We set sail today. Fourteen crew, which is a bit lighter than initially expected. Nick, a former round-the-worlder who left in Albany and rejoined in Da Nang, re-left here. It took him about two days to confirm that this was not how he wanted to spend his time. Paul, who also joined us in Da Nang because issues with his Viet Nam visa had kept him from joining another boat in Airlie Beach, isn't leaving with us because of issues with his Chinese visa. Seems to be a bit of a pattern.
I am very optimistic about the crew we do have. Ryan and Justin are back after missing the last race. Three others joining have done previous legs. And the other two new joiners come with experience and great attitudes. One, Tom, I sailed with during training, and I've been looking forward to his joining for a while. The deadest of the dead weight from the last leg is gone. Overall, a massive improvement in quality despite the modest increase in numbers.
Unfortunately, we do have three guys currently laid low by a stomach bug. I ate dinner with them the last two nights before they all got it, but so far seem to have dodged the bullet. Hope it clears quickly for them. We don't actually expect to start racing for about 24 hours, as we'll motor out of the busy, fishing-gear-filled waters immediately around Qingdao after a ceremonial start. Might give everyone a chance to get back to full strength.
We expect the Pacific to be our biggest test, certainly the biggest since I've joined the boat. I'll admit to being a bit nervous. I'm not really worried about the wind or the waves. I know they'll be huge, but I feel well enough prepared to them (though maybe that just shows I don't really know how huge they'll be!). Mostly, I'm worried about the cold. It really gave me trouble the last few days coming up here, and we'll be going even further north, for longer. Spring is advancing rapidly, but not rapidly enough. I have a lot of warm gear, but I wasn't able to add as much here as I would have liked. Not much to be done about ti now though.
Hope to blog this race reliably, so keep checking for updates!
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