Race 12 - Day 16
Crew Diary - New York, USA to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland
06 July

Heather Thomas
Heather Thomas
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This crossing has been very fun and very varied- with a very warm high pressure to start with, which brought with it some good winds in a good direction, some fast and furious heavy downwind sailing in the middle and now on our extended course back from Rockall (the most westerly British Isle) some upwind to top it all off.

The first sight of land a couple of days ago when we passed Tory Island was marked with freshly baked cake, made by me and Pippa (my fellow bow girl) This has been a very fast passage and our last ocean crossing. It's crazy to think that I have crossed two oceans and all before I turn 20, I wonder how many people can say that.

Returning to Europe and the United Kingdom is certainly very exciting. We now only have a small race round the top of Scotland, through the North Sea and onto Den Helder. Having sailed a lot in the North Sea in the past couple of years, I am very excited to bring the race into waters that I know.

We have seen some awesome wildlife in the last 16 days. Whales, dolphins, turtles, lots of birds and the occasional jellyfish. When a potential spotting occurs there is an eruption of energy from the otherwise silent and peaceful watch as everyone clambers over everyone else to see. There are shouts of 'where?' and 'what?'- if the reply to the latter question is dolphins, the excitement from most of the round the worlders and multi-leggers fades as we have seen dolphins millions of times- they are never usually far away but if it’s a whale or multiple whales everybody watches and watches until the, usually brief, encounter is over. Whales are loved by all but are a lot rarer than their energetic cousins the dolphins.

We are currently about 160nm from Derry, so hopefully we will be on dry land by tomorrow afternoon. We are currently making speeds of 9-10knts so that is very achievable. The wind is meant to abate (a new word I learnt the other day) and swing round behind us so hopefully some more comfortable downwind sailing to come. I am currently typing this whilst wedging myself in to stop the 40 degree angle and rocking waves from propelling me through the galley so downwind sailing would be lovely right now. Those climbing lessons are coming in handy for dragging yourself up onto the highside, a feat that is a challenge for even the most agile. Maybe a climbing trip with the folks would be a good idea in Derry to fine tune my deck climbing skill set.

The weather has returned to the familiar cold and drizzle that I know (and since Panama kind of love), just another sign that soon enough we will be home and this adventure of a lifetime will be at an end.