White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Great American II Catches up With <i>Sea Witch</i> Report from the Indian Ocean

WPCNR ADVENTURER'S LOG. By Cynthia Goss. Special to WPCNR. April 8, 2003:John, all is going well on GAII. We moved last week's report up to mark the boat's passing into the Indian Ocean. We'll have another update later this week...Once they got into the Indian Ocean, GAII left the light, frustrating winds of the S. China Sea behind and quickly got into the tradewind belt. They've been making good time and are now neck and neck with Sea Witch's position.

Here is a report from Rich Wilson aboard the GAII received just this morning:

I got this from the boat this morning, from Rich Wilson, imagining what it must have been like to be sailing in 154 years ago, right next to the legendary clipper ship...

"Last night I could see her on the horizon, a sliver of moon barely lit the sky behind the heavy overcast, but there she was, where you wouldn't see a star, right on the horizon, it had to be her, Sea Witch all sails set and reflecting the glimmer of moonlight, charging hard in the SE trades. These were her conditions, she had been coming on strong for the last several days, GAII's lead captured immediately out of Sunda Strait had been evaporating in the last days, and now here she was.

Captain Waterman, (Sea Witch Captain). surely on the windward deck, inspecting the set of every sail, and feeling every puff on his cheek,advising the helmsman nearly wave by wave. He would stand there for hours, making sure his ship was driving hard toward the Cape of Good Hope, making sure that these trades would not be wasted.

GAII was gamely hanging on, but she was also saving herself for the lighter breezes in which she excelled. This was a race of strategy more than machismo, to go hard when you could make the easy miles, and to back off, when the sea state got up and rattled her three hulls.

Captain Waterman, hard driver that he was, also knew when to back off. Upon approaching Sunda Strait, he hove to for a night, saying it was "too dark" to proceed in the confined waters. We're neck and neck now, at noon time, only miles apart after 23 days, isn't it amazing!"


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