Just caught myself sneaking a peek at the calendar. Big mistake because I've got to tell you, it doesn't look good from where I'm sitting.
To say that we have two very tough months ahead of us would be a massive understatement. A lot of miles left to sail. Right now we are on the other tack (starboard) and it is still hot, bumpy and uncomfortable. The good news is that we are making progress towards the mark off the Philippines where I understand a decision will have to be made about some nasty weather between the Philippines and Taiwan. Fun, fun, fun...
The Volvo 70 is a strange animal. So beautiful to watch as they slide by all rocked up under massive sail area. The reality onboard is anything but. Hard physical labor accompanied by the constant growl of machinery- winches screaming and thick powerful kidney punches coming up through the hull as the flat underbody pounds through the water. It is particularly bad upwind, the point of sail that these boats were not conceived for, hence their remarkable ability to consistently break records...downwind.
Coincidently, we have about 1800 miles to go until Qingdao and it's all upwind! Someone with a much bigger office than me came up with the idea and to be honest, I'm not sure what the rationale was. Taking these boats so far upwind at this time of year? I'm going to assume that it's the right thing to do, and in fact I'm very much looking forward to visiting another new and different place. For me, visiting Cochin, Singapore and Qingdao will be the highlight of the trip. I've loved every part of visiting these new places and will probably head back to India sometime.
-Rick
