Race 8 - Day 11
Crew Diary - Race 8 Day 11: Sanya to Qingdao
15 March

It's never really goodbye, only 'see you later'

Tom wrote his final chapter a few days ago and now it is time for me to write mine. Sailing-wise, it's a bit the same story as our last race into Sanya actually. In the morning, we sailed into a wind hole – or, as skip Conall preferred to refer to it as, an “intermediary patch” – and we're bobbing along, Nic and I sharing helming, which mostly involved just standing at the wheel trying to get some sort of clear direction, and Tom taking care of our windseeker sheet while the others were busy down below making preparations for port while keeping out of the cold.

Then, within an hour it went from nothing to yankee 3 and three reefs in the main sail, which is about the smallest sail plan you can have before going to storm sails. We're about 120 miles from the finish I think (rough estimate) and it feels far different from 12h ago, when we were cruising under spinnaker! We're back at a heel, cold and wet (though when working, you get warm real fast!) and struggling to simply get around the boat, both on deck and below. On the plus side, it was once again a team experience as both watches were on deck for all the changes it took to get from windseeker to our current sail plan. I worked at the mast for reefing for the first time so I'm glad I got to get that extra little experience in just as we reach the end. My favourite feeling about this morning was working on the foredeck with our mate and Nic & Mary, two of our RTWers, and feeling like I was keeping up, and being useful. I mean, most of the time – I did manage to grab the wrong yankee halyard (twice...) but no resentment or anything from anyone, just fix the mistake! So, after a total of 38 days at sea, covering over 5000 nautical miles (worthy of a swallow tattoo??) with this wonderful crew, I have become a sailor. Their strength, support and determination inspire me and I will hold them all in my heart for the rest of my life. I think the lyrics of “For Good”, from Wicked, perfectly describe how I feel about leaving this experience behind me. I'm looking forward to arriving in Qingdao, to a warm welcome, a warm bed, and a hot shower, and then to going home, but this is bittersweet as I will miss my crew dearly. I'm pretty sure the FOMO is going to be awful! But, as in my title, I have learned over the years and through many international friendships that if you want to see someone, you can make it happen, even if it takes many years – and so it's not goodbye, only a see you later.

Anyway, I am proud to say that I can add something more to some of the most important parts of my personal identity, and actually all of these are shared with the world in the form of tattoos, apart from this new one.. for now! I am Canadian. I am a musician. I am a Hufflepuff. I am a CISVer (look up CISV when you get a chance, it's a fantastic charity!).

I am a sailor.