Good day from a sunny and happy Dare To Lead team,
Sun is shining, music is playing, the spinnaker is flying, and yes, we are going downwind until the finish which is a fresh change to all the upwind sailing and banging!
It's been a tough race for us, but I'm extremely happy with how the team has dealt with it and kept motivated and driving until this point. The new joiners are finally settling in properly after a very harsh introduction with the weather conditions we experienced in the beginning, and we are building daily for the big race across the Pacific to Seattle. Besides sailing into South Africa and sailing the Southern Ocean this is my third milestone in the race, and I can't wait to get out into the open ocean again!
We have a windy night ahead but being downwind with spinnakers it should be a very fast and exciting night, hopefully smooth sailing until the end, arriving tomorrow sometime around lunchtime but, as I tell my crew we will be finished when we cross the finish line, anything can happen.
We are all looking forward to experiencing the huge welcome Qingdao is renowned for, exploring the city a bit and most importantly getting some quality rest before the biggest, and most important race of this circumnavigation across to Seattle.
Speak again next week when we are on route again,
Ryan, Charlie, and Crew.