Vendée Globe

"It's cold now, very cold - sea surface temperature has dropped below 5C and so it’s painfully cold at night. It’s also wet as we are trucking along at pace so water is everywhere all of the time. I have a heater but, I fear, not enough diesel to risk using it - at least until I have passed the half way point when I can reassess the fuel levels. The food is generally good but the portion sizes are a bit small for the Southern Ocean intake - so I am always looking for something else to add to the pot.  Outside now it is blowing 30kts from the north-west, the sea state is becoming high. It is uniform grey with visibility down to around 1 mile. I can hear the pilot ram screaming under the strain of recovering the boats course after each surfing wave. The radar is intermittently scanning for ice, I can see on my Maxsea that there are satellite identified bergs 60 miles to the South of my position - ice is present even if for now it remains unseen. Looking out for bergs is a waste of time, at 20 knots in 1 mile visibility we reach the limit of visibility in only 3 minutes - that's not even enough time to make a coffee! Sea surface temperature and my radar are probably the best protection. Strangely I am excited by the prospect of seeing icebergs, the ones you see are not the ones which you fear - if that makes any sense!  Only one "course of action" then - sail fast - and lets get out of here!"
Mike Golding (Ecover 3) in his log yesterday evening.

 

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