Race 2: Day 16 – Sean McCartner, the skipper of the Derry “LondonDerry” Doire entry in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, is looking to the positives as the yacht continues to experience the frustrating weather conditions of the Doldrums.
The Derry entry is now in fifth place but remains in contention with the leaders with just over 2,000 miles to go to the finish of Race 2.
Sean said: “We could complain about the lack and inconsistency of wind, the scorching sun and intolerable heat down below, the list goes on.
However, he said complaining was against “boat rules.”
He added: “Let’s look at the positives. It’s nice and warm, unlike China where we will be brushing snow off the decks and trying to free up frozen lines with numb fingers.
“There is a light breeze, unlike the North Pacific where we will be smashed by at least four 70 plus knot storms, unable to hear ourselves think as the wind screeches through the rigging.
“It’s warm and cosy down below, unlike the Southern Ocean when we will be freezing cold and sopping wet climbing into damp sleeping bags in search of a little warmth.
Sean said the light winds allowed to carry out maintenance work as opposed to heavy winds.
The one-time race leader said he was “relatively happy” with their current position.
He said: “We are relatively happy with our position although the fifth place of late is not too flattering, it is calculated on distance to the finish in Rio and not distance to the south east trade winds.
“Well done to OneDLL who overhauled us earlier today with a good run to our east along with Henri Lloyd. GREAT Britain and ourselves were further west in lighter breeze and are now slowly shuffling to the south east.”
He concluded: “It will also be interesting to see how the teams who have decided to go to the extreme east, Qingdao, PSP Logistics and Jamaica Get All Right, and west Mission Performance positions play out.”
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