Race 13 - Day 3
Crew Diary - Derry-Londonderry to Liverpool
24 July

Leg 8 – Race 13 – Day 3 – Pip O'Sullivan

So here it is, it really is the last crew blog from me from the good ship GREAT. I feel like I have come full circle (no pun intended there...), after having managed to avoid being in the galley for the last 4 legs due to being watch leader, I am now back where it all began. In the galley. It was definitely only fair that I did one more stint in here – however it is still my least favourite place on the boat. Having to hold kettles, marmite jars, empty bowls and jugs of milk with only a limited number of hands while the boat flies around is not my idea of fun. Add to that demanding customers and lots of lakes of water (yes I may have forgotten to close the hatch above me) and it really is unpleasant.

I have been looking back at what has made this year for me and how I have managed to get through it and the answer has got to be the people I have met and the crew I have sailed with.

We started off with a limited group of round the worlders, due to a few drop outs before we left. Our group has gradually come fewer and fewer, leaving just 5 of us. We have a number of multi leggers who have been sailing for more than 3 legs and so they feel very much part of the core crew now as well. I wanted to say a few words about them all if I may...

Ray – oh good old Ray, he really is one of the most hard working people I have ever met. He loves a job and just gets on with stuff without being asked. I am very grateful to him for keeping our heads working and for having the grimmest jobs of fixing them. He has a wicked sense of humour and says it how it is. He can get a real grump on at times, but he always know when he has – you usually just need to give him some sweets and then he is fine! Ray and I have had many a deep and meaningful behind the helm at times and I really hope we will stay in touch, despite him being on the other side of the world.

Jonny M – one of the most gentle giants I have met, a cross between Winston Churchill, a bulldog and the BFG, he really is the kindest man. He also feels the need to bellow anything he says, we always know where he is on the boat. He is a great sailor and I will really miss him! He has really helped me as a watch leader and given me confidence when I have needed it.

Phil – Phil has been our engineer on the boat and we quite literally wouldn't have been able to get round without him. He has kept our engine and generator going, he has made sure we have fresh water and made sure we have gas too. Thank you Phil for all your hard work.

Tessa – Tessa has been our medic and has kept us all fit and well. She's kept us supplied with lemsip and paracetamol when the inevitable boat cold has hit. She was also a huge help when I dislocated my shoulder on leg 5 and was probably the reason why I was able to keep going!

Luise – Luise has been with us on and off since Punta and really brings an amazing amount of positivity and humour. She also says it how it is, which has been highly amusing at times. She has been an absolutely brilliant TC for the boat, has kept everyone informed and has made it a much more colourful place to be, especially with the laminations!

Beanie – Beanie has been fantastic on the boat. She has definitely kept me going in difficult times. She gets stuck into everything and despite how much she hates our code 1 (well she says she does), she has done an amazing job of leading the repairs and getting it flying again. She is very good at just getting on with it and makes us smile as well. Thanks Bean!

Nicola – Nicola has really thrown herself into this race, as I have got to know her, her cheery smile and enthusiasm for anything on the boat is infectious. She really puts everything into the sailing aspect, has done an amazing job of victualling for various legs and thoroughly deserves being watch leader for this last race.

Dave – thank you to our Skipper for the latter half of the race, Dave. Lorraine (Happy Birthday Lorraine!!!), you are very welcome to have him back now, I am not going to miss his jokes! But I am going to miss his positivity, his sense of humour and him barking “what are you laughing at O'Sullivan, you're not supposed to be having fun!”

Other special mentions have to go to the special girls I have collected along the way – Lady Catherine, Krishna, Claire, Hannah, JP, Alanna, Jayne, Faith, Kaz, Toeknee. You are all wonderful ladies! Not forgetting all the boys – thank you as well. What an amazing GREAT crew we have had.

To absent friends – thank you to Andy, who skippered us halfway around the world. Your humour, seamanship and professionalism got us through some of the toughest times and all who sailed with you still miss you.

Finally, our absent crew member Simon Spiers, who we lost on leg 3. I think about him every day and he has been truly missed on this boat. Every momentous thing that happens, whether it is an incredible sight of dolphins, a big storm, success at sail repair, I think how much he would have enjoyed that and how sad it is that he isn't here to share it with us. I still struggle at times to come to terms with what happened on GREAT, but I always look back to how we pulled together as a crew to get through that horrific time.

So, what have I learnt on this boat, I have tried to whittle it down to 4 things...

1)Sometimes things get really tough. Tougher then you ever expect, but if you keep going, with good people around you, you can do it and you will get through it!

2)Laughter is medicine for the soul. A good belly laugh has helped many of us on the boat. If you can laugh at yourself then you are halfway there!

3)We really don't need much 'stuff' to survive. We have often had to put up with what was on the boat food wise, toiletry wise, clothes wise. We have run out of key things – butter, sugar, coffee, pants. But you just make do and get on with it. I'm not saying that only wearing one set of clothes for a week is acceptable, but it shows that you can do without all the extras in life.

4)Nature is amazing and the world is an incredible place! I am going to go a bit David Attenborough now, but we have to look after it. My eyes have been opened to the affect of humans and it is really sad.

So, it has been a pleasure, an endurance, a laugh and an adventure. Thank you to everyone – friends, family, supporters, old crew, current crew, first mates and Skippers who have got me round the world. I couldn't have done it without you all.

Toodle pip xxx