It’s pretty daunting with all the balls that you have to juggle to do well. There was a lot to learn. As for the sailing part, coming out

of the Doldrums and expecting to enter the southeast tradewinds, [only to find that] the wind was blowing south- southwest. That was hard because I had to go upwind for an extra day and a half of sailing through uncomfortable, degrading squalls – it wasn’t great. And this was almost two weeks into the leg! The Doldrums were also pretty stressful, just to keep the boat going.

What was your best moment?

There were a couple! The tow-out

from [the dock in] La Rochelle [France] was pretty cool. The race requires you to be there for two weeks prior to the start for various checks. There are lots of people there and it’s really busy. But during the tow-out, it was kind of like, ‘Wow, I’m going to sail across an ocean!’. At that point, life became pretty simple – it was just me and my boat.

Also, the finish in Salvador de Bahia

was memorable. It was early morning, and I could see streetlights and cars.

I hadn’t seen those things in 21 days! Also, I was excited to see my girlfriend, April Parry, who flew down to meet me. That was very cool. In a way, it was a similar sense of excitement as the start. Things went from ‘I’m going to do the Transat’ to, ‘I just did the Transat’.

What did your family say about your adventure?

Well, my mom passed away some

time ago. My dad thought I was maybe a little crazy but he was supportive, as was my sister. My grandmother, my mother’s mother is still alive, thought

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