Sleep deprivation is taking a toll on the battle weary sailors who have been kept from their bunks by a tacking frenzy in the bumpy, icy waters of the North Atlantic.
“I’d say that no body has slept the last 24- ours,” Groupama sailing team helmsman/trimmer Phil Harmer said.
“We’ve had a tough 24-hours, as has the whole fleet, beating upwind in the Gulf Stream against the wind and doing lots of tacks to stay in the current.”
The constant tacking means that sailors who are off-watch and meant to be sleeping are rudely awoken to assist the on-watch team on deck, shifting as much as three tonnes of stacked gear from one side to the other.
Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Media Crew Member Nick Dana said the conditions were certainly taking a toll on the bleary-eyed sailors, describing Atlantic as just plain horrible, with cold air, a bumpy sea state and 60 degree wind shifts.
“As far as we’re concerned on board, we just want the bloody thing to end and the wind angle to go wide,’’ he said.
Dana’s fellow crewmember Adil Khalid agreed, requesting that his team try some straight-line sailing when he finished watch and prepared to eat some food before crashing in his bunk.
“I just want to eat my Mexican chicken and go to bed,’’ he said. “I have asked for no tacking during the next four hours, let’s see how that goes.”
The teams are all making the uncomfortable trek north in a bid to round a menacing high to reach a low-pressure system that could herald a powerful path to the Lisbon finish.
PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG MCM Amory Ross said taking the longer route had left him feeling a little duped with what was expected to be a 10-day race stretching out to a likely 12 days.
“It’s uncomfortable and cold, and we’re stuck bashing into a big seaway while looking for an escape around the top of this high,’’ he said.
“Everyone’s crisscrossing around out here and the first boat free will likely have a large advantage as forecasts are calling for fast downwind conditions, but the weather isn’t going according to schedule and we’re still searching for a sign of the system’s northern boundary.
“Until we find it, life will remain busy, bumpy, cold, and slow, and I’ll continue to feel wronged by the world of weather routing.”
Meanwhile, on board Team Sanya the crew are adapting to the rigours of the tacking frenzy, reported MCM Andrés Soriano.
Soriano said that the America’s Cup style tacking duel meant very little rest had been had.
He said the “heavenly sleeping bags” have been rolled up and stowed away and “wet bunking” became the only way forward.
“Wet bunking for those who don’t know, is pretty much as it sounds, because the boys are in and out of the bunks so often with tacks or sail changes being so frequent, the boys simply roll down their foul weather gear bottoms to their ankles and sleep on the bunks,’’ he said.
“Some sleep fully dressed, jacket and all. The trick is being able to get on deck at a moment's notice ready to capitalise on a shift. Some of the guys even resorted to sleeping on the stack in the stacking bays.”
Relief is in sight for the six teams, with reaching and running conditions awaiting them once they reach the low-pressure zone.
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