Hello from Doha!
Leg 1- a question of sail choice
Well – it was a nice day of sailing from Bahrain to Qatar in the end. The day started quite early with an estimated 7:30 am start off the dock. The wind was forecast to be 25 knots from northwest and then drop throughout the day and go right. It did abate – but it didn’t go right as we thought. I am going to try my friend Jon Bilger’s site, PredictWind, tonight for tomorrow’s leg to Abu Dhabi.
The race started with a short upwind,then to a tight reach (where one had to decide between a fractional spinnaker and staying with a jib), then bearing away to a spinnaker to head across qatar and down the side to Doha. Unfortunately it turns out the fleet has been given different shaped fractional spinnakers- there are two types: a reaching flat one and a fatter, bigger one for downwind. We were given the latter which means it was not the good sail for that leg and explained why some got a jump out. There is no changing them (had I known I might have been able to ‘borrow’ one from one of the myriad good Farr 30 teams in U.S.). But you sail with whatcha got so it will be what it will be.
Ouch! First race lesson learned
The Omani girls were naturally excited and nervous. Apparently so much so that Intesar did not bring her waterproof team issued jacket. That is akin to going hunting without bullets; running without shoes, or hockey without helmet and pads…I gave her a load of sh@$#t and then gave her mine to wear, put a jacket she borrowed off one of the non-sailors to try to protect too much water going down my neck. I thought my shoulders were going to bust that little purple jacket wide open- like the hulk. So if you see pictures of me wearing a purple jacket at the start- that is why! Some thought to let her learn her lesson and get wet, but the fact is if she’d got wet that early, she would become chilled and not very functional and then we would have a person down to manage instead of a crew member. I knew I was tough enough to handle being wet and I had a spare thermal top to change into if needed. Needless to say, I think the lesson was learned.
The Finish
We finished around ten at night, but the fleet had to wait for everyone to make the long motor in with escort vessels. The skyline was amazing- reminded me like Vegas! It took about an hour to get docked, then clear customs. Afterward the teams took buses Andre descended upon the hotel. Needless to say bed wasn’t achieved until after 1:30 am… Phew.
We finished fifth- middle of fleet within striking distance of 2-4 boats. Maybe one or two missed opportunities for a pass but otherwise we were all bunched pretty close. We were encouraged by our speed but it definitely highlighted areas to work on- one being communication. This is always ripe for improvement in any organization, but with a team of five nationalities it definitely is a top priority…
Day 2- racing in the harbor
Today was boat work and a short, for-fun race in the harbor. We treat these as opportunities to bring the reserves on and continue their training. It all is pretty loose so low stress. We took media onboard, furthering the global outreach of the story of the Omani women. Down at the harbor we saw men and women alike in full Arabic dress – covered and head dresses to boot, taking pictures of us and marveling at the women’s team. The message continues to be a fantastic one.
Good news is that the temperature had taken a noticeable turn for the warmer. We have entered med-Iike temperatures! Beautiful.
Tomorrow – the LONGEST leg- 296km dodging oil platforms!
Tomorrow takes us to Abu Dhabi- the longest leg I believe. There will be many oil platforms and various other obstructions to watch out for as well as scoring gates where we could be finished if the wind dies. Interestingly I was told tonight that the organizers have set it up where they could stop a leg anytime, have all the boats then continue to motor on, then do a restart at any point if the wind picks up! I don’t know how that will work but it will be intriguing to see how that plays out.
Tomorrow off the dock at 9:30 am. Wish us luck!
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