After a cold and then lovely warm shower I managed to do some reflection
today. Hair clean, body refreshed, a clean set of thermals and a cleared
up mind. The whale incident earlier this week, which left us unharmed
luckily, made me realise how fragile our existence is out here in the
southern ocean. We are more than a thousand miles away from human
civilisation and all the benefits and ease that that brings especially
when you break equipment or body parts. Out here there is not the
smallest sign of the big cities, office blocks, IT systems, shanty
towns, shopping malls, holiday resorts , traffic jams, wealth, poverty,
war and natural disaster that hide behind the horizon. Even the other
competitors and the possible adventurer sailing the same seas are
invisible to us and mere figments of imagination fed to us via satellite
communication. There is no trace of airliners crossing our path high
above us nor any shipping that will find us on its route. There is
nothing human here except us 19 people on a 68ft moving and hopefully
under all circumstances completely self supporting island and the boat
hook we lost this afternoon. Our world is small and vast at the same
time. The weather and sea state and course to steer determine our daily
routines. I think that if it wasn’t for the fact that we have these
routines and if we did not have to focus on the race we might lose
ourselves out here and get stuck between the horizons.
This is a special place, peaceful, desolate and as remote as the moon
(which came up beautifully yellow again this evening) and I am enjoying
every second that I am here.
Unfortunately the job at hand entails trying to get through here as
quickly as possible or at least quicker than the competition and I have
to say that this is the only time I regret to be racing instead of
cruising.
