“Stay fast and floaty” is how a good friend wished me well when I left. Solid advice when joining an ocean sailing race I’d say. But it has been tough these last few days to keep that early excitement alive. The quiet struggle for motivation to get up and keep going is kind of tough.
We’ve been beating upwind for days. Through high waves and strong cold winds, tired and plagued by seasickness and equipment failure. The nearest competitor ahead, Qingdao, is always just out of reach. I shouldn’t complain though. After all, it was one of the reasons I gave friends and family for doing this: find out how far you can take me from my comfortable life. Further still apparently, we’re still going, still smiling. Still fast and floaty.
The steep learning curve that only comes with being thrown into the deep end was my second reason. The deep end of the East Chinese sea in this case. Earlier in the race I struggled to keep the boat on course through waves in the pitch-black night. Now, thanks to the help of teammates Joss and Cam, I’m climbing up and sliding down the invisible waves, avoiding the loud crash into the next one that slows us down. Most of the time anyway.
I’ve got a couple of hours in my bunk coming up. Hopefully, I’ll dream of being comfortably at home with my wife who I miss terribly. But not for long. We’ll find the motivation to get up into the wet and cold again, we’ll keep going through the high wind and waves, and keep smiling. We might even catch Qingdao. Stay fast and floaty out there Clipper Race boats, see you in port!