Little Big Mac returned to the Northern Hemisphere last night, setting yet another solo record: Ushant to the Equator, 60 days, 13.5 hours. That’s 1 day, 11 hours faster than Mon. Joyon, so there’s a lot of relief onboard B&Q. And, to top it off, Ellen called in this morning (to her HQ, not TWC) to say she thinks, hopes, and prays she’s through the Doldrums early. Why? Well, she’s got winds of 14-16 knots from the northeast. If it holds, that will be a humungous boost to her record prospects, but she’d better hold her breath and cross her fingers because the Doldrums sometimes seem to disappear, only to reappear again (which is a cruel, cruel joke from Neptune, if you think about it). The prognosis for the coming days is: sail on the wind, and pray that the pounding doesn’t break something important. You can read all about it in the latest daily report. And you can watch this short clip (Quicktime only; Hey, it’s not my fault! Forward all complaints to Offshore Challenges) of B&Q sailing along on a calm, moonlit sea to see that even in frustration there is beauty.
The race to the finish is going to be tight and tense. Ellen has just over 3,000 miles to go, a very complex North Atlantic weather picture, and a competitor (Joyon) who had just one or two slow days on this part of the course, and put up some big 400 mile days as he approached the line. Stay tuned…
“Damn, this whiskey tastes good…”
The Earthist Chronicles 