Race 6 Day 7 8th February
Posted by Della Parsons on Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Race 6 Day 7 8th February
Today was no ordinary day for two reasons. Firstly it was Mikey's Birthday and on Hull & Humber we always go big on Birthdays and secondly after much joking and teasing from the crew Piers our Skipper agreed that he would do motherwatch – for the first time! The deal was brokered yesterday. Our two primary watch leaders Tom and Mike would run the boat while Piers would run the galley. It sounds a bit risky when we are doing so well but in fairness our course was set, the winds were all set to be steady for the next day or two so it was all about keeping an eye on boat speed and watching out for subtle wind shifts. It was also a canny move on Skipper's part as he knew in these seas the galley would be fairly smooth and he wouldn't have to put up with being thrown around like we will almost certainly be in a few weeks time!
So Birthday boy Mikey – who was due to do motherwatch had the gift of a day-off while Skipper Dudin duly served us all up with breakfast, lunch and dinner in timely fashion and looking like he'd done it all his life – well almost! In true Piers fashion and giving us no opportunity to give him flack, he also made bread and a very impressive Birthday cake for Mikey – which we all appreciated. Of course he had an eye on our course and sail trim but Tom and Mike did a sterling job of running the boat and keeping us all on track. We helmed just as well, kept our weight on the high side and focussed on the trim with all the while keeping a beady eye on our nearest rivals Cape Breton still hovering off our Starboard side. In fact – and they were delighted to crow about this – the 24 hours that they were “in charge” was one of our best in terms of speed and distance covered!
We all applauded Piers at the end of the day and while he seemed to enjoy himself, confessed he was in no rush to make a return to the galley.
Mikey too had a great day. Mikey is one of the fourteen young Ambassadors from Hull who successfully competed to gain a place on one of the legs of the race. We have two Ambassadors per leg and while they have all been great, Mikey and Jack who are currently with us have by far fitted in best. They have thrown themselves into the sailing completely, happy to take on any task and always with good humour. It's
been a pleasure to have their company and so we were delighted to be able to try and give Mikey the best Birthday possible. Balloons and banners dressed the saloon area, a special Skipper made cake was produced and a card from the whole crew along with a polo shirt we brought from Keppel Bay Marina Sailing academy as a memento of our stop-over there. Other than that it was just another days sailing but Mikey, grinning from ear to ear proclaimed it was the best Birthday he'd ever had.
Back to the scheds, and having dropped slightly behind Cape Breton for part of yesterday, we are now back in the lead and have made miles on almost all of the fleet. We are in a good position to take top points at the scoring gate but still have just under 3 days to go so need to keep the pressure on. Confidence is high though!
Today was no ordinary day for two reasons. Firstly it was Mikey's Birthday and on Hull & Humber we always go big on Birthdays and secondly after much joking and teasing from the crew Piers our Skipper agreed that he would do motherwatch – for the first time! The deal was brokered yesterday. Our two primary watch leaders Tom and Mike would run the boat while Piers would run the galley. It sounds a bit risky when we are doing so well but in fairness our course was set, the winds were all set to be steady for the next day or two so it was all about keeping an eye on boat speed and watching out for subtle wind shifts. It was also a canny move on Skipper's part as he knew in these seas the galley would be fairly smooth and he wouldn't have to put up with being thrown around like we will almost certainly be in a few weeks time!
So Birthday boy Mikey – who was due to do motherwatch had the gift of a day-off while Skipper Dudin duly served us all up with breakfast, lunch and dinner in timely fashion and looking like he'd done it all his life – well almost! In true Piers fashion and giving us no opportunity to give him flack, he also made bread and a very impressive Birthday cake for Mikey – which we all appreciated. Of course he had an eye on our course and sail trim but Tom and Mike did a sterling job of running the boat and keeping us all on track. We helmed just as well, kept our weight on the high side and focussed on the trim with all the while keeping a beady eye on our nearest rivals Cape Breton still hovering off our Starboard side. In fact – and they were delighted to crow about this – the 24 hours that they were “in charge” was one of our best in terms of speed and distance covered!
We all applauded Piers at the end of the day and while he seemed to enjoy himself, confessed he was in no rush to make a return to the galley.
Mikey too had a great day. Mikey is one of the fourteen young Ambassadors from Hull who successfully competed to gain a place on one of the legs of the race. We have two Ambassadors per leg and while they have all been great, Mikey and Jack who are currently with us have by far fitted in best. They have thrown themselves into the sailing completely, happy to take on any task and always with good humour. It's
been a pleasure to have their company and so we were delighted to be able to try and give Mikey the best Birthday possible. Balloons and banners dressed the saloon area, a special Skipper made cake was produced and a card from the whole crew along with a polo shirt we brought from Keppel Bay Marina Sailing academy as a memento of our stop-over there. Other than that it was just another days sailing but Mikey, grinning from ear to ear proclaimed it was the best Birthday he'd ever had.
Back to the scheds, and having dropped slightly behind Cape Breton for part of yesterday, we are now back in the lead and have made miles on almost all of the fleet. We are in a good position to take top points at the scoring gate but still have just under 3 days to go so need to keep the pressure on. Confidence is high though!
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