After hyping up the Velux 5 Ocean race to my class (I tie the solo, round-the-world sailing race into Earth Science somehow) and showing the documentary Deep Water about the first solo, round-the-world sailing race, my students asked me if I was ever going to do the race.
Although I won't rule it out, I don't think I could be away from my family for that long, well, maybe if I'm 90 and I outlive Tony and my kids are grandparents, I could bear ten months away to do it. But, just like in triathlon, when I get close to race day, I try, for the first time, to look beyond my next race to see what I will be training for when I achieve the goal directly in front of me. For the first time this week I have been trying to find the next logical step after a 4-day single-handed sail with stops near land each night.
I think I will have to wait another three years at least before I can steal away, I have to give some rest to my support team between trips. I don't want to ask too much to often of them. They could tire easily of my journeys, what, with my husband Tony having to listen to me talk his ear off with a long litany of, for him, meaningless details, and my kids having to miss me while I am gone, and my parents who lend child watch services while Tony works so I can concentrate on sailing and not worry about the safety and happiness of the children.
Maybe in three to five years I could do a Newport, R.I. to Bermuda passage; five to nine days alone with no stopping on land would be a good stepping stone. And then a TransPac, from Long Beach to Hawaii - two to three weeks alone- sounds interesting and enticing. Maybe in seven or eight years, when the kids are in high school and would be more than happy to get rid of me for a few weeks.
I am sure some Type 1 Diabetics have done it before, but it would be pretty great to be the first at something. I wonder how you go about finding out if any Type 1's have done a TransPac or a Newport-Bermuda before. Do you know of any?