Mini man Richard Hewson checks in on the eve of the MiniTransat start…
Gday Sailing Anarchy. Just a quick note the night before the start to say hi and report on conditions.
Here we go! The start of the 2013 Mini Transat is now confirmed for 0900 on the 13th of November. Its almost a month late and from a completely different place, but the course is basically the same. Start in Europe, boot down to Lanzerote, pass a through a gate (without the usual stops) and continue on to Guadalupe.
Conditions are mental and its going to be awesome for the first week of the race, with 20-30kts of down wind sailing where I expect the leading boats will be averaging about 13kts and surfing down waves at over 18kts – not bad for a 21 foot boat! After Lanzerote we will make our way down to the trade winds where we will hopefully be getting some decent winds to send us home to Guadalupe. If all go’s well we will be in Guadalupe in under 22 days… Im looking forward to the sun!
These are record breaking conditions, and no doubt at least one boat will be aiming to smash the daily Mini speed record! Sailing the RG650 conditions are perfect for me, as the boat loves downwind and reaching conditions. Now to get back to the books and work out the best route to take for the first few days – there are no computers or chart plotters allowed in this race, so its all done the old way on paper, making it far more challenging.
Attached is a picture of me preparing my food. If you notice a massive mo on my face its got nothing to do with trying to look like John Bertram, its for charity as I am raising money for Mens Health as part of Movember. Get involved and check out http://au.movember.com/mospace/2114614.
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