Step aboard as the wind builds and we get some exciting sailing action during Leg 5 of the 2019-2020 Clipper Round the World Race. Episode 10 is only a click away, check it out below!
Race day 20, days at sea 22. Position 17° 54.765′ North, 125° 00.000′ East. Water temp 79° Fahrenheit. Current race position: 6th.
We are sailing towards the northwest and the Luzon Strait, the northern most point of the Philippines. A weather system has moved in and brought with it some great upwind sailing, followed by some downwind sailing. We are still in 6th place but this weather system has breathed new life into our race campaign. This could be a potential game changer for us and provide an opportunity to make gains on the leaders in front. Below is an excerpt from my journal on February 10, 2020, after spending 3 weeks at sea.
“Forecast shows wind on the beam to just abaft the beam. 20-25 knots. As we round Luzon it will build to 30-35 knots before dropping off to variable light winds for the last 250 nautical miles of the race. Still anyone’s race and a podium finish is possible.”
As we are further south than the leaders, we are going to try and use the current and wind veer to our advantage. We’ll keep the code 3 spinnaker up and adjust course from 295° True to 310° True. The wind graphs on the chart plotter show historical data and are extremely helpful in seeing trends in wind direction and strength. Time will tell, but things are looking promising.
A common theme aboard is “hot drinks”. Have I ever mentioned how the British (the major nationality aboard) love their tea?! At least once every watch we would have hot drinks. I stopped drinking coffee a few years ago so my guilty drink of choice (remember, there is no alcohol aboard) was hot chocolate. I couldn’t get enough of that sweet treat.
We would continue sailing in great conditions. A welcome to the monotony of the past few weeks sailing from windhole to windhole. Now we’re actually sailing!
Stay tuned, as next week we cross through the Luzon Strait and work our way towards a podium place finish! Make sure to subscribe to be notified of all the latest updates and video releases.
Regular Mike 