On his way to Australia, Hugo continues to share his videos with us. These were filmed on the Clipper Round the World Race, before the pandemic forced the boats to stay in port. We meet up with the crew sailing in the Roaring Forties. There's no hiding here. The weather is uniformly grey, it's cold and everything on board the yacht is wet. Hugo even admits to looking and smelling like a wet dog.
The 70-foot sailboat is currently sailing in the heart of a depression. The winds are strong, more than 40 knots on average with sometimes more than 60 knots on the anemometer. Above all, a squall system which forces you to take or let out reefs. In these conditions, despite the size of the boat, it is often in a 3 reef storm configuration. Luckily at downwind speeds. While this allows good average speeds (over 11 knots), it also makes the deck very wet.
But the crew on this section of the course (the crew changes at each leg) is doing well, leaving a little time for Hugo to work on the course at the chart table. In addition, there is a good atmosphere on board. That helps to bear the cold and permanent humidity.
This video at the heart of a racing crew delivers images that we are not often used to seeing. A good immersion to understand what it means to sail in the South Seas..
