A great team effort brought us through the horror storm. Monster waves and a max recorded wind speed of 55 knots, (then the wind gear busted), which gave us a lot action and the lead in the race.

Unfortunately, our teammates on the black team didn't survive and sustained major damage and had to retire. Up to then they had had a great race, and we were neck on neck when this happened to them.

Being onboard in these conditions is like being in a washing machine, which, in the meantime is continuously hit by sledgehammer, very ,very noisy.  We sailed most of the time with three reefs and the storm jib up, with the keel in the middle  and all the sails downstairs as well, just to make sure we could sail as slow as possible, but  with enough steerage, to  avoid  big waves.

The only thing I could do was giving my thoughts and input from my bunk, the word ‘frustrated’ is not strong enough how I felt. The boys did a great job to nurse our puppy through these conditions, and above all, they understood that the main goal was to come through without damage.  When they asked for more sail, I said no, until the moment I felt comfortable we sailed that way. Being downstairs, you can feel so much.  I can tell who is driving, when it will be a big launch of wave, you feel one with the boat.

Last night we tacked to sail way from the finish, as we started crashing too hard, so invested some of our lead, you can't have it all. Since this morning, we are full in race mode again.

Oh, yes, I am feeling much better and can move around a bit again, so no excuses for not writing more.

Bouwe  Bekking - skipper