The race from the Panama Canal to Jamaica was a short one lasting only 3 days. So after leaving the Canal we motored overnight to catch up with the rest of the fleet. Then early the next morning we had a Le Mans start with our Yankee 2 (middle weight headsail) which stayed up until the last 12 hours of the race, this meant few headsail changes and not much exercise for the crew. We decided to semi specialise in our helming, having only two helms on each watch alternating and also to have all of us that were on that watch on the high side of the boat with our legs over the side helping keep the boat flatter in the water, this might only make a slight difference to our speed, but it is about creating the right mindset and reminds everyone that we are racing, as sometimes with the long 6 hour watches it is hard to keep concentrating. The last 12 hours of the race were very frustrating as the consistent winds that we had thoughout were dying on us and Invest Africa was closing in, but then we managed to get some wind and pull away from them to finish in 11th place.
So far I have had 2 days in Jamaica, Port Antonio is beautiful and last night the prize giving was on the beach next to the marina. Luckily we have done most of our cleaning and maintenance to the boat, so these next few days are going to be spent 'chillin out'. Later on there is going to be an inter boat cricket match and I've been selected to play. Having never played cricket before this could be a slight handicap to our team, but I don't think I will tell the others that, until I've seen how I perform!
Have fun in Jamaica, it sounds good. A bit of well earned down time perhaps? Shame about the end of the last race.
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