Cape Town was a short stopover and we probably could have done with a few more days to prepare so therefore, it was busy for all the crew. Some managed to get up Table Mountain but it was generally all hands the pumps. One highlight was that South Africa were in the final of the Rugby World Cup playing New Zealand. The supporters were out in force one evening to watch the final and it was a great place to be when they won the World Cup! Our Kiwi legger wasn’t so impressed though!
Th start line was impressive between two naval ships and with Table Mountain and Lions Head in the background. We soon settled into our routine and after rounding the Cape of Good Hope we sailed along the Agulhas current, we knew because of the huge change in water temperature. At the bottom of the current were some huge seas. They are scarier to look at when you’re coming up the companionway than when helming with them following behind. We had some challenging helming conditions on this leg when we’d always have a second person next to the helm but, in many ways, that’s what we’d come to experience! It was exciting helming a long surf with everyone shouting out your speeds as they gradually rise but it was also tough going when you were rounded up, even with a second next to you. One day a huge wave broke directly over the stern, the ‘second’ had his life jacket go off, our horseshoe was trailing but worst of all, our preventer had snapped – now that’s scary helming in such big seas until it gets fixed.
The first land we saw after 41 days at sea was Cape North which was a testament to the celestial navigation. We rounded the top of New Zealand and as we approached Waitematā Harbour to get to the finish line in Auckland, the wind once again died. We were in a race to the finish with Galiana on our stern but as it turns out, we crossed just in time and it then took them a few more hours of tacking to complete the race.