For those who were knocked into a trance by the sight of Istabraq surrendering his title and career at the Cheltenham Festival last spring, today represents the perfect hour to be revived by a snap of the fingers.
It would be possible to watch today’s Bula Hurdle and convince yourself you were still at the base of Cleeve Hill in March and observing the denouement of the Champion Hurdle.The first, second, fourth and fifth from last season’s Champion, in the shape of Hors La Loi, Marble Arch, Geos and Landing Light reconvene for the race named after Fred Winter’s great old hurdler and if you throw the Festival ante-post favourite Rooster Booster into the mix then it becomes clear what sort of feast is being laid out for us.None of the maestros though will conduct the early proceedings. For now, I’m just looking forward to my last night of warmth. I know the beauty of sailing past Table Mountain will be a short-lived thrill before the cold sets in. However, Josh Hall, Pindar’s previous skipper, has done a fantastic preparation job along with the shore crew and I feel mentally and physically recharged for what lies ahead. The Southern Ocean has a reputation that sailors have long feared and respected Not that that’s stopped it claiming many of them. All standard stuff really. Friday 13 DecemberOn board Pindar, CT, 14.30Less than 24 hours to the off and the adrenaline (nerves?) is building. My absence did not go down well with the producers, but then I’m a professional sailor, not a TV personality.Back to today, and all us skippers had to complete a survival training refresher course: how to rescue, how to be rescued, how to stave off hypothermia, how to use a flare, which flare to use, climbing in and out of life rafts.
It was a shame that my involvement wasn’t as extensive as it could have been, but halfway through filming, in the summer, I found out I was entering this race and had to go to the States to confirm my entry. I was a volunteer mentor to a girl called Lucy who worked on the ferries and was being transformed into an ocean racer I’m so glad she passed with flying colours. We’ve got one diabetic, John Dennis, in the fleet, for example, so it’s been suggested that every other boat carry insulin, potentially the difference between life and death to John. Thursday 12 DecemberApartment, Cape Town, 23.45I’ve just seen a tape of Faking It that was screened on Channel 4 in England last night. Another is that if things do go badly wrong, I’ve got no doubt that my fellow competitors will alter course and come to help We all know we’d do that for each other That’s a certainty. Hit one of those and your race is probably over.One plus, if you avoid the icebergs, is the amount of sea room – space to outmanoeuvre storms. And then there’s the icebergs, arguably the biggest single problem.
The wind-chill temperature will be constantly sub-zero and the visibility will go from one extreme to another. The remoteness, the size and force of the waves and wind, the lack of land to break up the conditions.It’s going to be four weeks of being permanently freezing cold and wet Everything will take that little bit longer to do. You have to eat properly to keep your body in as good a condition as possible – just in case. That’s why I’ll wear my survival suit for almost the entire time after leaving Cape Town and take care with my diet.