The sun came up, went down, the wind dropped and the sea state subsided a little, so that we could finally sail calmly enough as to repair sails, winches, check the mast and organize things inside. In a few days now we’ll run into another low pressure and more than 30 knots of wind, which is going to be crucial.
The fleet is sailing together again, and together we’ll reach the new wind. The first to get to Cape Horn is going to have a good leverage on the others. Sailing to Itajaí is going to be tight.
We reached the ice limit and got “Brunel”, “Alvimedica” and “Abu Dhabi” in sight again after seven days. It’s impressive to run into each other like that after some many miles and ten days in the race, in the middle of this big ocean.
During the night, we got parked under a cloud; gust after gust the fleet moved on and as to kill time skippers and crews started chit-chatting on the radio. We even talked about exchanging good. “MAPFRE” offered Spanish ham and cheese, asking for chocolate mousse in exchange. The “Alvimedica” guys were really interested in our treats but could only offer Beef Jerky in exchange so we obviously said NO!
“Our jamón is gold. It is the fuel of the Spanish team,” said Iker.
Another 140 miles lay ahead until we can dive south again.
By the way – the cold is hitting hard. It’s bearable during the day but we freeze at night. The ice must be near, that’s for sure.
We sleep crumbled in our sleeping bags and balaclavas are second skin. Enjoy the heat at home for such thing doesn’t exist down here. “MAPFRE” keeps fighting at the front.
#vamosMAPFRE!!!
Fran.