Race 14 - Day 11
Crew Diary - THE RACE OF MY LIFE!!
10 July

THE RACE OF MY LIFE!!

It is our tenth day sailing since we left New York and we have achieved amazing speeds so far! We have done an average of 10 miles an hour every day.

This will be the last long leg (it is my 4th time to cross the Atlantic ocean, 3 times with Clipper Race and once with the tall-ship from Bermuda to the Azore Islands.) With regard to the sail racing I have a mixture of feelings. The race which occupied my mind for the last 4 years since I signed up will soon be part of my life history. I'm going to keep on sailing and explore mother nature as much as I can.

Even though I have always loved water-sports, including sailing, 5 years ago I would never have thought someday I would be able to race around the world in this way. It has been an amazing journey with a lot of challenges. To now witness this dream coming to the end is a very special feeling. I'm grateful to the Clipper Race for giving an opportunity to anyone who dares to take on the challenge.

I'm looking forward to going back to my paradise island, Zanzibar, and enjoying the wonderful seafood and spicy cuisine I love, (I swear I will not eat pasta and tinned food at least for a year! I think I ate enough to last me 5 years).

I hope I can use my experience to encourage the young generation to take up sailing as a sport. At the same time I hope this encourages others to recognise Zanzibar as a great sailing destination.

I would like to thank all my fellow Islanders for their enthusiasm in following my journey from the beginning. I would also like to thank Mohd Bajubeir, Farouk Karim of ITV Tanzania, Salim Kikeke of BBC Swahili in London, Mnarani and Pembalodge staff. The ZATI board members & particularly Chairman Rahim Bhaloo, also the Local Exim Bank for its support to and sponsorship of ZATI for the forthcoming 3 year period.

I would like to thank my Zhuhai crew-mates. To start with Magnus who is also my mother-watch mate! He committed to making us bread every single night regardless of the weather conditions since he joined the boat in Seattle in April! Pat, (he is the best Swahili learner.) Ian, always joking and having fun, John the motorbike adventurer from California, Chris from Texas the starboard watch-leader and a good team player. Ben our victualler (a good man!) Paul from Belgium, Roland from the Netherlands, Geoff who speaks posh English, Trevor the Zhuhai legend, Gordon (the cold beer man) and Bindy who is always joking and laughing. Our Chinese Crew, Kent who was a Port Watch-leader and Jessica, always smiling to everyone. We enjoyed her cooking on her mother-watch day. Finally our AQP, James and Skipper, Partrick, both of them have been tireless in sharing their knowledge with all of us and making our sailing experience even better!