|
|
|
| Name: Liza Moran |
| Age: 28 |
| Place of birth: Argyll |
| Location of residence: Glasgow |
| Races: Liverpool to La Rochelle, La Rochelle to Salvador da Bahia |
|
The first race from Liverpool to La Rochelle was a rollercoaster ride in itself from broken winches to very changeable wind conditions. Leaving the Mersey was an emotional time as we waved off friends and family and prancing around in our kilts and looking very ‘Scotland with Style’!
As we hit the Mersey it was all change and the oilskins were quickly adorned and we battled through the squalls of wind and rain and new ropes that kept slipping round the winches causing a breakage – quite a change from the hour earlier waving off the spectators on the land!
However, we arrived in La Rochelle 5 days later in very light winds and beautifully clear night skies full of twinkly stars and the brightest phosphoresce I have ever seen – like a sparkly disco in the sea! It was then all hands on deck at La Rochelle as we had to prepare the boat for the Atlantic crossing and make our repairs on winches and sails. La Rochelle was a very beautiful historical coastal town and we had a few nights of French style partying with the Glasgow sponsors to celebrate our 3rd position before heading off for the voyage to Brazil.
As predicted the bay Biscay was wild, lots of reefs in and out, sail changes and all those combined with sea sickness and a bug that affected everyone including Hannah (skipper). It was a difficult time as we were battling with the conditions and trying to keep on track with those who could make on deck but within 24 hours the weather had given us a break and everyone was starting to feel better.
As we approached the canaries, the wind started to die and we ended up becalmed beside Grand Canaria trying every sail possible to make the boat move, very frustrating. This is when it stuck me that I still had another 3 weeks at sea and I was already missing everyone at home and wondering if I could cope having very little sleep and dealing with all the personalities on the boat – I started to panic!
After a few minutes sitting at the bow looking out to the horizon and the dusky blue water merging into the fiery orange of the evening sky, I realized that being on the water is a really special experience. The weather was getting hot and bikinis and shorts came out the closest. After we got out of the canaries we headed south towards the Cape Verde’s. We did a lot of down wind sailing at this point which is my favorite kind of sailing – spinnaker up and the gentle rocking motion of the boat is actually very relaxing when you are trying to get some sleep! The downside was that we ripped out spinnaker several times and spent 4 hours one night repairing it in very hot and sweaty conditions. Packing the darn thing was a challenge in itself, especially when you are tired and hot. Surfing along on the waves achieving 17 knots was very satisfying – we were whizzing along and sitting at around 5th position at that point.
The wildlife was amazing – around 50 dolphins jumping around in the surf beside the boat and whales quietly going on by, even a few turtles which I was convinced waved at us with their big flappers (sorry don’t know technical name for their wing like things!) Then there was the invasion of flying fish, that was really bizarre – just seems wrong that fish have wings! The little blighters would fly onto the boat and flap around at your feet in the dark – quite disturbing! They even managed to whack a few crew members in the face! My job was to go around with the dustpan and shovel the little devils off deck – nice.
As we passed the Cape Verde’s it really was out on the open seas with no land to be seen – it was like this for days on end and if we saw a tanker or a bird it was a major event. This is when the food started to get really bad – all our fresh stuff had run out and it was beans or cans every day… and nutrigrain bars, a little depressing and much of the rail chat consisted of imaginary trips round M&S food hall and cocktails when we got to Brazil – and we still had weeks to go…Sad!
We constantly battled to keep our course and keep the boat speed up and if this meant changing sails at any opportunity then we had to do it and do it as fast as we could in order not to lose speed. We got pretty good with our changes and helming. I remember having a moment on the helm thinking oh my god; I am driving this boat to Brazil!
Crossing the equator was a big event, we offered our gifts to Neptune for a safe passage and fair winds and Hannah threw porridge over us?! Supposedly it is tradition?! Anyway, we had a fun day and crewmate Erica and I set up the ‘Scotland with style’ salon for the day and we had hair washes for the first time in 2 weeks!
The latter part of the trip we were beating into the wind which was unpleasant, people still suffered from seasickness and any task was difficult due to the boat healing over constantly. Sleeping was difficult and the slamming on the waves was driving Hannah mad. At this point only certain people were allowed to helm and moral was pretty low. We just had to keep going and eagerly awaited the 6 hours schedules of what miles each of the boats had run. We realized we were making good gains on Nova Scotia who were second and Durban who were leading. We made a decision to tack out in the hope we would gain more wind, it paid off and we overtook Nova Scotia and we were gaining on Durban. The last week of the race was really quite exciting and tense. We were so happy to have taken Nova Scotia and now be sitting in second.
As we approached the lights of Salvador we dressed in our kilts and tried to make the most of our minging hair (no showers for 3 weeks – just baby wipe washes and the odd bowl of water) At the last minute Hannah decided to put the Spinnaker up – raising the kite and then packing it again was an interesting experience wearing kilts! As we approached the marina in Salvador there were Scottish supporters waiting for us with a big saltire flag, it was such an exhilarating experience as we all just wanted to get ashore by this point. The marina bar staff met us with watermelon and caipirinhas which felt like the tastiest most gorgeous thing to have ever passed our lips – we were silent for about 5 minutes munching and drinking! The celebrations were fantastic, the Brazilian drumbeats and partying were a great way to finish the race in 2nd place and then it was on to the deep clean of the boat, maintenance and a few parties in between.
It was mixed emotions coming home – I was really excited about seeing everyone but at the same time I felt a bit sad leaving behind the team and the really good friends I had made. All in all it was an incredible experience.
If you are interested you can track how Glasgow is doing on: www.clipperroundtheworld.com
|