Race 5 - Day 17
Crew Diary - Race 5 -Day 17
08 January

Bitter Sweet

So, as my time on board WTC Logistics comes to a close. I’m excited to cross the line with a good result, still, it will be hard to say goodbye to the WTC Logisticssailing buddies who have shared all the highs and lows during this epic 3700nm journey. Companions who have shared every wave, every hoist, every drop, every tack and gybe. The same people whose hearts stop beating when a kite gets sucked under the boat, and the elation when just 10 minutes earlier, the very same kite was accelerating the boat down a 10m water mountain at Mac 1.

My wife, Rachael, asked, “How are you feeling about it?” (Race 5 coming to an end).

Reflecting, I will miss…

• The 10m walls of water that snake-up off the stern of the boat, pick the boat up, dip the bow and launch the boat into warp drive… catching the sweet spot surfing the swells is so very special!
• Being part of a close knit team; the laughter/banter
• Sailing under a canopy of stars
• Learning new skills (sailing and non-sailing)
• Gazing the constellations under a perfectly clear night-sky as so many generations before us have done with zero light pollution
• Reading the dynamics of nature's forces coming together – clouds, wind, currents, and optimising sails to get the most speed out of them
• The sound of the hull surfing down swells – it’s like snowboarding in perfect powder
• Watching the hull part the water – mesmerising
• Time without distraction
• Pulling off a perfectly executed evolution or hoist
• Helming some of the most challenging seas on the planet whilst flying spinnakers and/or white sails
• Laughter – did I mention the laughter?

I will not miss…

• ‘The Lean’, although you have to grow to love the lean
• Beating into wind over current
• Bilges
• Losing stuff to the boat monster
• Sail humping
• Being becalmed in 40 degrees heat
• Not being able to share this adventure with the one I love most, my wife

The learning has been on multiple levels, not just the sailing but on a personal level about living with 15-20 individuals from different cultures and expectations. Every day aboard has been a blessing. I shall be leaving with NO regrets, nothing left in the tank, humbled by the sheer diversity that mother nature delivers and friendships that I look forward to seeing where they take me next!

Right here, right now, this blog comes to you during the graveyard shift under a moonlit sky, with a smooth sea that parts across the hull making a hypnotic sound like a mountain stream. Mini-Wonda (Sophie) is at the helm, and she has just found another patch of breeze. Black Betty is moaning with the increase in the wind which whistles through her rigging, silhouetted against the shimmering seascape. She is eagerly accelerating again like a finely tuned thoroughbred that she is. God, I love being here!

Since my race began, in Cape Town two months ago, 120 degrees of longitude have gone under Black Betty’s keel. Together, we have gone the most southerly she (Black Betty) will go at 44° 39’ S when rounding Tasmania. Together, we have seen Albatrosses, sharks, dolphins, flying fish and whales. Not to mention, Skip’s dodgy taste in Bermuda shorts. Together, we have felt the fury of an F10 and frustration of not having any wind in desert-like heat. Together, she (Black Betty) has thrown the odd tantrum, spitting fellow crew-mates out of bunks, and nav station. But through it all, she has kept us all safe and comfortable (‘ish) in her belly… thank you Black Betty, and thank you to my fellow watch crew-mates, ‘the matrix’ (Colin), ‘Glasto’ (Nigel), ‘Wonda’ (Rachel aka Gromit), ‘Wallace’ (Ben), ‘SnooZe’ (Susie), ‘Monkey-boy’ (Dan), ‘Wrong Trousers’ (Skip, who can be described as Blade-runner meets Ozzy Ozbourne, meets Dame Edna Everidge), and all fellow crewmates from our opposite number, Baywatch.

Live life… it’s the only one we have! Ian Out!