By Amory Ross

Man I love this job. We’re five hours into the race and I’ve spent the better part of it hidden in my makeshift station behind the water-maker, tucked into a dimly-lit high-side corner of this craft, organizing, re-organizing, deciding it doesn’t work, organizing again, learning I’ve misplaced something, and restarting the process; it’s happened like five times already and we’re just past Nantucket. The boat is going fast, I’m hanging on to anything I can find, and it is serious fun down here. Next time I’m bringing a seatbelt.

I was remarking earlier this week about the last time I really challenged myself—it has been too long. Over the next 10 days I will learn, practice, succeed, and likely fail too, but I am fortunate enough to be sharing that very circumstance with 15 other All-American Offshore Team members that now push the Vanquish eastward towards the Atlantic Ocean. We are in the midst of a great race that offers something different for everyone, and while there are some of us that have made this trip before, most have not. Either way, it is a group I feel fortunate to know and I am seriously looking forward to the adventures ahead.

Jesse’s whipping up some fine freeze-dried, the off-watch are taking their first trip to the bunks, I haven’t looked on deck in two hours, and I am finally pleased with the layout of my work-cave—it is time to break out the camera. We are currently humming along at 16 knots in 18 knots of breeze, close reaching under a single reef and the blast reacher/genoa staysail combo. The skies are cloudy and our heading of 118-degrees takes us about 20 miles south of Nantucket where we hope to shave some miles off the bigger boats (ahead and South) in the ever-changing shoals. After that we set the A5 and let it rip, downwind and to the North. Next stop Point Alpha, two days away.

See the photo gallery for a collection of photos from onboard Vanquish.