The World’s Longest Yacht Race – Heather’s Update 7

We finally did start after days of waiting on the Caribbean side of Panama. Race start was at twilight. We did a Le Mans start. That means that all the boats lined up at an agreed-upon location and order. The sails were down and ready, and all of the crew members behind the grinder, mid-ship. At the appointed time (we had a countdown via radio), all the crews scurried to their locations and started hoisting, grinding, trimming…it was an absolute blast. We received the west-most location, it offered a lovely view of all the boats lining up. So we finally started. We’ve had quite a bit of wind on our way to New York City. We are living at an angle! If you picture the deck of the boat turned so far to the port (left) side that the wooden edge is barely touching the water…that would be it. Then picture how difficult it is to move around below deck, not being able to anticipate boat movements and waves. Confession: I’ve been seasick, again. Ugh. But I’m on the mend! We have Gold Coast off our starboard side, they are 1 mile behind us. We’re about 100 miles until Jamaica, then shortly thereafter, the scoring gate between Haiti and Cuba. We’re aiming to get there first. I better go take a breather up on deck…waves and living at an angle mean no open hatches, which means life below is again a sauna.