King Tut

Chris Tutmark’s ‘Mini Anarchy’ was 23rd of 36 prototypes, and the first US boat to arrive in Funchal on the first leg of the Mini Transat.  Despite being beat up and needing some serious rest, he filed this report.  Check back later this week for a more detailed story from Chris and check here for the thread.

I’m now in Funchal, finishing just after 1100 UTC, and overall it was not a bad leg at all.  There’s very little on the "to do" list, which is a real positive.  My first leg had its share of positive and not-so-positives, the worst of them being the effects of some improperly mixed electrolyte drink mix on the first night with some extreme abdominal distress. Suffice to say, I think my gut was completely purged of all items by Monday morning, and I’m quite a bit lighter now than I was at the start…

From that point on, I was trying to get enough food and liquid into me to get my energy levels up. By Wednesday I was feeling a lot better, which led to overdoing my level of exertion and the inevitable price to pay.  Finally, on Thursday I was feeling pretty good. 

Other interesting items:  Hitting a 4-foot shark near Finisterre, stopping the boat completely.  Lots of dolphins, almost every day. I nearly hit a huge turtle about 20 miles from the finish, and he looked up at me as I went by with a nasty glare, like an old man on his porch getting ready to chew out the high school kid for speeding in his new ride. 

I’m feeling pretty foggy as sleep has been a little on the slim side, but once I get some food and sleep I’ll give a more complete update.  Thanks for the support and kind words from all of you!