Race Day 1!

Well, it's over. Thank god. I've met most of my team- there are only 15 of us this leg- and I think it's going to be a really fulfilling couple of months. That's pretty much all I can say...only time will tell at this point!

So a basic rundown of my day for those interested....I was picked up by fellow crew members David and Anita at approximately 12 pm, after which we headed over to the marina. Our boat, Henri Lloyd was still sailing towards race finish at the northern tip of Moreton island, which is approximately 75 km off of Brisbane. The boat had some issues in Hobart and so was retired from this last race, bringing up the rear by quite a bit. The last boat prior to HL to get into the marina was at about 10 am. So when we showed up at noon, we knew there would be some waiting. Fortunately, there weren't quite as many people milling abou as I had anticipated, a serious relief to my antisocial tendencies. Most crew had already joined their already debriefed boats and were getting started with the days work. We, on the other hand, did absolutely nothing for most of the day. David took off to return his rental car. Anita and I did an errand for a crew member on board. And the rest of our new crew was nowhere to be found.

Finally 530 rolled around, and literally out of nowhere, HL appeared. She was greeted by all the boats with a big applause- not unusual, except for the fact that, as I overheard a crew member from another boat say, "they must not be used to so many people here to welcome them in!" Without bragging, our boat has held out a number 1 position in the race since the very beginning, a fact I just became privy to recently. We are, to put it frankly, the contending boat amongst the fleet. I'll be honest... I'm okay with that. Unfortunately though, this past SNAFU with the rudder bearing has knocked us down to number 2 on the leaderboard meaning we have ALOT of work to do to regain our glory! 

6 pm saw a brief race meeting with all the new crew and some ice, cold beers. I saw a few friendly faces from my training. Still though, I was overwhelmed by the crowd. I don't know where I picked up such an apprehension towards meeting new people, but this race is certainly going to put me to the test! Sharing the most intimate moments over the next three months with a group of people, most of whom barely know my name, is going to be interesting to say the least...

I won't regale you with the semi-horror story of getting my bag to the correct kl weight, but there are two large boxes on their way home to NYC on a cargo ship. Not sure how I grossly miscalculated that one!

Tomorrow is an 8 am muster. Eric (our skipper) is serious about getting our boat in top shape. Rumor is we are the smelly boat. That's fine as long as we keep winning. I have some socks I will happily add to that reputation.

Until tomorrow! 

H

PS New Zealand was amazing. Go.

Calm seas never made a good sailor...

Hi everyone! We are waiting for our flight to Honolulu, HI to take off (don't be jealous.....ok be jealous) and I thought I'd check in! 

Last night I packed my life up for what feels like the 500th time this year. This time, though, it was in two bags...one that only currently carries my FWG. For you non-sailor folk that's foul weather gear....jackets and pants that are heavy and cumbersome but luckily for me do not count towards the 20 kilo weight limit that I am given for the sailing race I am participating in. There are 20 crew racing on my team in at least the first leg of the race (Brisbane, AU to Singapore to Qingdao, CH) and 13 crew for the second (Qingdao to San Francisco). So, as you might imagine if we were all left to our own devices, we could probably fill the boat with all sorts of unnecessary things. Weight limits are good. They make you really think about the importance of every item you take. Procrastinating to pack is bad. It makes you really anxious about having to think about the importance of every item still unaccounted for. Luckily, it wasn't my first rodeo and with a little encouragement from my wonderful parents and fantastic boyfriend, I managed to get everything (I think) I'll need into one large waterproof bag. It even closed on the first try! That bag contains everything I own and have access to from now until April when I get home. Except maybe a few souvenirs along the way....

On a similar note, I was catching up on The Walking Dead the other night and a scene panned over a photograph of a ship with this saying on it. 

I thought it a sign. It instantly brought me bck to why I signed up for the Clipper Round the World race in the first place. And I cannot express how excited I am to push myself past my comfort zone...probably past my challenge zone and more closer to my "oh fuck I have to change my underwear because I just shit myself but I only have 3 pairs left" zone. Hopefully I'll have figured out my Go Pro in time so I can share that moment with all of you!

Mahalo! XOXO

H

Greetings!

Hello all! And thanks for reading. 

This is my first attempt to keep a written log of any kind, so my apologies in advance. But, I figured there have been enough people who have asked me if I will be keeping a blog during my upcoming travels that it was worth a shot. 

For those of you that know me, this next part might be a bit boring so feel free to check back on another day when I am not introducing myself. For those of you that don't, I'm Heather, a 25-yr old trying to make my way through the world. Currently, I'm writing from cold, cold, cold NYC, but a week ago, I would have been in sunny Key West, FL working on the schooner America 2.0, a 150-foot sailboat owned and operated by Classic Harbor Line. 
Here she is in all her glory (plus a little Photoshop- not my credit)!

For the past two years, I've worked on her in NYC as a mate while simultaneously attending graduate school at Columbia University. This past May, however, I received my M.A. in African-American Studies, a goal that freed up my winters (hence traveling down to KW) and also helped me realize that...well, sailing is really the only thing that makes me truly happy in life. Until recently, I was 100% certain that I would immediately move from my M.A. to my Ph.D. and would pursue a life of academia, drown myself in research and books, and change young minds. While I was writing my Master's thesis, however, I finally realized that my career on the water made me so much happier than any of the work that I was doing at school. It was difficult to cope with at first because the decision felt a bit selfish. But I've made an agreement with myself to pursue sailing for a couple years, and if the academic bug comes back, that I won't ignore it. I'm still struggling with that decision, but I've thrown myself fully into developing my career as a mariner, and I couldn't really be happier. Ok, enough of the heavy stuff...

Just a sneak preview of what's to come! My boyfriend, Yuri, and I just bought a boat, a 41' CT cutter-rigged ketch sailboat, to be specific. It is a fixer-upper for sure. Right now, it's in Martha's Vineyard where it will stay until I get back to the States in April and we can deliver it down to NYC where will will being doing the whole "liveaboard" thing after a month or two of intense work on the hard! Many blogs, I'm sure, will detail the escapades of trying to fix up Thalassa and get her ready for to be our nest. Also, we are leaving on Sunday for New Zealand, the first of many stops for me in the next few months. I will try to update as often as I can, but no promises! Stay tuned!