Race 10, the second part of Leg 6, was the big one: The Mighty (North) Pacific! It was a slow start, after a colourful stopover in Qingdao, and a challenge of mixed blessings in the race across this vast ocean.
The first blog came from AQP Charlie, he reported: “We had a very slow and spooky start to the race with thick fog and low winds, this quickly changed around though, and we got nice strong winds coming off our beam to give us a push along the way. The strong winds and thick fog meant it was quite an intense first night with our eyes fixed on the radar, dodging the hundreds of fishing vessels and nets that we’ve got so used to…
“Although it's a lot of work to keep changing sails and reefs, it's serving as a very good shake-down sail before we hit the Pacific proper. Making sure everything is working fine, and also allowing us to form routines in the new watches with everyone getting used to working with each other again.”
The first few days also coincided with the Easter Weekend. Two Easter Bunnies (organised by crew member Peter Lamond) hid gifts of chocolate eggs around the boat. A competitive hunt followed. Ryan speculated that the hidden treasure would keep turning up over the remainder of the race. Meanwhile, life on board was going really well as they rounded the bottom tip of Japan.
Ryan observed: “We are all getting into the well-known Kuroshio current which, mixed with some good breeze from behind and abeam, will make our progress quick as it has been since race start which is great.”
But light conditions frustrated progress. Ryan added: “Our progress onboard has been a bit slow the past 24 hours, transiting a high-pressure system with very light winds.” However, they soon found themselves in good breeze again, flying their downwind sails at a good speed.
The Dare To Lead energy returned and the crew hoped the weather would live up to the hype with some big low-pressure systems, not the high pressures which were dominating the Pacific a bit too much at this point in the race. Ryan said, “we are surprised how warm these past two days have been, likely caused by the wind direction and high-pressure system.”
Early April saw the first big low-pressure system pass over. Ryan described it: “Breeze increased steadily in the afternoon, so did the grey skies. As the sun set, we had extremely heavy rains, some lightning, and even loud bangs of thunder in the distance. I took over from Charlie at 0300 this morning (4 April) and got the worst of the low, seeing 59 knots of wind and big increases of swell to around 4 metres which made for some very nice downwind sailing to be honest.
“Once day broke, the low started passing, however the swell turned into a bit of a washing machine, confused and messy… We managed to set sail and only make one small change the entire low - dropping a headsail and re-hoisting, so a pretty good night with boat speeds. Certainly, had a good amount of mainsail up but it felt fine so why change it! We really got a feel for the Pacific last night. At watch change we surfed a wave up to 20.5 knots of boat speed and I just shouted to the new watch: “Welcome to the Pacific guys, let’s go!"
Things continued to well for the next few days as they clocked up 2,000NM! “The miles are truly flying by,” said Charlie, “as we navigate the highs and lows (both literally and figuratively) of the Pacific Ocean… We had our first (and hopefully last) big sail rip in a while, our Code 2 took a beating in an accidental round up… The crew did an excellent job in getting it down quickly and without damaging it anymore… it’s just one rip, just all the way down it.”
The team did their best to stick in the favourable currents and make their way up to the Scoring Gate, a challenge proving slightly harder than originally expected with a new high-pressure system that rolled over them. Charlie described the ‘shifty’ wind conditions: “…often swinging by over 60 degrees making for tricky helming and sail trimming to say the least. It’s a challenge that, as always, the crew have taken in their stride as we prepare for the next big weather systems to come over soon.”
Wet and cold conditions descended as temperatures plummeted and crew spent more limited time on deck once the sails were set and the crew could warm up in the galley with noodle soups and hot drinks. Ryan described progress as ‘frustrating’ as they headed for the scoring gate: “I felt we chose the best routing…the biggest and most important part was falling off a high-pressure system and joining onto a low-pressure system, this hasn't happened and every time we get close to the transition between the two systems it changes, and we are forced to continue with the high north.
“It could likely turn out we fall to the back of the fleet and will need to chase everyone the second half of the race,” he conceded. But they pushed on, jostling with PSP Logistics to claim a point from the Scoring Gate.
Life on board was good as downwind conditions returned, allowing the team to air the boat out in the drier conditions. But sail repair came to an abrupt halt when the sewing machine stopped working half-way through repairing the badly damaged Code 2, so they’d have to complete the race to Seattle without it.
The cold temperatures were definitely getting felt and the dry suits were being used regularly. Dare To Lead – Liyaba ambassador Adams ‘Dezi’ Desmond was getting to grips with most of the different roles on board, leaving just one and in mid-April he plucked up the courage to helm for the first time.
Ryan described the occasion: “He's always been extremely scared to try, so since he has now conquered all other areas, even the bow in bad weather, I managed to convince him to take the helm. He was nailing it, so I asked how he was enjoying it and he replied, ‘I'm so scared still that my right leg is shaking so badly.’ Think the nerves will disappear soon and he will be back for more helming that's for sure, what a champion!
The team continued to dual with their ‘friends’ on PSP Logistics, transiting between two high pressure systems in an extremely confused sea state in anticipation of catching up to a very big low-pressure system with the promise of some top speeds and exhilarating conditions, throwing them downwind almost to the Ocean Sprint.
Some light relief came in the form of a ‘Hawaiian dance show’ - Retief posted a video that he will do a Hula dance for the Hawaiian low that is passing over the fleet if a target of £1000 was raised in time for the team’s UNICEF fundraising page. Less than 24 hours later the target was reached so Ryan then posted a video that he would join Retief if a new target of £2000 was raised.
Ryan explained: “We got confirmation this morning that we have reached the £2000 mark, so I joined Retief in a very cold and entertaining Hawaiian show with some props from the Hawaiian party in Newcastle, Australia, that we took home with us. Cockpit temperature was 11.4C with lower wind chill factors on the bow and a similar sea temperature spraying us. (See the video evidence on the Clipper Race Instagram channel).
Would this be a day to put on repeat after crossing the International Date Line? Maybe, but every crew member considered which one they’d like to live again. Interestingly, one round-the-worlder’ commented that it wasn’t a particular day of sailing but that over the last couple of races it has become more of a passion now that it has grown on him rather than just a big challenge that most set out to achieve in the beginning.
Crossing the IDL was celebrated with another performance from the crew: The Dare To Lead rap – captured for posterity on a boatfeed video.
The final days of racing across the North Pacific were frustrating with a number of stressful sail related issues. One was recounted by Charlie: “I was asleep and was woken by a shout from Ryan: ‘All hands on deck! Where’s Charlie?’ Quickly into my foulies, as I got to the companionway, I just saw our kite streaming from behind the main at the top of the mast...
“What followed was a long, cold and wet wrestle with the sail to get her back down, which involved sending someone to the top of the rig to attach a new line to the only corner we had control of, dropping it into the water behind the boat and then pulling it in from there.
“She was reluctant to get up, but once we got her there, she made sure we weren’t going to bring her down without a fight. The superstitious amongst us would be saying that the kite was telling them that it didn’t want to fly. I'd be inclined to lean into this sometimes, but a life lived in fear of what might happen is a life not lived at all. We messed around, we found out. At the end of the day, it is frustrating. We now don’t have our Code 2 or Code 3 but (without trying to sound too cliché) we always try and focus on how well we feel we’ve done given the hand we’ve been dealt.
“This race it hasn’t been amazing, but I can genuinely say the crew have done everything they possibly could to keep the boat going as fast as it can, all while keeping spirits high. So now to go through the night and for the next few days with our Yankee 1, keeping us running steady and still getting some pretty good rides down the back of the waves.”
It was a real fight to the finish with Bekezela chasing from behind too. Tactics were shrouded in secrecy as the boat was cloaked in stealth mode for 48 hours. Ryan said: “With just over 1,000nm to go it will be over 6,000 Miles total for this race, unbelievable!”
Incredibly as the boats converged on the finish line the teams came into close contention with some photo finishes – eight boats finishing within an hour of each other. Dare To Lead’s position in tenth was just 42 minutes behind third placed Zhuhai. How the teams must have reflected on how they might have gained those vital minutes during the previous 4-weeks of racing.
However, Dare To Lead is still in a healthy joint third overall with Zhuhai and 87 points, just 6 points behind Ha Long Bay Viet Nam chasing Perseverance at the top of the leader board with 98 points. Here’s a highlights video from some of the Boatfeeds sent back from this race: