Clipper Race Round Up from Kees Postma
Read the final blog from Kees Postma, Garmin's Ambassador taking part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
And that's it folks. The 2013-14 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is over. With a spectacular race finish in London on Saturday July 12th this ultimate adventure came to an end.
It has been a year of opposing extremes. Hurricane-force storms in the Southern and Pacific oceans contrasted by seemingly endless days of windless drifting inbetween weather systems. Living a glamorous life in some of the coolest places in the world but spending most of the year surviving on a stripped out racing yacht. Not seeing any boats for weeks but then finishing within seconds of other yachts after thousands of miles of racing. Walking around in shorts and t-shirt one day and struggling for layers to keep warm the next. Feeling completely miserable one moment and being the happiest person in the world an hour later. The Clipper Race is a continuous rollercoaster of conditions, emotions, and experiences.
Having the opportunity to test some of Garmin's latest developments such as the Quatix GPS-watch, the Vivofit wristband, and the VIRB action camera as well as enjoying fantastic sailing days with Garmin in Cape Town, New York, Derry-Londonderry and Den Helder has been great and I'm thrilled I got to represent such an innovative business during such an epic journey.
Racing a brand new 70-foot yacht with the latest technology on board more than 46,000 nautical miles around the world for 11 months really has been a unique experience. Not many people get to say they've done that and I'm proud to be one of them. Conclusively summing up a year of the Clipper Race in a book would be hard. To do it in a just a few words? Virtually impossible. But what it comes down to is this: The past year has been the best year of my life. I am not saying that just to make advertisement for the race. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. And if I could go back in time and rethink the choices I have made? I would choose to do the Clipper Race time and time again.
