Hello Team
How are you doing this “Keep on going Monday”? Nice relaxing weekend catching up with the family? A bit of preparation for the new working week? This end we are digging in for the final few hundred miles and hopefully getting to Derry~Londonderry midweek.
This may not be the last blog of Race 14, I think we’ll be finishing around midday Wednesday, fingers crossed. However I would like to take this moment, in case the opportunity doesn’t arrive later in the week, to pass comment. Before I left New York, I said to the crew, we are playing our Joker and the only thing I ask is you give it your all. Whatever the outcome make sure, when you get to Derry~Londonderry, when you look in the mirror make sure you don’t think “I wish I had put more effort into that evolution or wish I had jumped in and helped out sooner, I wish I hadn’t just walked by the job that needed doing.” Have they delivered on that? Without a shadow of a doubt. It has been an unbelievable honour to have crossed the North Atlantic with this crew on this race, where everyone has given their all.
One word to sum this current Seattle crew up: tenacity. Tenacity - courage, mettle, spirit, resolution. Alternatively, tenacity meaning mental or moral strength to resist opposition, danger, or hardship. Courage implies firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty. The Cambridge dictionary definition is “the determination to continue what you are doing.” They have all shown these traits and for #1 and myself it has been a humbling experience. For those who have family, loved ones or friends on this team, you should applaud their achievement. They have had the race of their life and everyone steps off the boat in Derry~Londonderry, an Ocean Warrior.
The memories of this race are going to be a Clipper Race highlight for me. The racing, the speeds we have been flying at, the team work displayed, the playlists banging out on deck, the laughter, the amazing wildlife, although no Sea Eagles seen, which in fact is not disappointing, will be with me for a very long time. The memories will no doubt actually improve with time and the odd glass or two, so you have been warned.
As the front approaches, the white horses on the water are increasing, the helms struggling a little to hold a course with the kite. The barometer alarm has been bleeping away, telling us a gale is imminent, so the Code 3 has been dropped. We have switched to white sails and anticipate giving the kites a rest for the next 30 hours or so, by then we are hoping to have rounded St Kilda and be heading down the west coast of Scotland towards Derry~Londonderry.
Right, enjoy National Mojito Day, catch you later.
Standing by this channel,
David & #1