Elisa's Journey - Off to a good start!

Cape Breton Island Clipper is officially racing around the world! We’ve covered almost 700 miles since the race start, with several miles to go before completing the first of 14 races.

Race start was more than I expected. I couldn’t believe how many thousands of people came to see us off! People yelled good luck wishes as we went on stage, again with our Clipper song by Bobby Currie playing. Some crew were tempted to break into a step dance, after our lesson from Mabou’s Beaton sisters, but decided to wait until we were better practiced!

Many crew faced goodbyes to family members, making it an emotion charged day. Luckily, I said mine over a month ago. I felt ready to go racing.

As we made our way up the Humber River, I had the honour of taking the helm for the first few miles! We saw a few bright blue Cape Breton jackets on the shore as we raced in close competition with the other Clippers. We raced on and the boats spread out on their chosen courses. Our team broke into two watches.

I was relieved to be underway - building miles each hour, eventually enough to take us around the world. A huge journey, but my current approach is to take each moment at a time. Each manoeuvre on the boat requires full attention, and often full effort. Getting into several layers of gear, lifejacket, and harness takes about ten minutes. We stay up on deck for 4 hours at a time to keep the boat on course and moving as fast as possible.

The first couple days went very smoothly – the fantastic weather was part of it. After being on a normal sleep schedule, it is tiring to get up for watch at 2am, but it is part of our job. Even when tired, it’s important to put in a good effort – every mile counts in such a closely matched race.

The fleet spread apart quite a bit over the 700 miles, with only 1 boat in sight, behind us thankfully! Our placing is yet to be announced, but I am pleased with our first passage. Our crew were great, and worked together well. A good starting point to build on and improve as a team!

My personal highlight of the first race was overtaking one of our competitors at a very quick pace just after our start. The race provided lots of chances to work on my helming and sail trim- two of my favourite jobs. As for low points, I can’t think of anything major – I had a great time! Perhaps getting the foot of my sleeping bag wet, but that’s not too much to worry about!

We’ll anchor this evening, and go into LaRochelle lock late tonight. I hear there’s a bakery open at 3am selling pain au chocolat!