Adil Khalid of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing boat Azzam had his game face on two hours before the race began and was pacing the boat as the send-off ceremony stretched to 90 minutes.
Khalid, the lone Emirati in the event, sailed on Azzam three years ago, too.
He had no mixed feelings about setting sail for the next 24 or 25 days as the regatta heads to South Africa.
“Nah, I love this,” he said. “It is one of the greatest feelings you can have. I am doing this for my family, my wife, the country, the Arab world, the whole region, really.
“This is a really proud moment for me. So let’s go.”
FINAL NIGHT FOOD AND FIREWORKS FRENZY
Alicante was the scene of a send-off bash on Friday night, including a lengthy fireworks show worthy of a national celebration, but most of the crews spent their final night in Spain with loved ones.
Alvimedica skipper Charlie Enright went out to dinner with his family and commandeered the menu, which is understandable, since he will be eating nothing but freeze-dried fare for most of the next month.
“I overshot the landing,” he said. “We had steak, tuna, some tapas.”
Enright, 30, is the youngest skipper in the fleet and has never been at sea longer than 10 consecutive days.
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