Race 7 - Day 9
Crew Diary - Final Goodbye - The Reflections Of T-Rex
03 March
I am approaching my last days of Leg 5 sailing on board Dare To Lead. Whilst I am looking forward to arriving back at Subic Bay and then home, I am sad that this is the end of my big adventure and saying goodbye to my wonderful and silly crew mates, Skipper and AQP - Thank you Rod for giving me a nick name T-Rex.
It’s been a life experience for me doing Leg 5. When I left home to join the race at Airlie Beach I didn’t know what to expect. How I would feel being in the middle of a big ocean and living for many weeks on board with mostly total strangers?
IMAGE: Race Start
I was told about the doldrums and crossing the equator ceremony where King Neptune would visit. He did indeed come and we had to pay tribute to him by sharing our precious fruit cakes with him, as well as all crew on board, when I turned from a pollywog to a shellback.
About a week after we started we heard about the coronavirus outbreak in China, we did not know how it would affect us at the time. We were told that Sanya was cancelled but we had no destination yet. We call our journey a ‘Mystery Tour’ because we don’t have a destination apart from sailing north. A few days before our original arrival date in Sanya we were given our new destination which is Subic Bay the Philippines. This uncertainty unsettled us, but we just sailed on.
What made the whole experience so wonderful, is because I have great crew mates who have supported me and got me up to speed with my sailing skills. As the days go on, I have gained more experience, became more confident and got to know my watch mates better.
It is quite incredible to think that 20 crew members started as strangers living on the boat together racing this big yacht. In this Leg 5 we have Australians, Austrians, Americans, British, Canadians, New Zealanders, South Africans and Norwegians. Each with their own personalities, but that soon became what made us gel as a team. We shared everything, our bunks, boat duties, cooking duties, cleaning the boat and our ups and downs. One of my dear crew mates gave me the nickname T-Rex. He is the biggest crew member on board and I am the smallest and he brought with him lots of beef jerky - friend for life!
IMAGE: Alex Holding Court
I would like to use this opportunity to say thank you to my dear crew mates, Skipper and AQPs who have helped me settle in, helped me in all boat things, looked after me when I was seasick and most of all for making me laugh with their silliness. Caught me when I was about to fall when the boat heeled 45 degrees. This trip has given me the break that I badly needed. I will miss the long nights watching the milky way on deck, long chats with Cecilia and her gentle way in showing me boat skills, or listening to Alex’s unusual takes on life, Bruce’s guidance on helming, Steve’s gentle encouragement, Stuart’s patience in showing me how to do things and Bettina’s and Vod’s instructions. From the other watch to Kevin my bunkie, Dario, Jimothy for getting breakfast ready for me and Michelle giving me a helping hands in the galley, Kate for all the food we have on board, Dario’s jollyness, Dave, Bruce, Charlie and Lola, and Ollie the Fireman, Cherie Media who liked the pie I cooked for her, and most of all our Skipper Guy who always made sure we are all ok, AQP Mike and previous AQP Hugues. I will miss you all very much and you are no longer strangers to me.
I have a feeling that this is a new beginning for me but I don’t know what yet. Goodbye and wishing you all the best and Fair wind, sail safe, sail fast. See you in London in August at the end of the race.
