Now that we are nearing the port of Qingdao, the Finish Line of Race 9, it is fair to say that both life and sailing have their parallels with throwing challenges at you. Perseverance is sailing around the world to raise awareness for the Princess Máxima Center, a paediatric oncology centre in the Netherlands. As one of the Ambassadors onboard Perseverance, we are here to show what survivors are capable of, when enough funds are raised for treatments and research.
Racing has been interesting and challenging, since our Le Mans start in Zhuhai. We have been beating upwind for days, and with wind against current most of us got a visit from the green sea monster. Personally, the first few days were quite a struggle – getting used to the on board routines, living at 45 degrees, bonding with teammates, getting enough sleep, and nerves about what really lies ahead on the crossing of the Pacific. Furthermore, one of my crocs preferred to become a saltwater croc (after being packed into our Code 3), my head torch broke on the second day, and I am missing the comfort of a lost pillow.
I am not sure on which day of the race we are anymore. Life on board is lived from watch to watch, and from race update to race update. Honestly, following the race is much easier with the hourly updates in the comfort of your home. We are getting an update every six hours, with occasional boats showing on AIS – that is if we can find them between the hundreds of fishing boats and marks of the Chinese fishing fleets. As we passed the island of Taiwan a number of days ago, and the winds backed to the north, bringing in a sudden decrease in temperature as cold winds are now powering us forward. With every watch we add another layer to the outfit – trying to adapt in these cold conditions.
Now us “leggers” have found our ways on board and are being trained at helming school. The first results of these classes are seen in the current race standing. As we made our way back into the top five boats, however, Persy is getting tired, after being halfway around the world. She throws us with different challenges and difficulties. We will be persevering with the challenges thrown at us and we are pushing hard on this last day or so to secure a good position in the race rankings. We have another 200NM to go and are all looking forward to being welcomed into Qingdao!