21 day solo sailing across the Atlantic

Today was kind of a big day for me. It was the first time on this trip that I hoisted the spinnaker with proper wind… and more importantly, the first time I took it down again while the wind was still there. I’ve been nervous about this for a while. I’ve had some messy situations with spinnakers before, and doing it alone out here felt like one of those things that could easily get complicated if it went wrong. But I also knew I couldn’t avoid it forever. At some point I had to just do it. So today I did. The sailing itself wasn’t perfect. To keep the spinnaker filled I had to go quite a bit off course, so from a “making miles west” perspective it wasn’t ideal. But honestly, that wasn’t the point today. The point was simply putting it up and bringing it down safely by myself. And it actually went pretty smoothly. When the sail was packed away again and everything was under control, I had this huge wave of relief and pride. It’s funny because for some people this might feel like the smallest thing in the world. But for me it was something I had been afraid of doing alone. And today I faced it. I did it. And I’m proud of that. The rest of the day was nice and simple. I did some boat chores, tidied things up, and finally made ice cream, which I’ve been craving for days. That alone made the day feel like a small luxury out here. Good food, a clean boat, steady sailing… and starting the morning by doing something that scared me. That was definitely the highlight of the day. 🌊⛵️ ⚓ Life on the Showgirl is my journey toward one of the toughest solo sailing races on the planet: the Golden Globe Race — sailed solo, non-stop, and without modern technology. Follow along as I learn, prepare, and chase a dream that feels bigger than me. ------------------------------------------ New videos EVERY 7th of the month ------------------------------------------ EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!!: https://www.patreon.com/classicmara ------------------------------------------ Follow Mara: https://www.instagram.com/classicmara_/ __________________________ Support me: PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/helgamarielk Vipps: 39088 - Classic Mara Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/griedy1 GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/173a9a5e6 __________________________ Affiliate links: Dakota Lithium Batteries: https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=79634&awinaffid=2732466&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dakotalithium.com Orca Navigation System: https://getorca.com/?via=classicmara PitViper: https://www.pitviper.com/discount/CLASSICMARA?redirect=%2F&utm_campaign=money%2Bcounters&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=upfluence