Race 9 - Day 10
Crew Diary - Race 9 Day 10
22 March
A Long Way Home.
I’ve been having vivid dreams of home. Featuring places and faces I’ve known almost my whole life, yet oddly changed. Sometimes for better, sometimes not so much, but you can’t always fight change – not least when your thousands of miles away at sea and sleeping. Still, it’s nice to dream of home. To wake up with the feeling that it is all there waiting for me when I get back, and that no one can take it away from me. No matter how far I travel, or what boundaries I push out here, I will always have deep, deep roots in that place.
That’s a great feeling and has always emboldened me to go places, try things, and not fear failure. I will never be lost as my compass will always point back to there. It makes it so easy to fully embrace a Round the World Yacht Race like the Clipper Race, knowing we are making our way slowly back home.
And I think Race 9 might be the first time, I have fully embraced life on board. It has been such a brutal slog at times, with the boat heeling at impossible angles, chaotic sea states, and sometimes a lot of work for little reward. Moving around below is like climbing on monkey bars, your only chance of sleep is to wedge your bunk into a claustrophobic prism, and working on deck is like going 12 rounds with Neptune himself. Yet, I have found myself mostly unbothered. Smiling through the tired muscles, wet clothes, and being “woken up” after four hours staring at the ceiling. I finally feel well enough at home here, and capable of carrying on for as long as necessary. And now that the boat has levelled out, and the kite is up, maybe we will start to see some reward for all that effort…
Or maybe, I’m just renewed and refreshed after finally seeing close family for a wonderful few days in Zhuhai after so long. My cousin Mark and his wife Hanako popped over from Hong Kong, and I’m sure plenty on Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam and beyond will recognise Julie, Katie, Andy, and Max from now on. If not, they’ll be the ones waving the Irish tricolour once we get back on the right side of the Atlantic!
Seeing Max travel all the way to China at four years old and embrace everything he saw there makes me think that he feels the same as me; eyes wide open to the unknown, and the undiscovered, assured of a safe and supportive home to return to. One day he’ll appreciate it and feel as blessed as I do for it too.