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14/04/08 0900 UTC sat phone report from Fedor Konyukhov:
“It’s extremely cold here, especially during the night. The temperature drops close to 0 C and with the combined effect of wet air and strong wind it just blows away life from your body. Early morning now and I have a thick layer of white frost on the PBO shrouds! This slightly worries me. PBO fibre is a proven composite rigging and during the past 3-4 years many boats have sailed round the world but I think I’ve spent the longest period of time in low temperature area in the Southern Ocean and no one can guarantee how this cold will affect the composite fibre that holds aloft my 110 ft mast. Working on deck does not warm you up – you’re exposed to the elements and once any job is finished and I’m back in the cockpit it takes hours to get back to normal and stop shivering. All equipment is wet and I don’t have any dry clothes, everything from leather boots to hats is wet and damp. The only source of heat is your own body temperature. The alloy sides of the hull and bulkheads suck out your body heat. I have my last bottle of gas for the gas cooker and have to use it economically as it would be suicidal not to have a hot meal in these conditions. I am very happy with the boat – she is like a race horse or a pack of racing dogs that feel the smells of home and are running steady regardless of the wind. When I say “we” – I mean my boat and me – as I’ve spent enough time sailing her, to be sure she is an animated body, not just hull-mast and sails. The wind is 30+ knots and shifting from N-W to S-W, so we are gibing every 5-6 hours leaving zigzags on the charts. Regards, Fedor”.
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