Spanish team TELEFONICA skipper by Iker Martinez
wins the first leg and is loaded with Spanish J/80 sailing friends
(including English/Aussie friend Andrew Cape). Meanwhile, friend Ken Read
is temporarily marooned on Tristan da Cunha for four days of "cow pie"
golf, baby-sitting their mast-less 70 foot carbon coffin offshore each
night and praying their delivery ship arrives soon! Time is ticking and
a-wasting away. December 10th is the next start and the ship takes 5
days in transit from Tristan to Capetown, South Africa. Ken's take on
his arrival on Tristan is upbeat and amusing, a sure sign these guys are
determined to keep up the spirits. As Ken describes, "We have now been
on Tristan da Cunha for 24 hours. And, it is exactly what we thought it
would be. A cloud seems to surround the island always. We still
haven't seen the peak of the mountain, but the cliffs that make up the
borders of the rock are breathtaking.
Yesterday
at daybreak we arrived to a police escort (one large inflatable boat)
to the anchorage area that they suggested we use. Of course, we are the
only anchored boat in about a 1,500 mile radius. After anchoring Puma’s
Mar Mostro in about 20 meters of water, we all went in on the RIB to
meet several of the town administrators eager to help.Housing, food, coffee, showers – all the necessities that we were craving were provided. And, of course, that 9 am cold beer! Police Inspector Conrad Glass explained the rules. We met the harbormaster – Jonathan Swain’s long-lost relative; Iris, the Minister of Tourism; Lorraine, the Treasurer and hairdresser; Sean Burns, the British government administrator, and of course Andy, the radio and communications director. And, so on and so on. I am leaving a lot of important people out for sure, but the fact is they are all fantastic.
The
rest of the day was all about getting organized and relaxing. Figuring
out how we are going to deal with our yacht on anchor. A night in the
pub for the boys, and Jono and I took the first night shift on the boat.
Pretty much setting up a routine that we will likely follow until the
ship gets here to bring us back to the mainland.
Today
will be golf day. Played in a cow pasture with flags but no greens. For
sure the cow patties will bring a new meaning to 'lift, clean and
place.' Ought to be interesting. We have trips planned to nearby
Nightingale Island, a hike up the mountain, and of course more boat
chores than we know what to do with. For sure we will keep busy.In the meantime, we use the internet cafe to constantly check on communication from our families and look up the progress of the ship heading this way. The clock is ticking louder ever minute. PUMA hopes to be back by December 6th in Cape Town and ready to go by Dec 10th for first inshore race! Ouch!
