ORCV Melbourne to Vanuatu (M2V)

And they thought they were 'Cruising'.

Phil Coombs bought The 51st Project bought to go cruising, after having had a heap of racing boats over the years. Seems good habits die hard.

"This afternoon we have had a steady 10-12 knots and have been cruising along under symetrical kite doing 8-10 knots... Sunshine and plenty of good stories... Hard to believe the weather we have had so far. Peewee and Chris have put a roast lamb in the oven in the oven including roast potatoes and are currently discussing the gravy they intend to produce.... oh did I forget the mint sauce???" Yeah Yeah, talk it up Cheryl. I know it was you doing the last email out.

Preparing today's roast were Chris and PeeWee (and what a great sailor he is too).

"Spent most of today in shorts (yes in July going across the Paddock known as Bass Strait)... last night a little frustrating with very little wind, kicking in again around 4am this morning and the code zero working hard to get us at least 6knots on the dial... Morning brought a building breeze from the south to the west and the picture is even brighter..."

So you see, despite the crusing pretentions, they're out there trying and very watchful of the speedo, the skeds and the tracker.

Good stuff Racers. Keep at it.

Pic © Teri Dodds

To see where the fleet are located and to look at the sked positions, please go HERE.

By John Curnow