On the nineteenth day of Leg 7 (Race 11), Zhuhai was drifting off the coast of southern Mexico and the same latitude as Guatemala. Scorching heat and light winds are typical of sailing in the tropics. As the sun rises higher, the winds become lighter and lighter.
By noon, even the thinnest sails were burned to the point of being limp and flapping randomly. Just as the sails lost their vitality, were the sailors exposed to the sun on the deck. Even Austin, who is usually the most talkative, or Jimmy, who is the most active, have lost their former spirit. Silence and confusion are the main themes of today's deck.
The small, shaded area on the deck makes electrolyte water and a sun hat the only weapons left to combat the hot weather. But everyone's body was like a broken dam, with sweat soaking every inch of their skin. The JBL speaker on the helm was playing lively and energetic music, making a last-ditch effort to encourage the sailors. However, it did not last long, and it also lost interest in us because it ran out of power.
“Hey, bring some wind to us please!”
Just when the deck fell into silence, a turtle swam past the starboard side, which finally aroused the interest of the sailors. Then they slowly stood up and lay down next to the guardrail net to watch. "Hey, bring some wind to us please!" The desperate sailor called out to the turtle. The water turtle stuck its head out and looked at the strangers who had broken into its waters. Then it turned sideways and swam away quickly. This ship, which may be the slowest means of transportation in the world, and the exhausted sailors on board were left in complete silence.
As if realizing that the sailors had nothing to extract, the sun finally showed signs of fatigue. The sky to the east of the sea level is illuminated pink, and to the west it is orange. You can't see the end of the sea at a glance. The seawater seems to have no gravity at the moment. The texture is like silk, with light and continuous undulations, and the gentle rhythm is like the sea breathing.
The clouds at the end of the sea no longer float in the sky, but grow out of the sea like plants, like grass or mushrooms, forming graceful shapes. They seemed to have grown roots and penetrated deep into the vast ocean. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it.
At this time, there was finally a hint of coolness in the air. The crew members were all sitting on the deck, their faces showing exhaustion after a day in the sun. Everyone stared at the sunset together, without any conversation, and their breathing seemed to have stopped. Surrounded by the wonders of nature, only our sailboats are visible as being made by someone other than God. If it weren't for the fading red sun reminding us of the passage of time, we would have thought we had mistakenly entered a peaceful and eternal paradise.
At this time, the music suddenly started playing and the speaker was charged. The boatmate next to me and I looked at each other, took a deep breath, and then smiled. We are still sailing hard towards the Finish Line.