Ericsson 3 Leg Two Day 7 QFB: received 21.11.08 2206 GMT
Everything is relative, like Einstein said. Luxury for example. For some people luxury means driving around in a Bentley, living in a castle and having a bunch of butlers serving meals and drinks every time you ask for it. On VO70 you appreciate another kind of luxury.
As soon as we started sailing north, from the Southern Ocean, the weather started changing. In 24 hours the temperature has changed from having to where full wet weather gear to be able to jump on deck barefoot and in t-shirt, without freezing your butt of in seconds. The wind has decreased some and the sea state is very pleasant. It’s almost flat water and instead of rocking, shaking and getting airborn downwind we are heeling 15 degrees on a steady reach.
That is luxury. At least for me.
The conditions are actually perfect for the working environment for the media crewmembers; quite easy to move around the boat, no need to wear heavy clothes or constantly having to sit under a fan.
Luxury is also to have good food onboard. We had problems on the first leg with some dishes that were almost too spicy to eat, and we were just on the limit amount wise.
Now we have another brand of freeze-dried food and it’s fantastic. It’s almost like eating a regular meal. You can feel the slices of meat and you actually see and feel the vegetables. Favourite so far is roasted chicken with vegetables and mash potatoes on the side. I can really see the difference on the crew when the food-programme is working and when it’s not.
Good food and a good organisation around it is essential. For example the meals have to come regularly and you should adjust the food times according to sunrise and sunset.
We are still happy with how we sail the boat and proud that we have managed to stay in first place for a long time now. It really feels fantastic. But times will turn tougher.
The wind seems to decrease for us in the front and stay strong for the rest of the fleet. Pretty frustrating to once more be watching the opponents making big gains on us, sched after sched. It’s a déjà vu from the first leg when the bungy-effect never let us go. But like Anders Lewander just said:
– We are strong psychologically and we know that big losses soon can turn into gains again. Once again, it’s all about fighting and never giving up.
Gustav Morin – MCM