Wow.. 3.5 miles away from the leaders after over 6,150 miles of racing.. about 40 minutes behind after almost 35 days of sailing… a photo finish that sees us defeated… We gave it our all. Nothing to regret. The competitors deserved it, no doubt about it. Losing by such a small margin hurts, but what a thrill to arrive in Auckland, one of the world’s sailing capitals, by sea. This is the third consecutive race in which I am not completely satisfied with the result at the finish. Not because it’s not fair… the finishing touch is missing, but each time it’s getting closer.

When I landed, I had three wishes, in this exact order:

• a hot shower
• a real Italian pizza
• a bed

We fulfilled two out of three, but I’ve already found an Italian restaurant run by Italians where I can take Masa to try some good pizza. I’m not used to looking for Italian cuisine abroad, but it’s been too long since I’ve been in the beautiful country..

Salty Tales ends here… for now…