Heading into week 8 of Mohsin’s attempt to become the first Omani to sail around the world non-stop we see Musandam over a week ahead of the 80 day virtual pace boat and with just under 6500 miles to the finish line in Muscat. Currently in storm force conditions from a low pressure system that has been chasing them from the west over the past week, the next 48 hours look set to be wet and uncomfortable, in a short update from onboard this morning the report was it is very rough “the keyboard is jumping around a bit and my hands are being thrown around a bit too… we have 20-28 knots (40-50 km per hour) of wind, on deck the spray is every 10 seconds or so and fairly persistent – we are wet, wet, wet. It’s so rough that staying in the bunk long enough to get some much needed sleep will be a challenge”, commented Charlie this morning.
Charlie and crew are working overtime onboard Musandam in the middle of the South Atlantic, trying to avoid the worst of the approaching storm, which has been growing off South America. Interestingly, in these remote parts of the world where no real obstacles lie in the way of weather systems, the crew can be under the influence of phenomenon that originate from two different continents. This new week started off with 450 miles covered in 24 hours over bumpy seas, probably not ideal as far as concentration at the chart table, but the satisfaction of going fast in the right direction surely makes up for the lack of comfort.
With one reef in the mainsail and the Solent jib up, Musandam is powering along, especially when “Loik and Thierry are driving like maniacs”, as Charlie reports! Both trying to extend the crew’s lead over the 80-day virtual pace boat and to keep ahead of the fierce storm to come, by choosing where to be when it hits. Placement on the course proves crucial, as the navigator explained on Monday the 23rd of February: “Our overall plan is to wait until our track is pretty much east, then gybe north and hook into some north westerly winds on the west side of the high. Timing is critical, a gybe too early means heading straight into the center of the high pressure and getting stuck with no wind, leaving it too late means not making enough ground to the north to be in a good position for the storm to pass behind us later in the week.” Later being Thursday 26th.
Yet if the ‘full on’ mode takes up most of everyone’s resources, both physical and mental, there is still some time to reflect upon the challenge as a whole and grasp the big picture, the closer the crew gets to the finish line, the higher the stress level! Now just 6500 nautical miles to the finish they are being extra careful in everything we do…