Flying

We left today under the same circumstances we arrived two weeks ago, with thousands of people cheering and applauding on the docks and even on the roofs.

Now I know what a soccer player must feel like when he plays in a full stadium. It even made me a bit shy, not knowing where to look. So I just had a stupid smile on my face and waved.  What a fantastic goodbye!

Galway understands the Volvo Ocean Race. They took it and squeezed the best out of it. The city lived and breathed the race for two weeks in a row.   Galway rocked and over 300,000 people came to see the boats, an enormous amount of people. If you asked me, all stopovers should be like this one..!

But all nice things come to an end and the race must go on. Three legs to go. With an aerial-show and a wink from the female president, we said goodbye to Galway and Ireland, thanks for your great hospitality! And then we flew out of Galway Bay. 

Then we had to cut the furler line because it got stuck in the furler and the A3 couldn’t open right after the start. Twenty-two knots downwind over flat water, with the fantastic scenery of the cliffs in the background.  Although we were behind at first it was a beautiful start of the leg!

And now we are on our way to Marstrand with a loop in Rotterdam.  That’s going to be a great flyby competing not just the usual competition, but also a lot of amateurs who are going to try to beat our lap time. But first we have to get there, and we have some catching up to do…

Sander Pluijm - MCM