Race 10 - Day 18
Crew Diary - Race 10 Day 18
15 April

The Race of Your Life – The Date Line

The International Date Line is one of these magic spots on the globe - like the Equator, the poles, the zero-meridian in Greenwich, or the peak of Mount Everest. There is only one, it is special, it is different. When I lived in Asia and did my business trips to east and west - even then, crossing the date line was something special. Suddenly you gained time and/or even a day. It was just the 17th and now it is the 16th. But traveling on an airplane is living in the fast lane. Cruising speeds of 600 mph, 10 hours from Tokyo to San Francisco. Things happen fast and there is little time to reflect.

This time, we do it slower. 10-12 mph. We approach the line slowly and with dignity; we are not just crossing it. Every 15 degrees going east, we move the clock one hour away from UTC (Coordinated Universal Time =Greenwich Mean Time GMT). Further away from home, from our starting line in Portsmouth, UK.

Although the International Date Line is not a straight line (it curves around landmasses and national borders). It is the boundary where each calendar day starts and is also known as the “Line of Demarcation” because it separates two calendar days. Thereafter, as we continue east, our clocks will start moving closer and closer to UTC/GMT. In Seattle it will be 8 hours; in Washington 5 hours; at the end of July, we will be back in Portsmouth where we started. We will have circumnavigated the world, crossed the equator twice, the date line once, and many oceans. We will…we will…we will... be full of memories.

But it is still a long way. 180°, halfway around the world. Sail fast, sail safe!