03 Nov It’s all happening (More…)
While Concise 2, with Pip and Pippa on board, gallently plugged south towards Brazil, Tony Lawson and Ned Collier Wakefield were at a press call at World Travel Market (London Excel ) for as part of the Ms Barbados promotion. Ned presented Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, with one of Team Concise’s Helly Hansen racing jackets when the Minister gamely promised to sail with him as soon as the MOD 70 reached the winter base. A new facility that’s curently being built for the trimaran and other visiting yachts near Bridgetown.
The Barbados Tourism & Marketing Inc pavillion was amazing . By far the busiest place there. Billy Griffith had celebities such as Sir Garfield Sobbers (the legendary cricketer), and the Barbados High Comissioner to the U.K. Guy Hewitt there to help guarentee a great “show”.
Meanwhile our valient ladies on Concise 2, having reached gentler climes, are trying to resolve various issues with their computers and transmissions. They had not been able to get a “blog” away for days due to a computer bug. Anyhow here’s one they sent earlier. Rest assured they are in a better waters now. Getting it back together. Curently they are in 6th place which is amazing They have some light stuff ahead of them which is a buggers muddle, more difficult as the can’t get weather forcasts, but – fingers crossed.
Tony Lawson
CEO Team Concise
Concise 2
29th October
On the bow, trying to reduce sail in 30 + knots of wind. The waves are 6 metres high and the caps are blown right off them– like horizontal. Real washing machine stuff! All of my weight is on the Solent, trying get it down, and it’s not moving. I get swept off my feet. Arghh! Where am I going to land? Then the sail starts to come a bit, and then flaps violently and it takes me up in the air. I am in my life jacket, I am clipped on and my Personal LocatorBeacon (PLB) is in my pocket but it is nerve racking. Blinded by spray, notknowing where the next wave is coming from. If it’s going to take me over the side? Slowly, bit by nail ripping bit, I get the sail to the deck. I get down on my knees and “kill it” with sail ties. It has taken an hour to do something that normally takes minutes. It’s getting dark quickly now. Then another roller comes over the deck I grab the guard wires and hold on to while the boat slams again and I’m, ”off again”. I’m exhausted. I have already moved the drinking water (200L) and the stack (500 kg) 3 times today. We have been reefing in and out trying keep our boat speed up. We’ve been through 3 low pressures, one of which was not even forecast. Pip’s driving yesterday was great. We had a cross sea state and we were getting beaten up by the waves but Pip managed to drive us up over, through, best of all “round em”, while I sorted out a couple of computer issues. We tried to bank sleep and eat as much as we can. Some chance!
The boat is so wet inside and out. You poke your head out of the hatch and get pummeled by freezing water as the boat pounds one wave after another. It is no easy task sailing Concise 2 at the moment. It’s hard to love her the way we usually do. But things will start to look up soon. We will be heading southsoon, and hopefully we will be sailing down wind soon , and the conditions will be warmer soon. We wish, we wish, we wish!
Pippa
Concise 2
HEDKANDI
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