Update, day 67: Cape Horn
Third time around and solo! It feels amazing to be finally around the last major landmark on the course and now focus on getting as much north into my route as possible instead of the constant run to the east and defines the marathon in the south. In such a lonely point on the planet it was strange to be standing on deck and then see the dark shape of a huge trimaran emerge from the mists. It was Idec Sport, a massive 100 foot trimaran that left France on December 16th 2016 in pursuit of the Jules Verne Trophy, the prize for the fastest nonstop circumnavigation of the globe. I have several friends onboard and it was an odd feeling to run into my buddies and swim training partners so far from home, but then where else would you find French ocean racers?! They are well ahead of the record time and going well so I wish them well, even if they will be home and dry weeks before me! After a beautiful day of sunshine and blue sky the world turned grey and wet on my approach and I only saw the lonely islands that make up the first foot hills of the Andes mountains when I was 12 miles away. Still it's such a pleasure to see land after so long staring at mountains of water and I even saw the rough outline of the famous rock in the mists before the night mixed with the clouds to obscure everything. Later when I skated through a couple of miles off the point, all I could see was the lonely flash of the light house and a hulking shadow in the night. I'll just have to come back for a good photo! Any excuse is a good one. Old sea farers would say that when a man has passed Cape Horn he is such a strong sailor that he could spit into the wind without fear of its return. After three times around one is supposed to have become such a tough guy that you can even pee into the wind without fear! Clearly we had to wait for Clark Kent and his red underpants in order to aspire to flying as a super power rather than relieving oneself to windward, but no matter, I still think this is one super power that's still best practiced while wearing rubber boots just in case!
