Race 10 - Day 10
Crew Diary - Race 10 Day 10
10 April
I can’t say I was nervous about crossing the Pacific Ocean before we set sail. I was excited to see what this ocean had to offer and looked forward to seeing magnificent waves and powerful downwind. I think the only way to not be nervous would be to be adequately prepared or just completely naive. When I first started this race, I would have put myself in the latter category. After crossing the South Atlantic and Southern Indian Ocean, I was feeling like I could put myself in the first category. There were three items that changed those two races from what could have been miserable to enjoyable.
The first item was my Ocean Wear sleeping bag. This is not paid advertising but I will tell you, that as a cold-blooded person, I would not do this race without this item. Having a heavy dry sleeping bag to crawl into to warm up after a cold shift on deck gave me peace of mind while I was on deck that the cold was temporary. I was able to sleep well and be comfortable in a rather uncomfortable environment.
The second item was given to me by my crew mate's mom known as Vicki’s mum. It was a hot water bottle. I wasn’t even quite sure what to do with it when she first gave it to me but a discussion with Ineke in passing at a barbecue convinced me this might be an important item. I remember her talking about not liking the cold and how she would use it in her sleeping bag to warm up. I tried it the first time and it was a total game changer! Even with my fancy sleeping bag, I would take a long time to warm up. This sped up the process and I got to sleep more comfortably and quicker!
The third and final item that I would list in my top three most important personal items for cold legs is my Musto drysuit. Once again, not paid advertising. If I have talked to any of you personally about the race, you will have heard me mention my absolute unwavering love for my drysuit. I learned early on in the race that I hate being wet. At the first sign of splashiness, my drysuit became my daily wear for every watch. When I packaged it up in a vacuum seal bag for leg 5 when it was going to be too hot to wear it, I labelled it as “Jaci’s Beloved Drysuit” and even took a video of me stowing it deep in storage. I took a time-lapse of me getting ready on Leg 3 in it. I make sure it is always stowed properly with the legs tied up so people don’t trample on it near the bottom of our wet lockers. When I had a small nick in the wrist gasket, I dropped it off with the Musto rep to do the appropriate fix. I do a cold fresh water rinse at every stopover and completely air dry it out. I have a silicone lube for the zippers. I am a bit obsessed… And then day 3 of the Pacific Ocean crossing happened… As I was undressing after watching my neck gasket tragically ripped.
Complete devastation… I met with Bob and Cam in the nav station and updated them on my tragic loss. I expressed how much this affected me and my comfort level being on deck and how apprehensive I was. I wrote an email home and tossed and turned for the next 8 hours in my bunk… When I finally pulled myself together to get ready for my next watch, I had an idea…
We have a teammate who had to step off for this race. She was scheduled to do Leg 5, 6, and 8 with us. She did 5 and the first part of 6 but unfortunately had to step away but will be back for Leg 8. Side note about Laura, I love having her on deck because she has a great boat voice and is a really hard worker. And she was our medic on this leg so I was quite bummed when she told me she was taking a race off. Anyway, she asked if she could leave some of her gear on board that she didn’t want to fly home with.
When I dragged myself out of my bunk, I decided to look through Laura’s gear, and guess what I found!?!? A drysuit!!!! AND Laura and I happen to be the same size. I realize I have not asked her permission but she has loaned me another piece of clothing so I have borrowed her drysuit without asking but I fully intend to return it in the same condition (meaning I will replace hers if I break it also). But for now, I am so grateful that she left it onboard!!!!
Cam checked on me a few days after the incident. I told him my update that I found Laura’s and he looked at me shocked. That never happens! There happens to be a spare drysuit on board in the exact size you need it.
Thank you so much to the universe and to Laura for looking out for me on this Leg (even when you are not here!)