Race 6 - Day 11
Crew Diary - Race 6 Day 11: Hobart to Whitsundays
16 January
Just when you all thought you were rid of me, it turns out this leg was a little longer than expected and I've managed to sneak a mother duty for one final time on board team GREAT Britain.
The slight extension to my final race has come with mixed emotions.
On the positive side we've had some really exciting sailing, incredible weather and more time for jokes and laughs on board. On the other side, I'm slightly regretting spending 50% of my entire hotel budget on a nice apartment with a hot tub in Airlie that it turns out I'll probably never get to see.
The team have done their best to cheer me up about this. Some point out the incredible sailing we are getting, while others offer to help me dip my toes in the sink with a cup of tea as that is the closest thing to sitting out in the tub on the balcony with a beer in hand that I'm going to get.
Outside of my feeling sorry for myself, today has had a very positive spirit to it. Now that we're heading downwind the crew seem to be bouncing around with a bit more spring in their step. Most of that will be due to the boat sitting much flatter on the water and the day to day tasks, like putting on socks, taking 30 seconds rather than 5 minutes. There is no doubt that Airlie being that much closer is also helping the mood and I'm sure the arrival drinks will taste all the sweeter for the extra effort we've had to put in.
I hope you'll now all forgive me for being a bit reflective for a paragraph or two.
With only a day or so left of sailing it is a bit strange to think how quickly the whole adventure has gone – for the leggers coming on for leg 5 onwards, you will be amazed how quickly time flies when you do nothing but eat, sail, sleep and laugh. Two legs behind me and around 10,000km under my belt, there is no doubt in my mind the things I'll take away with me. The friendships I've made over a few short months will last far beyond the 2017-2018 race and I can't wait to welcome the boat home in July next year.
I'd also like to mention a moment from Leg 3 that will stay with me for many years to come. After Simon's tragedy our boat was in a very bad shape and I must have been as low as I could have possibly been. If you had given me the chance to get off and never look at the sea again I would have taken it in an instant. Only a day or so later we received the most thoughtful messages from Simon's family sending their thoughts to us, reminding us how much Simon loved this adventure and wishing us well. This kindness to think of us during such a hard time is something I will always be grateful for and while we couldn't be in Bristol for the memorial last week, I know the boat was there in spirit.
All that leaves me to do is to give my customary shout outs to family, Viktoriya and the Yarders. As long as I don't miss my flight (there is still a slight chance of that), I'll see you in a few days.
Nautical regards
Iain
P.S. I managed to make the team a grilled cheese for lunch today that I think was good enough to get a mention in Andy's blog. I'm a bit annoyed it didn't and I'm regretting all that extra effort I went to to infuse the bread with garlic and rosemary.