Well, hello there! It’s been a while since the last update. The past few months have been busy – hectic, actually. After Crew Allocation in May, I trained with my team on the Team Qingdao boat with our assigned Skipper, Phil Quinn, and First Mate, Faith Nordbruch. That 6-day training was with 17 of my teammates and was quite the experience. I’m also excited to share that I’m writing this post from the airplane – I am officially on my way to England for the start of the race. Let’s get caught up!

Level 4 training focused on racing as a team, including getting into the watch system from the outset. We spent six days at sea and did not come back to port at all. We covered many safety scenarios initially, including a nighttime man overboard (MOB) drill, raising the storm sails, towing and being towed, and much more. We reacquainted ourselves with downwind sailing and sailing with the spinnaker. We anchored just off the coast of Cherbourg, France per a requirement of the training. And then, THEN, we held a 180 nautical mile (nm) race with the remaining fleet of teams. The race took about a day and a half and saw us make a triangular trek from the Portsmouth area, to the coast of northern France, and around the Isle of Wight. 

A unique aspect of the team I am on is that the city of Qingdao sponsors an ambassadorship program. As such, there are 10-12 Chinese ambassadors on our team! It is a unique and special cultural experience that differs from the other teams. The Level 4 training I attended included nearly all of the ambassadors.

I have been assigned the non-sailing role of Victualer. The primary responsibility of the Victualer is to create and provision the crew’s meal plan each leg of the race. I had my first test at this task for the Level 4 training. Some things didn’t go as planned; it is a daunting task and large undertaking. I’ll write a separate article about that role as it certainly is a meaty topic. . . pun intended. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself!)

Since returning home from Level 4 training, I have had to get my literal and figurative house in order so I can be gone for an entire year. That in itself has been an immense amount of work. I’ve rented my house out for the year. It was weird to lock it up the other day as I headed to the airport, knowing that my home will be someone else’s home for the next many months.

I managed to squeeze in one salmon fishing trip with my dad – one of our favorite ways to spend time together. There have been Bon Voyage parties, family gatherings, and various goodbyes. . . but we all refuse that it’s “Goodbye.” It’s “See you in a year; or, somewhere along the race course.”

To say the least, each and every day has been a lot. It’s a lot to process being gone for an entire year, to embrace departing a life of comfort. Trading comfort and the known for discomfort and the unknown. Willingly. There have been a few “What the hell am I actually doing?” moments. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t overwhelming, scary, and nerve-wracking (especially the part about victualing for the team).  But in the same breath, it is exhilarating and uplifting to think about all of the experiences the next year will hold for me and my teammates with the same sense of adventure.

I am, by no means, in this alone. Not only are my teammates supportive, but my personal community has also supported me in ways I could never imagine. Everyone is willing to help or offer insights to solve unique problems or situations. For instance, I was really struggling to find a storage unit for my personal belongings while I rented out my house fully furnished. A friend over and immediately said to me “Turn this bedroom into your storage unit, install a deadbolt, and rent the house as 2 bedroom.” I had only ever seen my house one way and I was stuck in that way. It took another’s perspective to unblock me. And then it was game-on from that moment. That’s just one example. . . there are many more.

Astoria, Oregon is my home. It’s a town of 10,000 give or take a few. It is a tight-knit community of small business owners, fisherfolk, sailors, medical workers, and much more. We are a mariner community living on the mighty Columbia River. We are the oldest settlement west of the Rocky Mountains (established in 1811). Winters are cold and wet. Summers are short but plentiful. Above all else, this community shows up for one another. My Bon Voyage party at Obelisk Beer Co. was a wonderful showing of the pockets of community to which I belong. My yacht club, my local food co-op, my neighbors, my closest friends, and even some passersby who are now interested in following along!

I have cried. I have laughed. I have loved. I have lost sleep. I have hugged. And, now, I have departed for England. This adventure of a lifetime is finally here after more than a year and a half of planning and six years of dreaming about. Adventure begins when you leave your comfort zone. . . so, LFG!