Race 9 - Day 13
Crew Diary - Race 9 Day 13: Qingdao to Seattle
05 April

The colours of a sailboat by Javier Roca

Hi there,

I will start by saying that I have never felt the need or desire to write a blog. Never in my life had I imagined writing my first blog on a rocking sailing ship miles away from land. I will also confess that writing is not my forte—I am more of a visual creative person who sees the world in terms of shapes, lines of composition, and colour hues. So I decided to describe life aboard in terms of points of view. Every artist starts by choosing a point of view, or frame, and a subject that captivates their interest. For me, there are a few interesting points of view on our ship, and each one changes slightly depending on the time of day and the weather.

The first point of view is the saloon area, where we basically gather together in our watches for breakfast and dinner. The entire crew gathers for lunch on deck each day. From here you can see a foreground of different jars, aligned neatly, as pigments on a painter's easel: peanut butter ochre, dark umber, Marmite, light sienna, orange marmalade. At night, the red light of dinnertime casts everything in a monochromatic, expressionistic rendition wherein blues and greens change to black, the red foulies and yellow dry suits scream like a Rothko pairing.

The second point of view is the cockpit. If you look down from my vantage point at the grinder, all you see is a range of multicoloured ropes: sheets, reefs, halyards, and other lines controlling each of the sails, as our nerves control muscles, or circuits in a complex computer join at a processor. At a forty-five degree angle, this view changes dramatically. What you then see is a wall, at the end of which rolls a sea of fast moving water as the ship sails up against the wind at a heel.

The third point of view is the impressionistic vista from the rail on the deck. From here we can see the magnificence of the ocean. Its waves roll in blue, with dry brush strokes of titanium white. The sea presents warmly delicate hues of beige, and coldly rough grays during the early and late hours, the deep ultramarine blues of the the water, as the day advances, and the rich orange and yellow layers as the sun sets beyond the unlimited horizon.

The fourth point of view is my bunk, which stands at about my height. This point of view is surrealistic. From here all I see is the extreme forced perspective on a single point view, where all lines converge at the end of my feet. Looking slightly to the right, a small dash of light breaks through from the gale, sneaking in by way of a portal. A light which dims and turns red at night.

There are many other scenes and points of view I could describe. I live a full life on board (a life that includes work, cooking, socializing, cleaning, rest, etc.) The four points of view I highlighted today impact me the most, and I hope you were able to imagine what it feels like to share this space with me and my friends at sea.