Race 12 - Day 10
Crew Diary - NEW YORK, USA TO DERRY-LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND
30 June

Day ten has arrived in a flash and everyone on the Derry~Londonderry~Doire Bus now seems up to speed with the rhythms of life at sea.

One of the frequently stated reasons why people go to sea is to escape a modern life that is increasingly dictated by things such as work patterns, meetings, report deadlines, train timetables, emails, mobile phone calls, social media, school runs.....

Being at sea offers escape from the everyday norms of society and Derry~Londonderry~Doire has a rhythm all of its own. Life for us is governed by three basic needs – food, rest and keeping the boat going fast. The watch system breaks our days into chunks of four or six hours and around that all life flows – meals, watch changes, sail changes, sail trimmimg, boat maintenance, tea breaks, coffee breaks, sleeping. All of this takes place on a surface that is rarely stable or horizontal.

For those of us joining the boat in New York the thought of having to adjust to the new regimes was a daunting prospect, especially as we were joining such a successful and high performing team. Thanks to the sterling efforts of our colleagues, in particular our watch leaders Diarmud and Rob, we have all become acclimatised and enjoying the sailing as we head ever further northwards.

Conditions today have again been good, with favourable winds and seas allowing us to surf towards Ireland, with speeds of over 16 and 17 knots on occasions. This morning we slipped under the 1,000 miles to go barrier and people's thoughts are starting to turn towards estimates of arrival times and what we will do when we arrive home in Derry-Londonderry. There are still plenty of miles left and things are pretty close at the front of the fleet so all is still to play for.. We are determined to put every ounce of effort into getting the boat home in as good a position as possible. See you soon!

Matt

P.S A message from Sinead to Emmett wishing him all the best in his new job at Aer Lingus from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.