Race 2 - Day 2
Crew Diary - Race 2, Day 2
17 September
Two years ago I stood where you have been standing. Totally absorbed in the Clipper Race. Standing on the dock in Liverpool watching the boats leave. Watching my husband head off on the adventure of his lifetime sailing around the world.
What was I feeling? I can tell you vividly. My heart and mind were a mixture of emotions and it felt like I had a wild and furious pendulum swinging 180 degrees inside me.
I felt intense pride, admiration and excitement for what he was undertaking, but also fear and if I am really honest a feeling of slight anger at him going away for so long. After all, we had spent the past 30 years living and working together. I thought about being on my own and thinking about having to deal with what life would throw at me and while I knew I could cope, it was just that huge uncertainty.
As the year progressed, I realised that I had developed a love/hate relationship with this 70 foot boat (CV23). Love:; the excitement building and the anticipation of them arriving into port, regardless of where they came in the fleet and always shedding a tear behind my glasses. Then hate; watching them head out to sea again at the end of each stopover. Heading out into the unknown, each leg presenting its own unique and individual challenges. There were no easy legs I came to learn.
But a lifetime of memories were created in that year for the both of us, some shared, some not. It’s a roller coaster of a journey but one that I obviously accepted otherwise I would not be sitting here writing this blog today on GoToBermuda! After weeks of training and travelling to the other side of the world, here I am, roles have been reversed and I am on my journey.
Support networks got me through Greg’s year away both within the Clipper Race network and my family and friends at home. It is hard trying to fully understand why our significant others want to undertake these types of challenges. Watching Greg sparked something inside me to undertake this adventure also.
So, supporters, enjoy watching us sail across oceans, sometimes questioning our tactics. Enjoy the blogs, and celebrate with us as we reach each stopover milestone.
As Mark Twain said ‘twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sail, Dream. Explore. Discover’
Gerry