Race 2 - Day 9
Crew Diary - Race 2 Day 9: Punta del Este to Cape Town
13 October
As we sail into Friday 13th, no room for superstition on Dare To Lead, surging as we do towards home port, Cape Town.
No mirrors, ladders or spiders on board, and hopefully my own bad luck was spent in a grim first few days on the leg, scrambling for sick bags and dry clothes, and getting used to the humiliating daily rodeo using the heads on high seas.
Just as I was wondering whether I might ever progress beyond the
terminal cycle of rehydration tablets and bags over the side, recovery was
brought about by the restorative powers of a delicious pair pear.
Often overlooked in favour of traditional lunchbox heavyweights such as the ubiquitous and doctor-endorsed apple, and the comedy stalwart banana, the humble pear has few cheerleaders, but I am placing it top of my fruity podium for ocean energy. I think it was Oscar Wilde who said "When a man is tired of pears, he is tired of life," or words to that effect, and I couldn't agree more.
The lesson so far in the South Atlantic is that the experience is much like the weather – the lows are enduring, so the highs are hard earned, and are to be celebrated. Albatrosses and Arctic Turns for company over breakfast, happy jumpy dolphins at lunch – amused but indifferent to our presence – and the gentle shimmer of phosphorescent plankton in the wake at night. Perhaps not enough to get Attenborough out of bed, but a series of firsts for me and many on the boat, and a timely reminder of how lucky we are to be sat in the middle of the ocean, enjoying this least indulgent of indulgences.
Such is the other-worldy sense of the ocean and its 360 nothingness, I can't help but feel the tree-falling-in-the-woods quality. Months from now when I'm sat back in my office fiddling with a spreadsheet, I hope I can close my eyes and picture the sheer scale and emptiness with some degree of accuracy. A photo couldn't do it justice, and no doubt my memory too will be a dull tracing of the spectacular reality.