Day 31

Salty stories.

“Salty stories” was born by chance. I’m not a writer and honestly, I didn’t particularly like writing. The many days at sea and the thoughts that end up getting confused convinced me to keep track. On the first day, I jotted down a couple of lines. After a week, I published them and… Feeling you so involved and interested in this adventure pushed me every day to look inside myself, to search for the best words, to elaborate emotions, actions, and thoughts. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, you kept me company, made me reflect, made me grow. I hope I was up to the task and that I was able to transport you, even for a moment, here, in the ocean, with me; to have made you experience, even for a second, the sweat of a maneuver, the splash of water on the skin, starry nights, the sun that warms the skin, the adrenaline of the boat that planes. Thank you.

Day 32

Stock… Luca, Lucaa, Lucaaa!! What’s going on… I was sleeping. I quickly put on my Crocs, oilskin, and life jacket. It seems serious… I go out and Masa is at the bow trying to pull the J2, a sail used for sailing upwind, in more than 20 knots of wind, out of the water. Meanwhile, the boat, without sails in the bow, has changed course. The sail is under the hull, full of water. Damn, just now that we had just regained the lead. Visible opponents on AIS. Less than 7 miles of lateral distance and just 1.6 miles of difference to the finish line. We manage, somehow, to tack and hoist the sail on board. We rig a spare halyard to hoist it again, but… the available attachment point is too low. We have to switch to the J3, an even smaller sail that doesn’t work too well… too much sag… As soon as conditions allow, we need to climb the mast and put the J2’s hook back into operation. Less than 500 miles to the finish… we’re definitely not giving up. Now we have to grit our teeth and wait for the wind to calm down to make our move.

Day 33

Well… what can I say… this head-to-head race of over 6000 miles with Sec Hayai will have, in a few days, an epilogue, a winner. The sea and the wind, undisputed judges, have given us a wonderful playing field. Time will determine who played better.