Race 12 - Day 13
Crew Diary - New York to Derry-Londonderry
09 July

Hello sailors!

It's a grey, shiny day 500nm off the coast of Ireland, and Union watch has been given coffee on deck in an attempt to sharpen up trim and magically make it to Ireland. As we approach Europe, I've been thinking about all the crazy crew I've sailed with over the last 10 months, and a few in particular I will miss quite a bit:

Ray: Ray and I have been on the bow together in all conditions for the last three legs. Having him next to me up there or at the helm is comforting and fun at the same time. We know each other's every move, I don't have to turn around to know he's behind me tugging just as hard on the sail as I am and I am certainly going to miss those glances we exchange that say 'someone's gotta do it!'. There's hardly any yelling between us, except when he feels I'm being unsafe (very rarely the case), or when I feel he has woken me up too early (as he is smart, never the case).

Pip: The Pipster! Wow, our boat would certainly be a less fun place without Pip. She aims to entertain, whether it is through tunes, ridiculous dance moves, or tales of her heads adventures, you're never too far from a laugh when you're on watch with Pip. And as a watch leader, she has made this boat her own, welcoming every new leggers and patiently teaching them the ways of the GREAT boat, as well as pushing herself further and further each time!

Jon Milne: Jon, my 'boat husband' and I can often be found bickering in the Nav station, or at the helm when I have the privilege of being on watch with him. “When you say come up, do you mean come down?”... “Obviously yes, boss”. For a person so gentle and sweet, he certainly has one of the loudest voices I have ever heard, but he has a wonderful habit of appearing on the bow when you are mid-evolution and would love some extra hands to pull down a sail. I have learnt so much from him, most of all patience, and the love of a good dry suit.

Finally, let me tell you something about Phil. When the boat got to Fremantle, after having lost Simon, and I was about to get back on for leg 4, Phil sat me down and yelled at me for a solid 15 minutes until I promised to get a dry suit that would keep me safe and warm in the conditions we were about to go into.

And then there are the leggers, who have gotten on and off, but who remain a part of this boat every single day. Every time we sail into a vind hole we see Krishna's big grin, saying “I f***ing love wind holes!” At least once a watch I smile as I hear Paul and Claire singing, “Let it gooo”. Whenever Qingdao is in our vicinity, or now actually just when we see Thoma at the helm, we mimic Andy's voice on the VHF from leg 1 “Qingdao qingdao Qingdaooo, veeee can seee youuuu”. Alanna Oh na na is still our favourite song, and when I clean heads I hear Faiths voice and angelic boat smile saying “could be worse Luise, you could have paid to do this!”. There's no one anymore to do EVERYTHING on the boat Jayne, but we sure are trying. And when I'm two degrees off course, I pretend Nic is next to me, trying to get to the pig roast.

I've been using my powers as laminator in chief (a.k.a Team Coordinator) to print and put some of these quotes up on the wall around the galley. They are incorporated into our daily jokes, laughs and stories anyway, but this way I hope everyone gets to see them in Derry and Liverpool, and we can't wait for a reunion with you crazy lot.

Now, as we get closer to England, people have been very reflective on board. Has this race changed me as a person? In short, I'd say it has made me someone with a little more patience, and a lot less money. After what was the first of three Clipper legs for me in Cape Town, I chose to extend my time on board the good ship GREAT to six legs. The sailing I loved, the starry nights at the helm, trying to dance on top of the waves, spray in your face as you brave yet another sail change on the bow. All the bits around the sailing I found unnecessary, but fair to endure. And the lessons I learned (mostly about letting little things go, accepting the things you cannot change, like wind and tides, and about cleaning the bilge under the stove), the people I met, and the times we've shared are something I did not anticipate to be as special as it was.

Now I don't want to overstate what we've achieved. My friend Michael recently climbed Everest (after seeing some of his footage, I'd rather sail around the world another two times than do that for 6 weeks), Anna got her motorcycle license and bought herself a shiny ride, and Dorothea became a fully fledged doctor, saving lives and taking names! So really, to put this sailing malarkey in perspective, I'd say it was mayybe top 10 of cool things going on around me. Probably top 50. But, it is certainly an experience I will look back on where I know I worked the hardest, and have had some of the happiest times of my life so far. Plus, I can now say that I can throw up whilst helming a steady course, and survive salt water drenchings with a big smile, so I'd say that's pretty cool.

Big Birgelen family week this week – happy wedding day to my brother Rudolph, certainly one of the darkest days of this race for having missed your big day. Happy birthday to my brother Konrad, and congratulations to my brother Friedrich on the impending arrival of a mini Birgelen soon! Can't wait to see you, you will no longer have to send me whats apps and be a bit confused that I don't reply (once again, I'm on the water, there's no wifi)

Lastly, I would like to apologize to my parents for having put them through a year of watching the race viewer and wondering about the weather on the North Pacific.

See you all very very soon,

Luise for the GREAT crew

ps Mutti, I'm still fine!