Race 6 - Day 11
Crew Diary - Race 6 Day 11: Hobart to Whitsundays
16 January

As Leg 4 is drawing to a close, my probation period on Dare to Lead is nearly over.

Despite my constant giggling, singing along to songs I don't know the words to and eating more than my fair share of Frosties at breakfast, I'm pretty confident I've made the cut and I'll be allowed back on the boat to continue on to China and beyond. Besides, I'm pretty handy at the old spinnaker packing (with Sam as my partner in crime I hasten to add) which has to be in the top 3 worst jobs on the boat.

That said, I did receive some feedback from the skipper this morning that telling him at 4.30am when he was half asleep that we were 500m away from one of our fellow competitors required more urgency in the manner in which I told him. Apparently I was a little too calm, and more high pitched shouting and panic like hand gestures would have helped raise the alarm. And should it ever happen again he would prefer a little more warning. However, a swift spinnaker drop and an even swifter gybe, and we were all able to breathe again and continue racing. On a positive note, I'll be bold enough to say it was probably our fastest spinnaker drop, gybe and re-hoist I think our watch has ever done!

For a 'round the worlder', it's hard not to reflect on the previous few months at this point in the race as mentally it feels about half way-ish. Having experienced my fair share of highs and lows on the journey such as the Greenings grounding, a medical evacuation, the death of an old school friend (rest in peace Emma) and of course the Clipper Race family losing Simon, I've experienced raw emotion like never before. This adventure strips away the layers you typically build inside yourself.

So far, I've pushed my own limits and gone beyond what I thought I ever could. I've never felt so sleep deprived. I've never felt so exhausted. I've never felt so scared. I've never felt so sweaty and dirty! I've never felt so cold. Or so hot. Yet at the same time, I've never felt so exhilarated. I've never laughed so hard. I've never cried so hard. I've never been so committed to something. I've never been in so much admiration for those around me on our 70 foot home. And I've never been so proud of myself.

So as we enter a new year, this adventure is helping to reaffirm what is important to me in life. My drive to love life, family, friends and everything that entails has never been more profound. Idyllic I know, but when you step away from the world as you know it, for me at least, that is what truly matters.

Airlie Beach is now literally around the corner and we can just about taste the ice cold beer. This has been a tough race and one we will no doubt celebrate in style. Big thank you to those I've sailed with so far. And a big warm welcome to those new crew members joining us.

Feeling deeply optimistic about the rest of our race campaign with Dale and the team. Bring on leg 5!

Love to you all.

Smiling. As always

Jenny xxx