Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Days 7 & 8 digging deep

We put up the kite (R5) a few days ago and really made some great ground, hitting speeds up to 15 knots and some serious sustained planing. THe boat hasn't been dry since (wet boatitis!). Sadly, yesterday, the R5 gift wrapped itself around the headstay so badly, it had to be put into an induced coma and bagged on the foredeck. After hours of attempting to untangle the wicked mess, it was simply lashed down and the jib top (thank you Jeff Thorpe at Quantum) went up.

The entire process was a bit soul crushing. The past 6 months of crossfit and "making deposits to the bank of soul" helped me through this ordeal(thank you Mauricio and Leslie at Cypher). It is still trying out here, the winds are higher than forecasted by Expedition and the sea state is quite lively. Night watches are long and filled with squall after squall.

Helming 12 hours a day on thw same tack day after day is going to make my left arm bigger than my right - like a bus driver with one tanned arm! My hands are blistered from the heaving handed helm. Mark, is gritty and hasn't complained at all. He is one tough guy.

Sleep deprivation is also taking its toll. Our short term memories are failing. We have to read things twice, we can't remember what we did yesterday. I have heard that sleep deprivation is a method of torture used by military forces. I believe it.

Thank you so much to Ben and Lucie for our race start gift and to Alex and Alex for our half way party surprises. The nav station is decorated with your messages. We feel loved and supported.

Peace and Love, Team Warpony

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