lies:

Taking Leave

Nic Douglas and Jan Edney filmed a “dock walk” on the morning of the departure from Auckland, covering the last 45 minutes or so before the boats left. And it was simultaneously both a little dull and kind of fascinating.

It was dull because all the big departure events had taken place three days before. The wait for Typhoon Pam meant that the shore facilities had been packed and shipped off to the next stop, and a lot of the shore team and family members had likewise left. So the only people on the dock were the sailors and a relative handful of well-wishers and media. It was a quiet, almost somber scene.

Two moments stuck out for me. One was the brief goodbye between Sophie and a man I didn’t recognize; he had an SCA jacket on, but I don’t know if he was a coach, family member, or friend. I especially liked the last tap on the head: Be smart out there.

The second moment was when Libby was walking by and called out to her brother Rob, who walked out to the stern of MAPFRE to talk to her. They exchanged a few words, then Libby continued down the dock toward SCA.

I was struck by Rob’s body language. While talking to Libby he seemed casual, looking down at some piece of equipment he was holding. But when she left he lifted his head and watched her walk away, his little sister, about to set out on the leg he’s done three times before, but that she never has. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. But I don’t think so.

Reblogging myself to say that someone with a personal connection to the team was kind enough to let me know that in the first set of images Sophie is talking to Dr. Antonio Zoido, the team physician. Which, given Sophie’s back issues and her campaign to rejoin the boat, makes that moment even more meaningful.

Here’s an interview with Dr. Zoido from the Cape Town stopover:

Reposted from http://ift.tt/1I63nu7.