Race 4 - Day 1
Crew Diary - Race 4, Day 1
17 November

Another Race Start

The morning for the Qingdao team was an early 6.45 am start to immigration to get our passports stamped. Then with a flurry of final preparation, stowage and getting our race sails up on deck and hanked on us if we were ready to slip lines. The faces of the wives and girlfriends, friends and family brought a tear to my eye. The encouragement and love were tangible, for me being a circumnavigator, seeing my teammates that depart on this legs was a wrenching.

With new crew and old now sitting shoulder to shoulder we were off on the race around the cans. It’s always an exciting fast paced and frighteningly close event. As we rounded our first marker we yelled ‘protest’ against Unicef who cut under us. Then quickly we pulled away from the fleet rounding the last two markers in the first place. Chris, now showing his appreciation for the hard working team that had just tacked and grinded their way through the start course said ‘I’m so proud of you guys’. It’s with these words that he sealed the bonding of a new team that will now sail across the formidable Southern Ocean together. What this vastness has install for us, God only knows.

There are good and hard times ahead on this leg, with friendships and memories now being formed. I leave you with the image of my two crewmates David and Bertrand doing their mother watch duties cooking in the galley healed over at 45 degrees beating upwind in huge seas singing ‘you are my sunshine, my only sunshine you make me happy when skies are grey’...