Three days into this Atlantic crossing and the weather is making the battle harder every time. An extremely shifty wind constantly bearing north makes our bow change direction like in a rollercoaster.
Sail choices influence a lot and there are many possible combinations, from a fractional with a reefed main sail to a J1 + J3 + mainsail. Every team plays differently with water ballasts and the trimming of the mast. Today we got so close to Abu Dhabi that we could hear them easing the runners or the front sail in a wind shift.
The boats keep sailing closely together and you must really keep calm. Between yesterday and the day before, Iker only slept three hours and a half. But he is fresh onboard – we’ve noticed that every time he comes on deck.
Today’s been a bow-to-bow race with ups and downs. In 12 to 14 knots we made good gains upon Dongfeng and Abu Dhabi and we felt great about it. But it’s a different situation in light air, it gets surprising and difficult to understand with attacks coming from everywhere and fewer options. We are losing what we gained reaching in 12 knots.
So here we are, in the thick of it, hands full of sheets, trimming as much as we can and moving the keel to compensate the power of the gusts.
Three days into this intense Atlantic crossing and we expect good winds to benefit us and take us to our destiny to the top of the podium.
#vamosMAPFRE
Fran
