This is tough

“We have had everything imaginable thrown at us in the last 48 hours and over a short course that is intense and hard work. My first night was a disaster. I made bad decisions on sail selection and then had a few challenging hours as we passed across the shipping lanes in thick fog and Adrena dropped my gps data so I could not see where I was in this program in relation to the traffic but also the wind forecast. I got through it by navigating my way around the many ships using radar and then had to stop and reboot all of my electronics.

Once I was round the first waypoint I was really struggling to be so far back in the fleet. It's hard to get over such a massive disappointing start but I have been practicing fast reaching a lot and saw a chance to push hard and gain some places. The ride up the irish sea was completely wild and I probably crossed the risk and reward line by hanging on to my big sail for too long. The result was the boat hitting a wave and coming to a stop from 26 knots and I wasn't holding on and got thrown backwards across the cabin. Thank goodness for my woolly hats; I think it cushioned my head as well as soaking up the blood from the cut over my eye.

I took the J0 down after that but it had done the job and although I am still out of touch with the other boats like me I am not at the back of the fleet and have Alan and Cali not too far ahead to focus on. It is a bit like being in the Southern ocean again, seeing those two ahead and chasing them.

Today we beat. something different again. I have been really tired from the trip North and so have taken advantage of the relative stability of a beat to get some sleep. It has been over a year since I did any solo racing. The vendee was the last time. I think I had forgotten a few things but Medallia has given me some fairly unsympathic reminders of how even the smallest detail overlooked will punish us sailors given the chance. It is a crash back into racing for me.”

Pip

“This is tough”- Pip is still smiling!!