Katrina Ham habla en su blog igual que se hablaba en los años 90 con esa clarividencia práctica propia de la psicología anglosajona. Fué la penúltima en llegar a Gijón, una de las causas fue la incomunicación, según cuenta en su blog. Habla de vientos de 45 knt. en esta primera etapa ahora anulada y del stress de la espera en Duarnezz. Lo copio aquí en ingés.
http://www.katrinahamracing.com/blog/
At the moment I am in Gijon having a small break from running around in the rain fixing stuff or trying to find stuff to fix the issues on my boat. It is a bit of a crazy story on how i got here but here is a brief version.
The night before race day I was very stressed with the weather forecast and a briefing which even if you spoke French was not understandable. I finally got to sleep about 11pm. I planned to get up at 4am then do last met work, and then down to the boat to sign in at 6am. Problem is I was woken up by a text message at 615am!! After years of planning, I slept through my alarm. I know it was silly not to have someone call me but my stress levels were too high to think straight.
So I basically ran to my boat, handed in my phone and rushed to get ready. Luckily for me on the dock was Lorient Grand Larges´s Clara (my French guardian angel) as well as Kiwi racer Conrad Coleman who helped me to calm down and get ready. Then it was off. As I got towed out I started to realise how windy it was going to be. At the start we had about 20-25kts, very gusty and squally…….not thebest time to try and figure out how to put in a reef in a new solent. Got to say I was not in the best headspace.
The start was a mess and I was very glad to be out the back. Several boats were in collisions as it was upwind all the way to the Raz de Sein. I have spent a lot of time preparing the electrics on my boat, as that is by far my biggest weakness. I had a few issues in the bay so set to work as soon as I got clear of the Raz. Then at 1800 it was time for the first call in which i waited to hear my number. After I thought they finished, I tried to call up but no one answered. I got through to another skipper who said the race was shortened to Sada in northern Spain. Then at 0600 the next morning I had the same problem I couldn´t get through. On the second night the front came through which got up to 25kts, then it shifted behind it, so I keep pushing south west. All this time I had no communication at all except a confirmation from a support boat of a waypoint for a Sada finish. I kept calling anyone but only got through to container ships.
Anyway with the barometer dropping on the third night, I was getting all set for the big front. Storm jib was ready to swap to and I was bracing for big winds. But the next thing I know I hear my name on the radio. I answer and get told the race is cancelled, go to Gijon. I asked them a couple of times to spell it to make sure I am going to the right place, then I set off. At this stage it was only about 25kts and I was about 120nm away. It was a nice wind angle of about 75 degrees so a reach back. The wind picked up and during the next day reached 42 with gusts over 45kts. The swell was so big I spent most of the time downstairs to avoid getting washed overboard. I also was faced with the decision of keep the storm jib or the tiny bit of main left. Luckily as I got closer to land, it dropped off, but not until after a fright when I managed to cut my autopilot while having a play to solve some issues……..this was completely my fault but still very scary.
With no more information than Gijon, as I approached, I kept calling hoping to find out which marina etc. I could not get through to anyone but the guys with the big ships who were not too keen to talk to me, but I got the marina in the end. When I arrived, there was no one there to tell me what was happening etc. So I have to say I was kinda pissed off even the next morning, no one could give me much info. There were about 10 of us in one marina, and then we eventually got told we should move to get reunited with the rest of the fleet.
As soon as that happened, I met with the other English speaking skippers who informed me of what the plan was. It turned out they had all been suggested days ago to head south so they had already been there a day when I arrived. It also turns out they had tried to call me, but something was not working right. I do not understand as I could talk to the big ships etc. So now the hunt is on, to see if it is my VHF or not. I have never had a problem before, but I want to make sure I am not in the same situation again as I have to say it was pretty hellish. But then again given the carnage out there I am grateful to be here with my boat.
At this stage there is no real plan. We had a briefing yesterday that at times from what I understood sounded a bit like a union meeting….. but there is another one in a couple of hours to see what will happen. At the moment I think they plan to sail us to Sada for another start, but we need to wait for a weather window. As annoying (and expensive) as it is for me and the other skippers, it must be a real nightmare for the organizers as well. With the amount of work everyone has put in to be here, there is a lot of emotion around……I just hope that when we do leave I am not as stressed as in Douarnenez and my VHF will work.
