As with the rest of the Clipper fleet, Mission Performance was high in the North Atlantic wrestling with light winds and contemplating the life's great offshore topics from Stonehenge
So once again it has arrived and for most, if not all on Mission Performance, we find ourselves sharing the longest day or summer solstice on the Ocean. Given the splendour of the high seas and oceans could there be a more glorious place to celebrate it.
My watch witnessed those first signs of daylight in the western Atlantic at approximately 03:15am. Under light grey skies, alas without the benefit of those first rays of sunlight that many of us have witnessed so many times on the early morning watch, nevertheless dawn broke across a grey green ocean with a slight swell running.
Some of us took a quiet moment to reflect, for many the race will be a turning point in their lives, will open new doors, and represent a new phase in their lives as well as being a shared experience between like-minded individuals.
Mission Performance in San Francisco breezes, wind that wasn't seen in the last few hundred miles of the North Atlantic.
Tomorrow for all of us will be a brand new day and in just a few weeks’ time the new beginning some may have hoped for, the end of a challenge that some aspired to take on for a variety of personal reasons.
Longest day or not there is always some time when as a watch or as a crew we have time to just converse with each other as we sail in the more relaxed conditions.
I took a snapshot of those topics today out of curiosity just to see what got discussed on the watches, the topics are wide and varied, some funny.
They include architecture, finance, retirement, manicures, favourite cars, underwear, holidays, planning regulations, Viagra, cooking, wine, and of course the subject of the first beer once we arrive at Derry-Londonderry for most a pint of Guinness, a hearty breakfast and a hot shower.
I have been lucky enough to witness the rise and the setting of the sun at one of the world’s most iconic locations Stonehenge. Any sunrise or sunset can be a thought provoking experience none more so than today, as it marks the inevitable fact that the year is halfway through its cycle and just as we have seen the end of winter the onset of spring and summer so now we will witness the remainder of summer and the slide of time in to the autumn and the winter.
So as late afternoon advances into the evening it looks as if we are to be blessed with sunshine, we will be able to watch the sun descend over the watery horizon on this significant day and for some perhaps take a moment to reflect.
Richard Wall Mission Performance
