I'm not going to see my family for more than two months and saying goodbye was about as hard as it gets. It takes a while to get that picture in your head of them standing on the dock, and put it in a place for later when you need it. Up on deck I can hear the guys prepping the boat, running sheets, putting handles into bags, last minute checks. It is looking as though the trip could be interesting to say the least- definitely a step into the unknown for all of us. There is a very different mood around the fleet...to quote Bad Boys 2: "This shit's about to get real." Hopefully we get a few straight forward days at the front end to just blow away the Singapore cob webs.
We are now three hours into the race and I'm about to send in a picture of the engine seal to Volvo HQ. As I write we are abeam with E4 and heading out into the South China Sea! It's going to be a tough one- bumpy and hot for the first few days and then who knows what?
Apologies for my gloomy disposition today...
-Rick
