Of course, the other ocean race drama you should be watching online (in addition to the Volvo), is the venerable STP. That reality show is about a group of half-sane, sailing-addled, misanthropes who are flogging a very diverse group of sailboats from San Francisco to Hawaii.
Live tracking is here. Updates from the boats are here.
Wishing you were out there, too? Here's a recent update. You have to ask yourself one question: 'Am I tough enough?'
It was a cold wet night. Stayed out driving till early am. Had to do a mid night headsail change down to the storm jib once it hit 25 knts. That kept the boat balanced pretty well but after riding the bow through a couple waves I was drenched. Got some hot tea in me and after the umteenth wave rolled across the boat I decided Tor could do as well as me. Tor is the Monitor windvane. He takes over when I am sore, cold, tired, wet or while I try to sleep. 2 container ships passed. Second one seemed he was bearing down on me so I hailed him and saw that he changed course slightly to pass behind. Time to download gribs. Wind clocked more out of the North while I was sleeping this morning and so Tor took me more north than I wanted. Such is life. Tor is still a good stick to have around.
(STP start photo via the always on it Latitude 38)
