Colman began with gratitude, saying, “Thanks very much. Pleased to hear that there’s a good audience for this.” He explained the reality of life at sea, where he and his small team had anticipated the race would present “one major problem per day.” However, he noted, “Looking at the news from the race, there seems to be more than one major problem per day, so you need to be mentally and emotionally prepared for at least one big challenge each day.”
Preparation for the race was intense, with Colman’s small team working tirelessly to address a long list of tasks at the race village. However, some adjustments and optimisations didn’t go entirely to plan. Colman shared an incident involving a new lazy bag designed to hold the mainsail. On his second night, an unexpected tension issue led to a tear in the lazy bag and damage to the ropes securing it. Fortunately, calmer conditions near Madeira were expected to provide an opportunity for repairs.
Conditions have been relentless, with Colman describing “25 to 35 knots” of wind since passing Madeira, and the physical toll has been significant. In another part of the message, Colman discussed dealing with fatigue and equipment failure, specifically a malfunctioning watermaker. “Today’s challenge was trying to not get overly concerned about having a drink,” he said. Relying on a few last oranges for hydration, Colman managed to troubleshoot the watermaker amidst sail changes and shifting winds.
Despite the challenges, Colman’s determination shines through. His update offers a glimpse into the physical and mental resilience required to face each day on the open ocean.
Transcript
“Thanks very much. Pleased to hear that there’s a good audience for this. In terms of background, basically we go into this race thinking there’s gonna be one major problem per day. Certainly, looking at the news from the race there seems to be some more than one one major problem per day, so yeah, you need to be sort of mentally and emotionally prepared to take on one, at least one, big challenge per day. I haven’t had my plumbing done here unfortunately. We tried to optimise many things during the buildup at the Race village. We have a very, very small team this year; and during the lead up to the race we accumulated this long list of jobs. We try to knock off as much as possible for when we go sailing; there are lots of things to change, not all of them were improvements. The new lazy bag, for example, that holds the main sail is great and we redid the lazy jacks, but there was a small adjustment needed to allow me to ease it off enough. Actually I couldn’t on the second night, and under pressure I ripped the lazy bag, and ripped half the ropes that hold onto the boom as well. So, tomorrow conditions are gonna be a lot more inclement, maybe too much, because it looks like I’m going to go through a little bit of wind coming out of Madeira which will give me time to have the main sail fully up. Conditions will allow me to fix the lazy bag again. So, plenty going on and more to come.” and then a little later “How’s it going back on land? Here it’s all going well. I was able to get some good sleep. The rhythm of the race has been really, really, really intense. Lots of changes and lots of wind. I’ve got wind at the moment and it feels like a holiday because ever since we went by Madiera it’s been 25 to 35 knots. And quite intense on board. I had a challenge with the watermaker. We had worked on it at the village, and when I went to go use it today it didn’t work. Today’s challenge was trying to not get overly concerned about having a drink. My food is all dehydrated so I really need fresh water. I had air bubbles in the reverse omisis function of the water maker. So I ate one of my last oranges as this as this was the last food I could get. Then I had to change the big sail which takes up a lot of my energy. On top of that it was in the full moon. I had to make the change as the wind was reducing from the fractional Jenica and I need to change the two reefs. I went back to it to the watermaker, and got it going again. While you’re working with fatigue, you need to control your emotions but it’s hard. I was tired and hungry and had to keep things a little bit simple. I was far from operating my optimal.”
