Race 12 - Day 12
Crew Diary - Race 12 Day 12: New York to Derry-Londonderry
08 July

All is good aboard as the racing continues with Visit Seattle and Unicef leading the fleet with less than 300 nm to go. The crew is looking forward to our stopover in Derry-Londonderry Northern Ireland, but we still have some competitive ocean sailing to keep us occupied. Keep an eye on the race viewer to see who this race concludes.

In the meantime, last night we were treated to the most amazing display of bioluminescence. The moon had not yet made an appearance and the stars overhead were blocked by cloud, with the darkness all the flashes and lingering gloss of the north Atlantic bioluminescence were pronounced, who would have thought planktonic displays could be so captivating. In the distance, the foamy white crests of breaking waves where clearly visible.

Unicef was plummeting through the waves at between 11 and 17 knots, throwing a glowing bow wave to both sides. Sparking spray was thrown over the bow with the regular submersion of the bow spit. Lines on deck would retain twinkling lights long after the deck had shed the most recent wave. Off the stern, the twin rudders were slicing through galaxies of flashing lights under the surface. I imagined the rudders were slicing through the heavens scattering the stars of the night sky. The glowing wake of the boat dispersed into the dark of the distance. Can't wait to see if the display is repeated tonight.

Sending special wedding anniversary hugs and kisses to my life partner Sabra.

Richard

Keep in mind what is painted on the boards of the helming cage on unicef, one life, live it.