There is this thing that has been on my mind lately – how much I have to expose myself professionally.
When you’ve got gusts of up to 50 knots, when is it safe to keep working and try documenting the race?
The truth is that, with sailing as uncomfortable and unsafe as it is, the dilemma came into my head. I told myself: how much am I willing to give in these circumstances in which I might need both hands to hang onto something or for any circumstance that might happen?
In the end, I gave everything I had in me and for two hours I was up to the task to capture how rough and tough everything was. The boat was completely pressed by a very strong breeze; the sea state wasn’t the worst, thank God, but still we were slamming like crazy.
When you walk into this climate, you go into “self-destruction mode”, says Iker. Life onboard is impossible and many things begin to get damaged, such as doors, bunks, outriggers, balling pumps, kitchen parts… a living hell.
On deck, there is zero visibility and the waves are powerful and constant. Everyone is tied up and wearing their helmets, almost to the limit of the J1 and three reefs in the main.
Cooking has been a challenge – you can’t standing still for more than a minute. You have to do every task crawling on the floor as the boat slams against the waves, throwing everyone around inside like a bouncy ball.
We’ve got a serious problem with the amount of water coming into the boat. It’s impressive and very difficult to keep up, since once you’re done clearing up the water on one side and you start with the other, there is more water coming in, perhaps giving you about half an hour’s rest before you start again.
The last 48 hours along the Argentinian coast have been quite tough sailing-wise. I’d like to say I’m enjoying it, but I am not. I want this part of the offshore beatand the leg to end already. We’ve already gone through a lot in the Southern Ocean for the South Atlantic to be beating on us like this.
I don’t think many boats have been able to truly sail today, as we were all in survival mode, trying not to break anything. 50 knots is a lot of wind and you have to be extra careful because it could ruin this leg for us, which has been quite good so far.
#vamosMAPFRE
Fran