From The Deck Of Prospector 10 July 2015 2230Z

We have had an incredibly busy and productive 24 hours.  While last

night’s post “Wilderness” was being finalized Prospector was buzzing

with activity.

For 24 hours we had been struggling with the light winds, sub 20 knots,

and were losing ground to our competitors.  We knew where to find

more wind, but were reluctant to separate from the fleet to go get it. 

Finally, we decided that we had no choice.  We had to go.  The on

watch crew executed the gybe and once again we were off to the north

to find the low pressure system we have been playing with for the last

few days.

Below decks, North Sails North Atlantic sail loft opened for business. 

We desparately needed to get one of either the A5 or A6 back to

continue to be competitive.  Looking the two sails over again, Henry

offered to try repairing the A5.  He told us not to get our hopes up but

would see what he could do.  Tery subbed in on Henry’s watch as Henry

grabbed Scotty, went below and set up shop.  The next four hours were

the comical highlight of the trip. 

We closed Prospector’s companionway to not blind the on watch crew

as we turned on all the cabin lights so Henry and Scotty could see what

they were doing.  The duo grabbed one of Prospector’s floorboards to

serve as a table.  Scotty got out his magic bag of sail repair gear and

they set to work.  Sitting side by side, wearing their headlamps they cut

away pieces too damaged to repair and used a variety of patches, sticky

back sail cloth, needle and thread to make the repair.  They amused

themselves while they worked by telling jokes, often delivering the

punch line in unison to ones they both knew, and singing songs, the

best of which was their duet to The Doors song Riders on The Storm. 

They were hysterical, to the great amusement of the off watch crew,

Colette and Larry. 

They were also incredibly effective.  Slowly but surely the pile of nylon

rubble spread about them began to resemble something looking like a

spinnaker.  After a few hours work both went to get some needed sleep

before going back on their next watch. The repair was mostly complete

and would be finished the next day.

The on watch crews spent the night picking their way through a 15 mile

squall line as we pressed on to the north.  With every passing mile the

wind blew stronger.  At various times each of our different competitors

would gybe on to our course, but never all of them at once.  Tactically

what we were doing was pretty risky, something we try to avoid. 

Finally, finding the 30 knot wind field that we have grown to love, we

gybed back to the east, pointing Prospector towards the finish again.

We enjoyed another amazing day of good weather.  Prospector picked

up yet another nickname, Carbon Beach, as everyone on deck enjoyed

the warm, sunny conditions.  The crew worked relentlessly to get every

ounce of speed out of Prospector.  Sails went up and down, reefs went

in and out. We tried every idea we could think of to get more speed. 

The mainsail, damaged during one of our gybes in the early morning

hours was partially lowered and repaired.  Another Formula 1 style pit

stop and incredible piece of work by Scotty with a big assist from the

rest of the crew.  Unable to sail downwind at the same wide angles as

our competitors we were forced to sail higher to stay fast and keep up. 

This required frequent gybes to stay in phase in very shifty wind

conditions and keep pointed towards the finish.  Gybing a beast the size

of Prospector in 28-32 knots can be risky if executed poorly, but our

crew work has improved day by day, gybe by gybe.  Our talented and

amazing crew pulled each manouevre off better than the previous one. 

There was just one little problem ruining our otherwise very special

day.  We remained stuck in 4th place despite all of the effort.  Running

out of nifty go fast ideas we decided to it was time to take a bit of a

gamble.  About mid day Henry completed the repair of the A5.  It was

back in one piece, a marvelous piece of work by Scotty and Henry.  We

had been debating all afternoon whether we should fly it and when. At

2pm we decided it was time.  Everyone was anxious as we rigged to set

the A5.  Henry told us that though it was back in one piece, there were

no guarantees it would remain in one piece if we flew it.  This sail can

normally be flown in a 12-35 knots wind speed.  We decided we would

limit it to 22-28 knots, the wind range we just couldn’t fill with various

combinations of our other sails.

Once it was set to go we hoisted the A5.  Our normally chatty boat

went quiet as we all waited to see what would happen.  The A5 went

up without an issue, but luffed behind the Jib Top, lengthening the

suspense.  Bruce, LuLu (Lucien’s nickname) and Scotty wrestled the JT

to the deck.  Henry rose from his bunk to watch intently.  Once the JT

was down the A5 was sheeted in, filled and with a lurch pulled

Prospector forward.  Our boat speed jumped from 11-12knots to 14-16

knots under the bigger downwind sail.  As it filled we got our first look

at its newly repaired shape.  Unbelievably, it looked almost good as

new.  A loud cheer rose from the deck as the crew celebrated.  Henry

and Scotty got pats on the back or hugs from the rest of their

companions. 

We were all thrilled as we hurtled down the track 2-5 knots faster and

10 degrees lower.  We all new at once our chances for a podium finish,

which had been diminishing despite all our efforts, had just improved

immeasurably.  We kept the A5 up for 4 more hours, until 6pm, when

the wind built to 28 knots the top of our range.  As a squall approached

from astern we quickly got it down safely.  A big improvement over the

last time the A5 came down, when it was forcibly brought down in

pieces for us. 

We went back in to our night sailing JT/GS combo, had dinner and

settled down for the night.  The 4 hours with A5 had given us the

difference maker we so badly needed.  In those 4 hours we

accomplished what we had been trying to do for the previous 20 hours,

we were back in 3d in our fleet.  Tomorrow morning at first light the A5

goes back up.  We intend to leave it up until we finish.

Wilderness

If the definition of wilderness is a place lacking the obvious touch of

mankind then the North Atlantic surely qualifies. We have been out

now for more than a week and other than the first few hours of the

race, we have seen two or three freighters in the distance and, this

morning, another competitor as they crossed in front. That’s it.

Mercifully, we have seen almost not trash. So while we are alone, that

doesn’t mean there is nothing to see. Far from it.

For commercial shipping this wilderness is a really just a highway. A few

see it from the deck of a cruise ship. Most from an airplane window at

40,000 feet. Sailing across gives you an entirely different perspective.

We get to see it up close and personal. And it’s beautiful. The skies

during the day sometimes blue and sometimes boiling with rain squalls,

all reflected in the heaving swell. The seas themselves form their own

unique topography which is fascinating to watch as the crest and

change shape around the boat. At night the stars (when we can see

them) form the perfect dome across which we can easily see satellites

as they blink their tracks across the sky.

While we haven’t seen too much of our two legged brethren, there has

been plenty of wildlife. You don’t see it all the time like in the zoo. But

it’s here and a nearly constant presence. We see a lot of two kinds of

birds. The first are maybe Petrels(?) and they soar among the waves

literally without a wing beat as they use the wind and the air currents

flowing over the waves to create effortless flight. Very fun to watch.

The second are small black birds who flit endlessly in pairs up and down

the troughs of the waves. How many calories they must burn staying

continuously aloft is mindboggling to consider.

Of course everyone’s favorites are the dolphins. We see the white sided

variety multiple times a day. Sometimes they come charging up to the

boat to pay a visit and show off jumping in and out of our wake. At

night they look like torpedoes as the bio luminescence glows in their

wake. Other times they simply pay us no mind as they cross us heading

who knows where. When we were battling big seas the other day, we

saw them leaping out of the sides of literally 40 foot waves. Amazing.

We have seen multiple turtles including yesterday when we saw a huge

leatherback. Indeed, sadly, I think we hit one yesterday with the

rudder. He took a chunk out of the leading edge. Hopefully all he got

was a nasty shock. Yesterday we also saw our first whale, a sperm

whale that surfaced right next to the boat.

The wildlife isn’t only in the sea or in the air. We actually have some

right here on the boat. Most is the microscopic variety which is

inhabiting our clothes and our bunks. By anyone’s definition, too gross

to describe here in this family friendly post. We do, however, have a

larger species on board. The seldom seen Greater North Atlantic

Raccoon. Entirely nocturnal, he is nearly impossible to spot but you

know he is around. Occasionally you can catch him nosing through last

night’s cold freeze dried dinner or worse yet the congealed remains of

the “breakfast skillet”. He leaves candy wrappers in his wake and we

have tracked them to the carbon cave at the back of the boat. If you

shine a light back there all you see are the whites of his eyes and the

gleam of his teeth.

Let me finish today on a different note. In the very trying circumstances

of the day we tangled with Larry’s bear, I saw some outstanding

seamanship on the part of this crew as they handled this hooligan of a

race boat in very big winds and even bigger waves. Tery in particular

stands out as being cool under pressure and steering us away from the

center of the low during the first hour. The guys on the foredeck

wrestling reefs in and hauling down insanely flapping sails. I know that I

felt an absolute enormous responsibility for the safety of the crew and

the boat when I was at the wheel as we thundered down huge waves.

Tim Keyworth and Henry Little did an outstanding job in the dead of

night in zero visibility driving through 40 knot winds and spray while

navigating the mogul fields on the front of the waves. Often at 25 knots

of boat speed in the pitch black. We didn’t wreck once. The experience

only solidified my confidence in this boat, but more importantly, the

whole crew.

Paul

From The Deck Of Prospector 09 July 2015 1100Z

Good morning.  A glorious morning, as predicted, with partly cloudy skies and a west wind at 18-22 knots.  Temperature hovers near 61, and a benign sea state has lifted everyone’s spirits.  It’s a dry-out day, and bits of gear and boots drape from the lifelines after the soaking received 2 days ago.  With the breeze building, it is the perfect reward for a very light and frustrating night. 

The sole perk of the overnight shifts was a late moonrise, delayed by cloud layers on the horizon.  Normally, we welcome the moon’s arrival as it illuminates the surface, giving context for the boat’s seemingly random lurches and surges.  But last night, the late arrival meant the only natural light came from the bioluminescence.  Back home at night, you see the odd glowing pear fish in your wake, but out here, an unimaginable count of microscopic, bioluminescent plankton surrounded Prospector in an ethereal blue glow, growing and splashing with each pitch and roll.  It was really quite a sight in a “what exactly am I looking at?” kind of way. 

Back to the present, Prospector does many things well, but she can be a bit underpowered downwind in light breezes.  As these conditions prevailed during the past 24 hours, we could do little but watch Snow Lion and Maximizer, our competition, eat away the distance between us and them. 

To fend them off, we gybed north in pursuit of bigger breeze and a more favorable angle to the Lizard.  As the wind strengthened, the A2 became unstable and we had to take it down.  The local foredeck union had the code 0 ready to roll, but in the back of the bus, one of the bolts holding the starboard wheel to its hub sheered.  We were left with a loose piece of metal rolling around inside the wheel with each turn.  After a formula 1 style pit stop, the wheel was removed and deemed unfixable out here.  Crisis averted, we hoisted the 0.

The wheel still works, but it’s quite annoying, and those of us with bunks near the helm are suddenly a bit more eager for England.

From The Deck Of Prospector 09 July 0000z

Just a quick note before heading to bed.  We had a relatively uneventful

day.  That was exactly what we needed after Wednesday’s excitement. 

We spent most of the day sailing towards the Lizard at 12-15 knots boat

speed in 20-25 knot winds at 235-250 true wind direction.  We had the

Jib Top, Genoa Staysail and full Main up at a 140-150 true wind angle.

At about 1800Z the wind dropped below 20 knots and we began to talk

about how to add more horsepower.  It would have been and ideal

time for the A5 we blew up 2 days ago.

We decided to give our fractional code zero (FRO) a try.  Scotty and

Henry had repaired the sail which had parted from its furler on July 1. 

We thought it would be good to test the repair and see if the FRO

would give the sail plan more grunt in these conditions.  That plan

worked beautifully.  The repair held and we picked up a couple of knots

of speed with greater stability through the water.

We decided to leave that combination up overnight.  We could roll up

the FRO easier than a spinnaker if we needed to in squalls, which we

were still running into.  We have grown to like being a bit more

conservative at night given some of the craziness we have experienced

when we tried to be too aggressive.

That plan changed quickly though as the wind continued to drop to the

mid teens with the forecast calling for the wind to continue to fall in to

a range of 9-12 knots.  Concluding that we couldn’t get in to too much

trouble in those conditions and needing more power we took down the

FRO and put up the A2.  The A2 is our biggest down wind sail and our

routing solutions are calling for it a lot over the final stages of the race. 

Quinn calls the A2 the Super Model, as it is tall, beautiful and bound to

crush you when things go wrong.

We have spent all day on starboard tack on the inside of most of our

competition.  For tactical and routing reasons, there is light wind

straight ahead of us and stronger wind to the north, we have been

looking for an opportunity to gybe on to port.  We got our chance after

dinner when Snow Lion crossed behind us and the wind shifted.  We

gybed and headed to the north, protecting ourselves against Snow Lion

and Maximizer to our left and heading towards the stronger wind.  We

took the A2 down a short while ago while we dodged a squall.  In

retrospect we probably could have left it up but can’t afford blowing up

another spinnaker with two others already done for this race.

After gaining ground steadily on Snow Lion and Maximizer for most of

the day we have given a little back of late.  We are currently in 3d place

in our class, down from 7th  and 7th in our fleet, having gotten as high as

5th.  We are hard at work trying to turn things around.

A couple of critter sightings during the day.  A leather back turtle and

sperm whale crossed our path.  Last night we struck some sea creature

with our rudder.  We inspected the rudder through the inspection port

this morning.  It is OK, but missing some paint.  We hope the sea

creature, Quinn thinks it was a shark sleeping near the surface in

current to keep water flowing over its gills, Paul thinks it was a turtle, is

OK too.

It is getting colder as we reach the North Atlantic, the air temperature

is 58 degrees and the water temperature is 62 degrees.  We have 989

miles to go to the Lizard.  We should enjoy better weather and new

adventures tomorrow

With our minimalist triple reef and J5 sail plan we pushed on through the night.  As advertised weather conditions eased as the night wore on.  By 0400z we were underpowered in 25 knot winds and a settling sea.  We debated changing to a more powerful sail combination.  Ultimately we decided to hold off on any sail changes until daybreak.  Underpowered as we were, we were still gaining on our competition because we were in stronger wind. 

At 0600, as the sun rose silhouetted by of the cold front that had passed over us during the night.  Though a few squalls remained about in the cold front’s wake, they were leaving us alone and it was time to be less conservative. First Lindsay Vonn (the J5) came down and the Jib top went up.  It was shortly followed by the Genoa Staysail which Scotty had expertly repaired.  Finally we began unwinding the reefs, one at a time, until we were back in a full main. 

It is gorgeous out here this morning.  We are in 25 knots of wind at 250 true.  The sea has settled down.  The crew, in great spirits after a difficult 18 hours, are settling back in to their normal routines.

Colette made us a breakfast skillet, which most ate on deck.  Larry had a pre breakfast surf fest, freed to play with the waves again in the calmer conditions.

We are back on the attack again.