Race 13 - Day 3
Skipper Report
25 July
Life feels brighter today. We have been thinking and trimming and driving this boat like we have never done before and bit by bit yesterday we managed to make up some ground back to the fleet. We are now joined by Sanya Serenity Coast, Dare To Lead, and PSP Logistics in the middle pack - so it's a fight to stay in fifth at the moment. The four up ahead will be hard to catch once we turn the corner of Mark Fastnet; they will crack off their sails and zoom along at probably 10-12 knots whilst the rest of us slog it out at 7-8 in the wrong direction. So still thinking, trimming, driving to see if we can make it there first! In the words of Dory ... "just keep sailing, just keep sailing, sailing, sailing".
There is an unusual vibe onboard. Everyone is super focused and wants to do really well in the race – so it’s a quiet but concentrated atmosphere. Alongside that is a pretty familiar feeling of being nearly home. You know when you are on holiday or away and you know it's nearly home time - so you start thinking about home life and what you need to get on with and plans you need to make - and all of a sudden you sort of feel 'done' with the holiday and 'ready' for home. I feel we are all starting to experience that. Patience is just a little shorter, emotions are all over the shop. We are having to really dig deep and pull together to keep going. Eleven months is a very, very long time.
A huge thank you for the support that has flown in in the last 24 hours for the team and I. It's non-stop out here - hard to reflect on what we have achieved - but slowly, slowly it's starting to dawn on us that we are approaching the Irish Sea where it all started. We are about to sail home - we have circumnavigated the globe. Such an immense achievement but so little time to look back - just always forward at the next race, the next watch, the next hour, the next job rotation. I foresee wet eyes all round as we sail into Liverpool and it finally sinks in.
Now though - the race is still on - and we are trying to catch Unicef.
Sailing with style - Nik