know that boat for boat in manoeuvres and sail changes I struggle to compete against the men ten or fifteen years my junior. I just don't have the strength to do things fast. In the open ocean this has less impact but on a tight course like around the back of Guadeloupe it really does matter.
So, my game plan is to push hard now. The more miles I can squeeze out of my opponents the better chance I will have. It's uncomfortable. Both physically and emotionally. There are still three days to go to the head of the island and anything could happen. Something could break, I could make a mistake, I may need to change sails again and that will slow me down. I know I am pushing and I have the constant nag at the back of my mind 'how much is too much?' When I am trying to get a nap and the boat heels and then thunderously takes off there is a part of me that just want to calm it all down and reduce my anxiety. But the strong part will not let this go. I have got to 11th in the fleet. When I started out, I would have been happy with inside the top 20. I am not letting go of this without a fight.