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Libby Greenhalgh
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Probably as you read this we will be drifting towards the finish line in the
mid morning as Europe drink their cup of coffee and we battle over the tide. The
20-25 knots that we were hammering along with last night will be a distant
memory as we peel back up through our sails as the wind drops coming into
Lisbon. It has been a bit of a yo yo race for us with the final roll of the dice
being played at the very end for all to view.
As a team I think we can be proud of how we have raced this leg, our boat
speed across the ranges, and how despite some mistakes navigationally we still
made some good and tough decisions to get back to the fleet. It now comes down
to the odd degree or two in your course catching the right waves consistently,
avoiding the bad clouds to maintain that boat speed 0.1-0.2knots faster at
times.
Our northerly move was bold and paid off but we didn't quite get out of
the high far enough east relative to the fleet that meant we were always going
to be getting the breeze later than the others. We perhaps should have taken an
opportunity to sail lower and faster sooner to try and get nearer to Alvimedica
or over the top of the very quick Azzam. Things are never straight forward
though.
The final miles will show how difficult this racing can be at any given
moment. Sometimes there are days of conditions like these. Timing of our arrival
to the shores of Lisbon will be key, the earlier we get there the easier in
theory it will be to get to the finish line, as the tide will be taking us in
and the land won't have started heating up just yet!
At the moment things are changing, the wind is decreasing and we are all
becoming aware that we have had our last full off watch sleep and the final
12hour push is here.
Get the Magenta and Blue out in force, here we come Lisbon.
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