Idle hands make leaks work – leaks, lunch and landmark moments
Springing a leak on board is never a good thing, especially when it’s boredom induced and self-inflicted. With the routine settling in and a bit more time on our hands we decided to fill up the bow ballast tank which promptly sprang a leak. Luckily it wasn’t too serious, was easily found and easily fixed, but it’s always a bit disconcerting to see water coming from somewhere inside the boat when you’re a few hundred miles from anywhere.
The leak was actually in a pipe that’s used to empty the ballast tank, and when the ballast tank got full that pipe obviously filled up, and then it started to leak. But we’ve got multiple different ways of emptying the ballast tank - you can actually open the top and put a roving pump in there - so we’ve decided we’re going to cut that pipe where it’s leaking, put a bung in it and tape it in, so we lose that functionality but at least we know we’ve not got a leak. Sometimes simple really is beautiful. Or at least dry.
Apart from that small drama, we’re still trucking along nicely. And this looks to improve as the expressway south opens up. We’re definitely ready for that!
So hopefully today (1 November) is our last day of upwind. There’s a real difference in the feel of the air – it’s way drier (although we still can’t see the sun, which would be nice) but we’re getting close to high pressure, and the atmosphere just feels completely different. We need to decide how far east or west we go. It looks like, if we go too far to the east, we might end up with less breeze, so we’re sort of gently making our way to the west. We’ll have a final push on tonight when the breeze has actually dropped down and then – fingers very firmly crossed – we might actually get some downwind in, which would be amazing.
I’ve done this route across the Atlantic so many times (17!), so I know this route fairly well, and it’s always a big landmark, a windmark even, when eventually that way south opens up and you know there’s not going to be any more faffing around, it’s a big psychological boost. It’s monumental. And, at the moment, we’re just two places behind Hugo Boss – a far faster boat then Superbigou. Although when they start going south they really start going south (in a good way!).
While I’m looking forward to the southern expressway and fixing leaks is keeping me busy, food is always on my mind. Freeze-dried meals might not sound that appetizing, but they’re something to look forward to on board. I’ve been trying some new stuff – Tent Meals – and it’s proper food. It’s all vegan stuff, I’m not vegan but I really like that sort of food, so I’m loving that. I’m trying to think about what I might take on the Vendee. I think definitely I’m going to take the Tent Meals breakfasts, because they are above and beyond the best I’ve ever tried, without a doubt, and I know I could eat those every day around the world. Mmmmm!