Race 2 - Day 1
Skipper Report
16 September

Good morning from Punta del Este.

We are now where we belong, at sea sailing!. The crew, Ryan and I managed to complete the maintenance jobs and a deep of the boat in record time with our crew in charge of the operation, Mary was on the case. The boat arrived to Portimão in good condition, we completed our safety and rigging checks and maintenance, engine and generator were serviced, we had to splice some lines and protect them from damage by adding extra anti-chafe covers (so grateful to have Nigel's splicing skills on-board) . Also after lessons learned from Race 1, we re-organised our storage for better comfort down below, that included food and personal items, now it looks more like home.

Portimão has been an amazing stopover, all of us on Punta del Este have felt really welcome by the people of Portimão and the organisers from the marina. Prizegiving was a really fun event and we as a team felt so proud to be in first position receiving the cheers of friends, family and other Clipper Race teams. The organisers prepared daily events, which included crew drinks, dinners, wine tasting, a visit to the Open of Portugal where Ryan and I had the chance to have a rest playing golf. We all recovered our strength with good food, beach time and having some time off from boat life, now ready to confront Race 2, the Commodore’s Cup, with its 5,200 nautical miles.

We are on our way home Punta del Este, sailing strong and united, really excited to cross this vast ocean as fast as we can. All is Good.