Race 12 - Day 7
Crew Diary - New York, USA to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland
27 June
My name is Lizzy and I am a scaredy cat
Previous blogs have mentioned the first five days of
this race and how testing they were. The heel of the boat, waves that hit
you that feel like getting booted in the back by a rugby player, dampness
everywhere below, crawling on deck and climbing up to the high side to cling to
a winch for four or so hours. The lengthy bouts of sea sickness
experienced by some on board (lesson learned, don't sit downwind of the
seasick. Still, I had my foulies on). And then, in a matter of hours it was
replaced by sun, warmth, spinnakers and a flattened boat.
Personally this five days was something of a
revelation. In training I was always aware of expecting bigger weather,
worrying if I could cope, would I be too scared to do anything, would the boat
cope. Anytime that the we heeled over a lot and got our speed up I would
be incredibly tense, worried about something going wrong, worried that I
wouldn't know what to do if it did. I wanted everyone on deck. I wanted
the wind to die down.
So it came as a surprise to me when the weather picked
up at the beginning of this race and I found myself bashing along in a big
swell and 30 knots of wind with a smile on my face, loving it. I wasn't
waiting for something bad to happen, I was watching our boat speed, urging it
to go up and cheering with everyone on long fast surfs down waves. It took
me a couple of days to realise it but I had stopped worrying.
This hasn't happened over night. I've been on the
race for two months now and was certainly apprehensive leaving Seattle but
slowly I've come to understand the boat better and have so much confidence in
the crew that I have started to relax. It doesn't mean we're not prepared to
react to something, but I don't have the sense of dread that I did. Storm Colin
on the last race was an eye opener and I sat down below listening to the terrifying
noises coming from on deck wondering if I was really up to this.
But I forced myself to go up the companionway and it
was honestly one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had. Who knew
that I was someone that could enjoy sailing in a tropical storm? Not
me!
If I'm honest a big part of why I signed up to
the race was to test myself, to see if I could do it, to see how brave I
was. I'm no Bear Grylls or Robin Knox-Johnston but it turns out I can
enjoy ocean racing in testing conditions. I can ignore the less
comfortable aspects of life below in bigger weather. I can go a two weeks
without washing my hair. The best thing about all of this is not
just the amazing experiences I'm having on board but also that I can take this
into life in the 'real' world after the race. I'm going to try to
remember that finding out why you're afraid of something can mean that you
actually find out you love it.
So, my name is Lizzy and thanks to the Clipper Race
I'm not as much of a scaredy cat as I was.
Other news:
The Whexit is over and I have finally seen one up
close! By referring to Axel's excellent Whale and Dolphin book we have
established that we saw a Common Bottlenose whale about ten feet from the boat,
alongside, puffing away. It was very large and grey and we have
named him William. We wish you the best, William.
Adrian couldn't manage seconds of Marine's amazing
apple and berry crumble at dinner. Obviously we're concerned and
have asked the on board medics to check him over as he is clearly unwell.