I haven't posted any updates this leg of the Virtual Volvo Ocean Race because it is just too depressing and embarrassing.

I started out phenomenally well. I was in 441st place in a fleet that has grown to well over 130,000. Then two things happened. First, I choked. I looked at the wind forecast and saw something that was less than perfect and talked myself into tacking away to pursue moderately better conditions. The boats that held their course did very well.

The second thing is that due to a seemingly endless string of circumstances in the real world (work - family those sorts of things) I stayed on the wrong course a good deal longer than I would have liked.

When I finally got back to the boat to assess the damage I had lost 40,000 places and I was on the left side of the South China Sea while the group I tacked away from was enjoying them selves sailing along the coast of Borneo.

The choice I faced at that point was fairly stark. I could head back to the east and eat the loss and follow everyone to the finish or I could double down and work my way north on the west side of the Sea and hope for a large very favorable wind shift.

I doubled down.

To some extent it was successful. I never got the big shift to put me in the lead but I made up a lot of ground.

With just under 300 miles to the finish I have a slight chance of finishing better than 15,000th.

In the official scoring you get to throw out your three worst races. I certainly hope this is one of them.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 08:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment