Whales!!*
Really incredible and just lovely last few days on Visit Sanya. Today, after many false sightings, we finally had a whale come swim by the boat. In fact, there were two and we think they are maybe pilot whales, which are similar to the whales we saw sleeping by the equator. The whale was much larger than I expected, and even though it didn’t breach (or show us it’s tail), it was still so nice to have it swim close to the boat, show off it’s dorsal fin and take a few breaths. *Unfortunately no one got a good photo of it, so please accept the dolphin pic on its behalf.
Another thing we saw on the horizon today, was Qingdao. After 5,000+ miles, we finally see them. We’re now neck-and-neck and while everyone wants a win, these last few days have been so nice that 2nd place won’t feel like we’ve missed out on anything.
In terms of the race, Wednesday night’s 12am-4am watch saw very calm winds but we managed to gain some miles. I just finished my 12am watch Thursday morning and we’ve had good speed. Unfortunately, so has Qingdao (we’ve been trading a slight advantage). I expect it to come down to the wire on Friday. We’re doing everything we can to win, but also enjoying these last few days of this great adventure. Luckily, we’ve been blessed with beautiful weather and today I even managed to take a shower on deck.
There is a warm feeling onboard as people trade photos and email addresses. About 8 of us are leaving at the end of leg 1 and 5 new people will be joining. 13 people are continuing to leg 2 and 11 are round the worlders. I will be sad to leave the team in many ways, but am also looking forward to being home again with friends and family. It’s amazing though how quickly the boat becomes like home and how nice it is to say good night to your bunk mates after a long watch. I don’t know if it will be feasible, but if I had the opportunity to do leg 7 (Seattle-Panama-NYC) or part of Leg 8 (NYC-Bermuda) I would love to do it.. But first stop, Punta del Este! Wish us luck! Last 48hrs!
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