Race 12 - Day 14
Crew Diary - New York to Derry-Londonderry
10 July

John Vearncombe
John Vearncombe
Team Liverpool 2018
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I am sure that I won't be the only person writing about “the last time ...” in these blogs, but for those of us who started the race in Liverpool and have come all the way around, that seems to be coming a preoccupation. That and the important question that we and everyone else seems to be asking us, “What next?”

So this will be the last crew blog I write, I had better make it a good one then! Soon it will be my last day on Mother Watch, the last day of cooking on the boat for the crew, then the last couple of days spent emptying bilges and not to forget the last day when I have to clean the heads every watch! Yes, many of these “lasts” will not be missed. Will the memories become rose tinted as time passes? For some of them definitely not. Cleaning the heads can definitely be relegated to Type 3 Fun, not fun at the time and not fun to look back on.

There is another race to go after this one but coming in to Derry will be a momentous event for us. The last ocean passage will have been completed (four of the “Seven Seas” crossed, we missed the Arctic Ocean (thankfully!), the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean) and we will be returning to the United Kingdom. It will be very odd to be putting British Pounds in our wallets again and not having to think about exchange rates each time we go shopping. We have already covered all 360 degrees of longitude and will have just a few more to do before being back at our start point.

Mixed in with all the other emotions is a large sense of relief. For me the main challenge of the race was whether I would have the stamina to complete the Round the World. My body may be crying out for some respite and a return to more regular forms of exercise but I know I have made it. I will see this through to the end with the huge sense of achievement that will follow. Up to now that vision has always been too far away to contemplate but suddenly, 200 miles away from Derry, I can almost touch it.

So there will be one last race to run, one last departure ceremony, the slipping of lines, parade of sail, Man Overboard drills to be done one last time. These I will miss. Not that they have been highlights but they are part of the race routine, bringing the whole fleet together for a time in all its glory. And yes, we do make a spectacular sight, all the yachts lined up with battle flags and banners flying. I will miss that.

I've already had my last boat shower! A six day race wont require any showering and as I will be on mother duty on the first day of the race I won't need to endure that pleasure just then. We have already had our last crew welcoming, that is already a long time ago, back the other side of the Atlantic in New York (OK, we were in New Jersey, not New York, but close enough!)

I am sure that there are many more “lasts” that I have not thought of, but that will do for now. Fortunately there is so much on the other side of this equation that any regrets or sadness will be far outweighed by great benefits of having done the race, particularly some of the friendships made. Having spent a year with the Round The Worlders there will be some life long friendships there and also lots among the leggers who have contributed so much to every leg. It will be very interesting to see how the friendships develop after the race, which ones will endure and which will fall by the wayside. But I have to say a huge thank you to all those I have sailed with on this journey. It has truly been an awe inspiring voyage for me.

So for the last time, thank you for supporting and following us on our journey and good bye from the Pink Panther. Think Pink!

John Vearncombe