Off to Brazil

Things have been pretty busy since we got to La Rochelle. Fixing the boat up and obviously eating and drinking a little....
Race one was great. Sadly our tactics didn't pay off and we lost the wind. But we had a great dual for 6th place with Singapore, slowly easing ourselves past them at about one knot. Its pretty crazy doing intense racing when you are barely moving! Anyway have to keep this short as time to rig the boat for the grand Atlantic crossing!
xx

getting ready to go ....

So things went a little crazy for a while... I left my job, moved out of my house, created chaos in my mum and dad's house (sorry mum, I hope that the house isn't too big a wreck from all of my stuff), had a big stress about kit and then left for Liverpool. Managed to get all of my stuff onto the boat while no-one was there (they were all in the pub) - so no awkward questions about the size of my bag (though frankly i have seen other people with bigger bags than me...)
So this week has all been about fixing stuff - protecting parts of the boat from chafing (we should all know that chafe is a big problem) changing all the old lines (ropes) for new ones and servicing all of the clutches (the things that stop the ropes moving in one direction - like a brake). Tomorrow we get a day off before we focus on the first race. People are getting a little tetchy now, so I think that we all just want to get going now.
Liverpool is great - I know that its a bit cliched to say that people are friendlier up north, but everyone has been really nice - and really interested in the race - though I do feel a little like I am in the zoo, as everyone who walks past just stops and stares at the boats.
So this is it from me for now. Next posting I think will be from La Rochelle - the first stop!