I am not there.

But, the leading peloton of Vendee Globe 2020 sailors are there.

And the Southern Ocean has not been kind to several of them.

To be fair, the Atlantic had it’s go at some of them also.

Sam (Samantha) Davies and Seb (Sebastian) Simone suffering what is likely race-ending damage when they were both racing VERY well and then encountered UFO (unidentified floating object).

Simone (ARKEA PAPREC) went to the search zone of PRB’s Kevin Escoffier. Escoffier spent 11 hours in a life raft after his boat literally broke in 2. 5 racers (including Simone in ARKEA PAPREC) were sent to the zone and Kevin was rescued.

And then… Heart breaking as ARKEA PAPREC subsequently suffered damage from an UFO! Shortly after, Sam Davies on Initiatives Coeur also struck an object.

Meanwhile, here in the U.S. it is embarrassingly childish behavior by grown up people: from the President to local persons.

I choose to take refuge in the courage, persistence, athleticism and strength of the Vendee Globe sailors: their teams, their sponsors, the organization and the ocean sailing community.

But.

I live in NW Montana. A place I chose. And I don’t have aspirations to be an ocean sailor, but I do appreciate … so very much … this time of being able to go around the world with the Vendee Globe sailors.

So, some scenes from home…

Lovely stuff: Auggie, Emmett and my home…

But, my thoughts and prayers are with the courageous sailors that are now in the Southern Ocean: sail fast, sail safe and thank you to all of them who have shared so much on social media. The opportunity to go around the world with the best sailors in the world is an incredible privilege.