The World’s Longest Yacht Race – Heather’s Update 2

Greetings from the ocean!

All is going well…we are keeping an eye out on the competition who are just a few miles behind us. We want that scoring gate!                           

It is getting warmer and warmer by the day. I started off with thermals, mid-layers, and my foul-weather gear on top, with boots on. Now I’ve gotten rid of my thermals and am down to shorts and a t-shirt…It’s gonna be a scorcher pretty soon. And there are no fans or AC on board the good ship De Lage Landen! Maybe we’ll even get to shower?!

Last night was just glorious! We watched the sun as it disappeared over the horizon. A couple hours later, we saw the most amazing shooting star. It looked like it was relatively near to us. It lasted about 5-6 seconds and we could see it burn up in the atmosphere.

We’re still flying along with our spinnaker up, constantly trimming it night and day. The boats further out have a bit more wind, but we’re hoping that being inshore at the moment will pay off. It can be a bit grueling when you have to look straight up into the sun to see what the sail is doing. The freckles on my face have already come out, and now I’m just plain red. Gotta get the 85 SPF sunscreen out!

The crew dynamics are just wonderful. Yesterday we all enjoyed the catch of tuna fish, fresh from the sea tastes nothing like from the store! Mmmmmm! And surprise of all surprises, we have a few chefs on board. We all take turns preparing the meals, and it is quite nice when we have someone with creativity. I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well…

Thank you for the encouraging messages, and Kudos to my colleagues in Duluth, GA, USA who are taking up the slack in my absence. That’s what teamwork is all about, and I really thank you!

Heather