To continue the saga of the kiss with the Buoy and having to go back to port to check on status of the hit, after a few hours we went back out to the English Channel.

fixing us up so we can go back out and learn.

The weather was great, sailing was super and most were having a great day.  However the dreaded seasickness monster had come to visit the boat.  That evening part of my duty was to wash the decks after others had not made it to the edge fast enough.  All was going well and I was still enjoying the privilege of feeling great.

Well, Wednesday was my day on Mother Watch (the persons who cook the food, clean the galley (kitchen area), send up tea and biscuits and snacks all day).  All was great as I was up at 6am boiling water to make porridge, coffee and tea.  Had awakened my duty partner, Imre, and then it hit.  I was attacked by the green monster.   The next 18 hours  was getting things done, laying down and hoping all would be calm and getting back up to help.  Imre was great and a good cook as well.  I turned into an excellent dishwasher in between bouts of ill feeling. A few times we were able to get up on deck and see what was happening.  That was a true breath of fresh air.  Who would think that such a pleasant place would cause so much stress?

Nik and Tony seem to be having fun on their duty day? why was I not?

Thursday I was feeling great.  Could it have been the Mother Watch duty?  I don’t think so as only 3 of the 18 on the boat escaped the Green monster.

Sending me on my way

Thanks Sean-Michael for getting me to the airport and making sure that I do all the last minute errands on my way!!

I had an opportunity to go by and visit TEAMability prior to leaving San Antonio.

While there I got to watch Sarah and  practice their swimming.  I think they were encouraging me to always wear my lifejacket and be safe.  So far I am doing exactly that.  When I go on deck I wear my lifejacket and if at night or when a reef gets put in the Main (means we are a bit overpowered).  Doing exactly what they showed me to do!

Linda with Sarah and Jenelle at their swim lesson at TEAMability

Linda with Sarah

The world on which TEAMability kids and their parents will follow the journey.

Have you had a chance to donate today?  Help TEAMability keep Linda safe on her journey.

Thanks!

Go back to July 10th when I did the presentation at the Austin Yacht club.  I was rewarded handsomely with two awesome audiences (no, not just two in the audience) but two presentations due to overflow RSVPs.  Even my first racing partner, Michelle Hasti made it!

A group of wonderful ladies made me a great going away present and something AYC could follow my adventure on.

Chasing the World by SunHi, Amanda, Carolyn Wilsford, Carolyn Howard, Renee Ruais, Carol Frick, Laura Miller

A great time and many thanks to some very special ladies!  It will reside in the AYC office until I return and they willl be posting where we are the whole way around on the w

I will try to catch you up in the next few posts.  I am currently in Gosport, England hanging out as today when we started our race to France with the fleet, we had a little mishap.  I can only recount what I heard as I was not Driving or on deck.  I was at the navigation station trying to figure out how to plot a good course on this happy race.  We were actually doing quite well, 3rd to the first mark out of 12 when I noticed on the radar that we were really close to the mark, when BAM#$%^! we had hit it and done a good job of it.  It was almost like a MOB (man overboard drill) as engines turned on, everyone in safety gear up on deck, yankee and staysail down and then main down once we had looked overboard and noticed a bit of fiberglass sticking out.  Then on our way back to the marina with the other boats sailing off to France.  Now we are awaiting a patch job and then we can go back and meet up with the fleet probably sometime tomorrow on a part of the course.  That is the exciting and bad news.  The good news is that with Force 4-5 winds and being down in the boat, I did not get seasick!!!!

Yes, you will get pictures later.  and I am able to work on the blog.  It has been an amazing experience getting work shut down for me and getting my home ready for a housesitter.  Many thanks to those whose without their help I would be in deep trouble: Ruby, Cindy and Sonia, Kari, Margie, Amanda, Doug, SunHi, Brandon and friend, Carolyn, Laura and if I left someone out I apologize.  Otherwise I might have just had to sell my house, car and everything I owned like someone else on my boat had done.

Dear Friends (yes that includes ex-students) and family,

I have been promising a blog for my upcoming adventure, 2015-16 Clipper Round the World Race, for a while now and thanks to Doug Kern it is now working!

I am doing this race for several reasons:

1. It is my big bucket list item and I can fulfill my dream of sailing around the world and doing it in the manner I love, racing.
2. This offers me the challenge of a lifetime in many ways, physically, mentally and spiritually.  A chance to find out who I am.
3. A chance to do some incredible team building and work towards a common goal in an amazing manner.  For all my band director friends and ex-students this is beginning to sound like marching band.
4. A chance to raise funds for a few nonprofits in the process.

• As part of the race, each boat is raising funds for UNICEF UK.  As an individual I can also raise funds for myself to help pay my way (NOT) or raise funds for a couple of nonprofits that are dear to me (YES!) (the Donate link will take you to my donation page)
• I am also raising funds for AYC Fund (Austin Yacht Club Fund) to support the youth sailing program, sailing education, competitive sailing and Instructor development.  AYC has been a major part of my life since the 70s and I am looking forward to being able to pay back and pay forward to the future for the sailors to come.  (please make it in honor of Linda McDavitt’s 2015-16 Clipper Round the World Race)
• TEAMability, one of my all-time favorite nonprofits in San Antonio that provides children with severe multiple disabilities the opportunity to benefit from therapeutic educational intervention to participate actively in life.  To see the children and the parent’s eyes light up and smile during their therapy sessions is worth anything that I can do to help them.  (In the message section, please note that the donation is in honor of Linda McDavitt’s 2015-16 Clipper Round the World Race)

Continue reading →

Who would have thought a year away from home might be so complicated? Continue reading →

The fastest boat speed recorded on the Clipper 2013-14 Race is 35 knots on board OneDLL during Leg 6 across the North Pacific from Qingdao, China to San Francisco.
Continue reading →

Looking forward to:

An amazing time to meet others and all that I have met so far are amazing people with a common goal. The bonding in training has been incredible.

Level 1 was like Freshman Summer band. Continue reading →