Farfelu - Three, please. By sea if possible…

I remember sleep, it's such a normal thing to do. I slept like a log on Saturday night, content that the three weeks of intense preparation had passed with the job list complete. Last night I slept again like a log; the four and a half days and nights in between were a continuum, a contorted period of time without contours other than those imposed by light and darkness. It's now the morning after the night before, a night of a hundred hours, a night of indistinct boundaries, of unfamiliar sounds, continuous motion, of a challenge accepted and questions posed, of trepidation extinguished by those around us whose support and comfortable presence by radio linked Farfelu to the organic whole of a fleet.

This morning I feel elated, emotional and immensely proud of K and H whose tolerance and tenacity turned this ambition, this dream, into concrete reality. Grateful too, to those whose calm reassurance made the long night shorter - my thanks go out over Channel 77.

I suppose it's no big deal in the scheme of things (people have eternally been sailing small boats across the Bay) but it's our longest-ever passage by a factor of five; to have done so in perfect sailing conditions and in the company of a diverse group, alone but with unity of purpose, has been one of the most significant highlights of my life so far. Farfelu rocks, in every sense of the word; solid, dependable and strong, she has done this sort of thing before. We hadn't but, now, we know we can. That feels good. Achievement feels good, really good!

I rather regret not having had time to provide Farfelu with a string of bunting for she deserves to fly the flag with pride. She and her crew both deserve that. I'm going shopping today. When I wake up…

JPT