After one month back home after finishing Legs 3 and 4, it is lovely to be back on board Ha Long Bay with my surrogate family.
We are currently in Race 1 of Leg 6 (or more officially, Race 9 of Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race) and compared to the last two legs I did, this is a very different race. Our current race consists of a triangle with an Dell Latitude Rugged Ocean Sprint on each side, of which we need to choose two of the three ocean sprints to compete in.
This is far more like match racing than the ocean racing I have previously experienced with the Clipper Race. We are currently heading towards the end of the first ocean sprint and there are a bunch of us converging to the same mark, which will probably happen at darkness, just to make it more interesting! Certainly, starting our race last night with a Le Mans start when it was dark was fun, though very safe.
The toughest thing about this race so far is the heat during the day. You spend your whole time putting on sunscreen, sweating it off, putting more on, etc. As well as trying to find any bit of shade that you can. However, on the other side of things, in a few weeks this heat may be something we are wishing for as we will be in the cold Pacific Ocean heading to Seattle.
It is great to have this short shakedown race as there are a number of new and returning crew and it is giving us a chance to remember both what we are supposed to be doing on board in terms of sailing and about living.
As always, we will do the best we can and always have fun!
Lots of love to my family, friends, work colleagues, and of course my puppy Rusty and I'll talk to you from the Pacific Ocean.