Wednesday 29 April 2009

VOR: ERICSSON 3 LEG SIX DAY 14 QFB: received 24.04.09 0915 GMT

by Gustav Morin

Organised chaos

People are shouting on deck and the boat is moving dramatically from side to side. It is pitch black and the wind has rapidly increased to over 30 knots and at the same time same time headed a lot.

We are trying to change to a smaller head sail and to reef the main one step more. All hands are on deck. The sea state has quickly become pretty bad. The boat is slamming into the waves and the entire boat is rocking from the sails flapping when the helmsman sometimes has to steer head to wind in attempts to merge the boat through this crazy front. It is a messy situation, to say the least. But under control, organised chaos.

Last 24 hours we have had everything from five to 35 knots of wind and the temperature has dropped dramatically. The dawn is coming closer and sometime it is important to get the guys some proper breakfast. That can make the mood turnaround instead of getting even worse.

Volvo Ocean Race

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