Race 3 - Day 17
Crew Diary - Race 3 Day 17: Cape Town to Fremantle
17 November

Good morning Liverpool 2018 supporters, family & friends,

I hope you are all having a good time and following your dreams takes what it takes, just like me.

I was starting to write this, until skipper asked for help on deck so I had to run and we had to drop a heavyweight spinnaker that was twisted because a helming error on a shifty medium strong winds and a not so easy swell: we drop it, antiwrap down, staysail up and I end up helming for 2 hours, but here I am again to finish, it's 00:00 of the 16 already.

First of all I want to congratulate my sister cousin Maria Emilia Lutegui Antia “Meia” for getting married and I think she and he are gonna be very happy, because they are cool and intelligent, so lots of hugs and kisses for you and for all our family. If I had the chance to be flash for a minute I'd love to fly there and party all night long with all my Antia Behrens family, hug you all and singing “si no te hubieras ido seria tan feliz” super drunk and almost crying like we will continue doing for the rest of our lives.

For those who know me, and for those who don't: I have the biggest and cool diverse family I've ever wanted, each of them are special and I have learned a lot from them all the time. I know you all support me and I hope someone replaces my crazy dances and my non-stop drinking style until the last man standing on the dance floor....oh, I'm stuck here in the middle of the Southern Ocean but I love it (jajaja). Part of me wants to be there and not missing my cousin's wedding, Christmas or happy new year... but I just wanna keep sailing keep making little history for my family, became a circumnavigator and why not, break all the barriers of “dreams to come true” and inspire the future adventurers in my family: Elena, Tato, Sofi, Timo, Gran Mat, Aurorita and the sons of the Leader. One day I'll take them to cross an ocean with me, if their parents allow me (of course... or not).

This has been a tough leg. We started with wind holes, I started quite sick, but I got better after a couple of sweaty, feverish nights and non stop doing what I'm supposed to do, and having faith that I'll get better. It just happened and I'm 100% now, stronger than ever. After the wind holes, we hit 50 knot winds, beating with the staysail into the wind, and having a 10 meter swell coming from the side... it was amazing amazing amazing, I love it!

I've spent 4 hours on the helm ( my new time record) and we had full moon so you can see the massive waves coming and I anticipated them and surfed the back of the waves. After that, we keep beating into the winds, with our yankees, always heeled, wet, super super cold and even more freezing when the winds shifts to the south... but it's fun and I bought a dry suit and what a good investment. I just dress myself with 7 layers (4 base layers, 2 jackets, a shield and on top the drysuit) so you survive all challenges. These challenges are the reason why I'm here, so come ooooon!!! After that we had some dramatic situations with spinnakers, I can't tell you on details because we can't reveal what happened, competitors could be reading.

I've learned a lot this leg from James Macfee (he his a rockstar sailor and I'm glad he is on our team), and also from my skipper Lance. He is the skipper you wanna have, cool, relaxed, delegates a lot but when something is wrong he just jumps on deck and solves it, even when out of control things get between, he just knows what is going on. Ocean sailing is not just sailing and doing evolutions, it's also about maintenance, and to have the ability to fix things even though you don't have spares and knowing if things go wrong we can all end up on a liferaft 3 or 4 days waiting to be saved! So yes, it's not a game, it's an authentic proof of what you got and being surrounded by capable people is vital. Don't worry Mami, everything gonna be alright, remember I was a professional swimmer and that I'm a crazy surfer; another thing, you'll be proud of my new baking abilities, I've impressed myself.

On the human part, it has been hard, I've been practising a lot my patience, I've lost my sense of humour some mornings, I had to take my character to the game, but not too far, so instead of going all in I just swallow my pride, and put in my earphones and listen to my reggae, hip hop and rock and roll, I've even listened to Gwen Stefani and Mana but I will recommend to you all Abre los Ojos & Musica de Paz from Papashanty Soundsystem... enjoy :)

This leg I've been hanging a lot with Graham, he is very fun and had supported me a lot when I lost my sense of humour, also Mikey “Star” Kidwell, and I've enjoyed Marcel VV's company (he is very keen in everything), always my favourites Pauly and Wozza keep putting in style and we are all looking forward to arrive in Fremantle, to rest and party and to recharge batteries for the next legs, and relax supporters, we will win a leg soon.

Strength! Pacient! Imaginaccion!

Written by Nano Antia

Go Team Liverpool 2018...