Clipper Kate @clipperkate - Tumblr Blog

A Final Goodbye

I've had a lot of time to reflect post-race. A lot of time to try and sort my emotions out. Everyone always want to know what the best bit was. And that's a really had question to answer. The whole experience is a bit of a roller-coaster ride. There are moments where you cannot imagine ever doing anything more awesome (truly awesome) in your life. Of course there are moments where everything is falling apart and you wish you were anywhere else. Highlights are things like helming when the boat is properly surfing on big waves, pulling off beautiful kite hoists, close racing with boats covering each other back and forth, pancake breakfasts, song and dance parties with best friends, seeing the coast for the first time after a long journey. I know I'm coming from a bit of a unique viewpoint at the back of the fleet, but the Clipper Race isn't really about the sailing. Yes it matters, but people matter more. The whole journey has been about the people - obviously my crew and my skipper, but also other crews and other skippers. You'll learn more than you thought possible about these people and love them for all of it. I only ever see my crew sailing, but none of the people on board are actually sailors. Everybody is coming from a different background - it's a hugely diverse group. And it's awesome. My crew has had three reunions post-race so far. I made it to the first two. One, big Sunday roast at a crew member's farmhouse (used for weddings) complete with tractor ride. Another, Mission Performance's Christmas party. The guys also went for a long country walk recently, but I couldn't attend. I'm still amazed by how cool this group of people is and love meeting up with them! I've seen people individually a few times as well. The thing about the race is that you will see people at their very best and at their very worst. Nothing is off-limits. In fact, I've seen a good amount of crew members absolutely lose it. Total meltdown mode. It's happened to the majority of people who have done at least half the race. Things just get brutal sometimes. And yes, my crew has definitely seen me meltdown. People love to ask if the race is worth it - after all there is a hefty price tag attached. I will always say yes. I've made amazing new friends, accomplished a circumnavigation under sail (how many people can say that?), and hope to make sailing my life - at least for a few years. That being said, I would never do it again and have no intentions of ever skippering the race. I love sailing. I would love to circumnavigate again (and I'm desperate for a Cape Horn rounding). But if I'm going to do something like that again it needs to be on a faster boat with a group of good sailors that I trust 100% in any situation. If I had to give advice to the new guys - this year's iteration of hopefuls - it would be to understand the value of small kindnesses. Cups of tea on cold days. Words of encouragement and recognition for someone working exceptionally hard, even if they aren't the greatest. Always offering to help someone struggling or stuck in a difficult job. Hugs for crew that look like zombies. Cheeky surprise snacks in the middle of a long journey. Sharing gloves and hand-warmers. You just never know how much someone is struggling internally - especially as we made it a priority to not complain on my boat. Small kindnesses can pick you up like you wouldn't imagine. I imagine that this is the last blog entry I'll write about the race. It's the end of an era. Time to pass to the new crews (happy crew allocation guys!). Mission Performance is sponsoring a boat this year as well and I can't wait to watch their journey. Good luck guys! All of us in the Mission family and cheering for you! If anyone wants to get in touch, you're always welcome to send me emails at [email protected]. Thanks for sticking with me so long!

#sailing #clipper #mission performance #the end

This is a watercolor that Sophie and her dad had commissioned. It’s the story of our race, with all the highlights and lowlights. They have the full-sized one, but gave us big card ones. Thanks so much guys! It’s an awesome memento.

Life Post-Race

Obviously this blog as I'm writing it now is rather behind the times. The race finished up in the middle of July 2014. What have I been doing since then? Immediately post-race, I spent a bit of time visiting family in the UK. Then I flew home to Atlanta, to my parents' house. Basically I moved back home with the intention of doing absolutely nothing for a little while. Life had been rather go-go-go since before the race even started. So I crashed at home, eating my way through the pantry and fridge, lounging by our pool, making cocktails, and going to the gym. It was heaven for two weeks. Then I got a bit bored. But kept at it anyway. How often do you get to take that kind of vacation from life? At this point I knew I wanted to qualify as a yachtmaster - I certainly had the mileage already! I started my theory course online. There are pros and cons to doing an online course, but I didn't really have any other options given that Atlanta is very seriously landlocked (it's 5 hours to the sea). The course itself was great - I did it through Chichester Maritime Training and would definitely recommend them if it's something you're looking into. I finished it up in the end of November. Back in the beginning of October I'd moved back to the UK. I spent a couple of weeks hanging around London doing some sightseeing, yachtmaster theory course work, seeing friends, etc. Then I had my first week of yachtmaster exam preparation. It was with all ex-Clipper crew with skipper Olly teaching us. We had a really great week on the water practicing the skills that the race will not teach you. Mostly parking and close-quarters handling. I was very confused the first time I drove a boat backwards. The race gives you such a weird set of sailing skills. I could definitely sail a boat but lacked important navigation techniques and anything close-quarters. There's not that much to hit when you're in the middle of an ocean. In the very end of October I moved to Portsmouth. A former crew mate and her partner very very kindly put me up while I went hunting for a flat and a job. I cannot thank them enough for their kindness! Normally when I travel I stay in hostels - but there isn't a single one in Portsmouth (or Southampton). In the beginning of November I went out sailing with Clipper during one of their skipper trials. That was a really interesting few days. Basically it's when the race directors put the potential new skippers through their paces - causing all sorts of intentional stress and mishaps - to test the guys. There were three skippers trialling while I was there, two of whom now are race skippers! I also celebrated my birthday that week, which was fun. Happy 26 to me! After that, I stayed with friends for a couple of days while waiting on to move into a flat. And just like that I lived in Portsmouth (or Southsea really)! I started working at a pub. And basically trying to figure out the best way to make sailing a career. You need various qualifications to sail professionally. The big one is of course your yachtmaster offshore. I needed a bit more practice before doing that exam. In the mean time though there was a medical to have and a safety course to do. STCW is a qualification all mariners need (not just sailors). It's five different smaller courses done over a week's period - Personal Safety and Social Responsibility, Fire Fighting and Fire Prevention, Elementary First Aid, Proficiency in Security Awareness, and Personal Survival Techniques. I did my course at Warsash in December. And it was fantastic! There are of course some boring classroom bits, but then you get to do things like play with fire extinguishers, kit up and put out fires in buildings, do a life raft obstacle course, and practice tying bandages until every one looks seriously maimed. It was such an awesome week. I flew home to surprise my family for Christmas. It was the first time we'd all been together in 4 years. I know they were happy to have me home (mom's reaction when I walked in the door really summed everything up). Post-Christmas it was back to Portsmouth for another couple of weeks while I started a new job --- with Clipper! I joined the team of people refitting the Clipper 70s. We're working on the very last two boats as a I write this! Where has the time gone? Basically the boats are totally stripped down and lifted out of the water in Hamble, two at a time. Everything is serviced, cleaned, sanded, painted, etc. before they go back in the water. It's takes about 5 weeks for a pair. I've had a really awesome time at the job. It's been a huge learning experience on how even basic things work on the boats. Plus how to fix things, use fun tools (pillar drill anyone?), take all sorts of things apart. There's a great team of people in Hamble - all really fun guys. Once the last boat launches on the 19th of May, I'm finished! Plans from there are to find myself a job in superyachts (deck work). I'll be headed to Palma in the end of May.

#clipper #sailing

Delivery Home

We had one last sail to do on board the good ship CV23. Delivering her back to Gosport. We'd started there, prepping the boat. It just wouldn't feel right to forego the trip home. There were a couple of free days in London before a small group of us got on board again for that final trip. It was a mixed group - myself, Sophie, and Derek (and Claire in spirit)- plus a handful of crew members from other legs, and even one of our sponsors (how we managed to con her into the trip is beyond me). It was a short trip, and somewhat somber given the circumstances. Still a good one though. Unfortunately it was mostly upwind. Of course. And Matt wanted to sail, rather than motor (we may, as a whole crew, have put up a bit of a fight here). Beating into the tide in the middle of the night is not my idea of a good time. We had to lash down the yankee to the deck at one point and lost the halyard. Some rather special recovery tactics did put us sailing straight into the rest of the fleet, coming in from behind. And again when we lost it a second time, immediately after. Oh well. Such is life. Eventually the motor did go on, though most of the rest of the fleet had already made it into Gosport by then. We parked up and went out for dinner and drinks. The next day was full-on. There's the usual deep clean of course. But we also had to strip the boats of anything personalized. All the little bits that made us Mission Performance rather than CV23 had to go. Personal kit went. All the food went (a good chunk with Sophie for university). Spare tools and med kits and kitchen appliances went. If Clipper didn't own it, then it needed to be taken off the boat. If Clipper did own it, then it needed to be inventoried. It was a very long day. And it ended with quite a few goodbyes, as crew gradually left to pick up the strings of their other lives. I left the next morning myself. You spend your time packing up a final time, all the bits that have never left the boat. And you try to say goodbye. I just did my best to convey my feelings through the medium of hug. Sometimes there just aren't words. It wasn't as if we wouldn't see each other again (and there will be more blogs).

#gosport #london #sailing #clipper

After circumnavigating the globe over eleven months the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race fleet returns to St Katharine Docks, London. More at www.clipperro...

The End.

#clipper #sailing #race finish

Some lovely photos taken by my sister-in-law. The homecoming.

#sailing #clipper #london #the end #St Katharine Docks

Our Triumphant Return

Here was our homecoming. Something we'd all been looking forward to since the day we set out, 11 months previously. We had a very long night of motoring in circles around South End (easier than rigging up an anchor from the bilge) and an early start in the morning. It was team kit on, glasses of bubbly for all, and some serious pump-me-up music. A photographer joined us on board for a bit. The fleet began to wind its way up the Thames. It's a surprising long trip to the barrier, and still a good distance from there to Tower Bridge (and St. Kats). Emotionally, we were all a bit of a wreck. It's hard to describe the feeling. There's extreme joy at the accomplishment of course, mixed with the sadness of knowing it's all over. Mix in seeing friends and family for the first time in ages, a certain level of deep-seated exhaustion, and a huge media frenzy. It's overwhelming to say the least. The spectator boats met the fleet at the barrier and traveled up the river with us. A few people had friends and family on general boats, but Mission had organized a boat just for us with the help of a crew member. We finally spotted it. Sophie's friends (in conjunction with her dad) had made signs with the name of every crew member on board at that time as well as some nice messages. It was amazing to see! There was lots of waving, shouting, smiling. And okay, a stupid amount of crying. We were the first boat to head into St. Kats (last place has its benefits). It was insane. The people, the noise, the media. Unfortunately we were stuck on the boat, forbidden to leave, while waiting for the rest of the fleet to park up. There were a lot of photos and chats with friends and family. A friend of a friend snuck us a couple cases of beer. Others passed out a bit of bubbly. Might as well keep in good spirits, eh? Eventually everyone had arrived and the prize ceremony could begin. Us first (in last)! We all got up on stage, given a model of the boat. Sir Robin said his little piece and the media people did their bit. And that was it. We were officially set free. I met up with the family for one big happy celebration. Mom, Dad, and brother had come from the US to see me. And my brother and sister-in-law had even come down from Scotland! It had been years since we were all together as a group and was amazing to see them (they'd all been on the spectator boat as well). We had a few drinks in the pub while the rest of the prize giving finished up. Then every one came down to the boat for a look around. Many other crew had friends and family poking around the boat as well. It was so strange to meet kids and partners and such after hearing so much about everyone for so long! You tend to think of your crew mates in terms of the boat - their skills there, and way of life on board. It's easy to forget that nobody actually lives like this - people have real jobs and lives beyond the boat. They're more than just the person they are to you. It's a very strange realization. And probably one of the things I love most about Clipper. Everybody brings something different to the table. I stayed for a bit with crew mates, having a quick catch up, before heading to the flat my parents were renting for the week in Covent Garden. I did the usual - nap, shower, real people clothes. It was the big crew party! Mom and Dad came with me to the party. It was absolutely packed. So many friends, from my boat and other boats, were there. I had a bit of a catch up with some of the people I'd missed most. Unfortunately, this is where the day caught up with me. I hadn't fully recovered from the Den Helder illness, had barely slept, barely even eaten, and desperately needed to go home. It was so disappointing - I'm certainly not the type to bail on a party, especially one like that. It got to the point that I could barely walk up the stairs though, so I got in a cab, had a bit of a frustrated cry, and went back to the apartment. Safe to say the family were surprised to see me home so early. I got in bed and immediately slept for 12 hours. Only to wake up with the realization that it was over. Really really over. There were bits and pieces still to be finished, but things would be different.

#clipper #sailing #the end #london #St Katharine Docks

Team Photo on the way.

#leg 8 #clipper #sailing

Den Helder to London (the end)

This race is not the way I wanted to finish my circumnavigation. I’d been so sick in Den Helder and was still recovering when we started. I couldn’t be watch leader – my one last race. I could barely get out of bed long enough to complete even small tasks. Though at least I did get to complete my circumnavigation - there was a period during the stopover where I thought I'd have to get off the boat for medical reasons. The morning of race-off is always relatively hectic. It’s full of deck prep, last minute jobs, and of course goodbyes. You can usually find me in the nav station, finalizing watches, bunk allocation, the mother rota, and the menu. Normally I print and laminate them (playing with the laminator is one of my favorite things!). Everything was hand-written for this race though, and taped up to usual places. We had a last-minute crewmember joining us – as we were informed about half an hour before she showed up. Jorieke, Dutch, crossed the Pacific with DLL and would be heading to London with us. She was a serious asset to the team and it was fantastic to have her around. She brought the grand total of people from other boats that have joined us for various races up to an astounding ten. If that doesn’t speak to our boat’s reputation (despite 12th place) then I don’t know what does! After doing my paperwork (chief-of-staff is such a glamorous job) I did a couple of small jobs around the boat. And I needed a lie down. Only a couple of hours out of bed and I was already exhausted again. Not a good start. I went to sleep after making crew promise to wake me in half an hour for our departure. They never woke me, and that was a good thing. I really needed that sleep. Despite having done very little other than sleep for the past two days. Next thing I knew it was lunchtime and we were about to start the parade of sail. I had to pass on food (throat still too sore and swollen), but was pleased to be a part of things. Claire, the most amazing sickbed carer, didn’t think I’d be able to get out of bed at all during the race, given the state of me over the previous days. Hooray for double doses of antibiotics (and everyone's awesome care and support of course)! Not that I was actually any use that first day. Everybody is normally assigned a position for race start (various sheets, grinders, backstays, etc). My job involved sitting back by the helm. It’s one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever experienced – watching everyone else work hard and not being physically able to contribute. I like to think I’ve always pulled my weight within the team (the same can certainly not be said for everyone). I try to be a good sailor, a good watch leader, and generally a useful person to keep around. It was such a terrible feeling knowing that I was none of these things at that point in time, and likely for the majority of this race. We had a pretty good race start – in the top half of the fleet. Our lightweight kite (code 1), Bruce, was flying well as we overtook a few boats. We were in close contention for second place when the inevitable happened. Bruce exploded and died the most glorious of deaths. All the repairs seemed to blow roughly at the same time (and there were a good number of them – Bruce looked like an Underground map). No worries though. If there’s one thing we as a team are fantastic at, it’s kite recovery. Bruce was dragged back into the boat nearly immediately and up went our code two, Bwian. In under ten minutes. The whole fleet had seen the disaster/recovery – and we were still ahead of four boats. Rich (skipper of Invest Africa) radioed in saying how smoothly the recovery went. If only the rest of the race had gone as well. Den Helder to London is not a long trip, but naturally we had more time than would likely be needed to get there, as the arrival date and time for the race finish in London were totally inflexible. To adjust for this the race course was created as an elastic oval – moveable endpoints. It meant we were basically doing long loops as a race. Things were going swimmingly and I was well into recovery mode before we made a classic Mission mistake. We missed a mark. As in, passed it on the wrong side of the boat (to starboard, when it should’ve been to port). This sounds incredibly dumb. It is incredibly dumb. Anyway, you’ll get different reasons for the mistake based on who you ask. I was on deck at the time, but still reasonably out of it (death plague, remember). The fault likes in some combination of attentiveness (skipper, crew, whatever), gybe errors, and an incredibly powerful tide pushing the boat sideways. In the end we couldn’t point high enough with the kite up (you’ve got a limited range of what angle to the wind you can sail) and missed it. When you miss a mark, you’ve got to head back to it and round it properly. This meant turning around and heading into the wind. But first it meant dropping the kite. That was a big enough struggle given our course and wind strength. It took over half an hour. That's miles and miles sailed in exactly the opposite direction we want to be going. It added a significant number of tacks into the return to the mark - that took hours. That was our race over, then and there. All the hard work, down the drain again. We'd lost so much ground on such a short race course that there could not be any hope for a comeback. It was like one last demoralizing kick to the face when we were already down. Throughout the whole race we were the only boat not to achieve a podium position. It was a terrible feeling. Worse is the fact that you do still have to finish the race course. I suppose you could withdraw or something, but nobody with any ounce of self-respect would consider that given everything we'd been through in the previous 11 months. So we kept to the course, essentially doing circles hours behind the rest of the fleet. And then it was over. We'd finished the Clipper Race in South End, right where we started it. There were many hugs and screams when we crossed that finish line. And tears too of course. All I could think was that it was over. How can something like that finish? One little terrible race finished and you've just ended an experience that you've been living for a stupid amount of time. What now?

#sailing #clipper #the end

This is what our daily meetings consisted of: isometric charts. They tell us what the large weather systems are doing and where they’re going . We’re the black X with MP written above it.

#weather #sailing #clipper

Den Helder Stopover (the end is near)

We arrived into port a bit after sunset - luckily on the same day as most of the rest of the fleet. The welcome into town was a bit - interesting? A woman in an old-fashioned ball gown costume and Marie Antoinette wig full of christmas lights led us from the boat up to the Clipper tent, giving everyone hugs and telling us a bit about the Netherlands. We were all offered a bit of raw herring (a whole gutted raw fish really) - but funnily enough only a couple of us tried it. We all also got DLL branded wooden clogs and little bottles of genever. They also had a stand set up with tap beer and a food car with fried snacks (many portions of chips and mayonnaise were eaten). As you can imagine, most of the other crews had been drinking all day. So we followed them to a nearby bar to do the same. It was a late night. We split the crew into two groups with each doing two days of work on the boat. My group had the first two days. And the first was a huge one. As you can imagine, boat sponsor DLL (De Lage Landen) is based in the Netherlands. They had corporate sailing days at nearly every stopover. And for this one, their home port, they had corporate sails on every boat in the fleet. It was the most intense day of corporate sailing of the entire race. By far the longest day. We were up before seven to prep the boat to go out: a general tidy-up (enough to give guests a tour, but not deep-clean level), sails and lines, briefing, etc. Every boat had 12 DLL staff members (it's a huge company with offices scattered in many countries) plus 4 or so crew members (I believe there were 5 of us). We would take one group out through the locks and into proper water. There was a bit of an instructional session (this is a sailboat. this is a line. this is a winch. here is how you tack.) before setting up for a fleet-wide competition. It was much like the Mission corporate challenges in that each boat had a set time limit to perform manoeuvres around buoys for points. We coached them in the sailing, but the challenge was their responsibility. The guys didn't do badly, minus one bit where they nearly ran aground. Derek and I were coaching the helms (they rotated every 10 minutes). It's quite fun when there's good energy around - people like having the opportunity to drive a boat like that! After the challenge, we took the guys back to a pontoon just before the lock gate where they were offloaded. We were handful of sandwiches and hardboiled eggs to quickly eat before taking the next group in 15 minutes. Just enough time for a coffee huddled down below (did I mention it was pouring with rain?). Same drill with the second group of DLL staff. Teaching sailing and then leadership challenge. It was about 6pm by the time we offloaded them. From there it was quickly putting the boat to bed. That's one seriously long day of corporate work. DLL very kindly realised that this was a huge day for us to work. They gifted each of the boat crews two bottles of wine and a very generous gift certificate to the nearby bar. It was such a lovely gesture that highlighted their gratitude for the work put in. Needless to say, we all quickly changed and went straight to said bar for pre-prize-giving drinks and snacks (a single sandwich is not a hearty lunch). We blew through the gift card pretty quickly with huge handles of beer and amazing Dutch snacks (many, many bitterballen - absolute heaven). From there it was on to prize-giving. There was a little festival or sorts set in an open space in the marina - lots of tents selling various foods, beer, trinkets, etc. plus a large stage. It was set up so that each crew member got a certain amount of tokens gratis which would buy food/drinks. My chief-of-staff duties meant getting those and passing them out to crew. It also meant that I had all the spare tokens for crew members that didn't attend. Don't worry, I did share my wealth of food and beverages with just about everyone (Clipper staff included). It was quite a fun time. I can't say I paid much attention to the actual ceremony, but when have I ever? It was just nice to be outside in some decent weather, eating, drinking, and catching up with friends. Many (slightly drunken) heart-to-hearts were had. Eventually everyone relocated to the bar where we kept up the shenanigans and watched the end of the football (World Cup! Netherlands doing very well). The night rolled on. The next day my group still had plenty of work to do on the boat. And we were all pretty wrecked between the lack of sleep since our arrival (or perhaps since the sailing) and the hangovers. We slowly managed to deep clean our half of the boat (the other group would do the other half). It was just after lunch when we all collectively admitted defeat. The day before had been so long. Naturally we cracked the wine (DLL's gift wine for the previous day). It was lovely. That of course led to lunch at the bar. Lunch with more wine turned into afternoon snacks with more drinking turned into still in the pub post-dinnertime with more wine (at least for a handful of us). It was a serious session. But a truly fantastic one. Favorite moments include Derek getting a takeaway bottle of wine and cycling home, only to wipe out not far from the pub and drop the wine in the canal. He came back and just kept drinking with us instead. Eventually when he went to cycle home again he wiped out again. This time he cut his chin quite badly and a couple of the guys took him to the hospital for stitches. Oh well. What a story! Eventually I called it an early night, had a shower, and went to bed. The next morning I was up relatively early (the guys were coming to work on the boat) for breakfast and a train to Amsterdam. It's only a couple of hours away, so why not make the trip? Somehow I ended up in a very dodgy hotel right in the central part of town. I wandered around for a bit before having an afternoon nap (so difficult to get over this watch system thing where I get to sleep every 6 hours minimum). I woke up feeling a bit off, but took some painkillers and met up with guys off Qingdao. We had drinks near the hotel before moving onto drinks in the red light district at various bars. Eventually we met up with quite a lot of other Clipperites. I kept feeling off every time the medicine wore off, but ignored it. You only get to do this kind of thing once! A couple of us ended up in a nightclub in the early hours. We left pretty quickly as it's a very weird sort of place for people living on boats for extended periods of times. I went to bed and had a horrific night's sleep. Turns out I was really quite ill. My fever went through the roof and tonsils swelled up. I spent most of the night rolling around and sweating buckets. The next morning I was an absolute disaster. I left the hotel as late as I could and took the first train back to Den Helder. From there it was straight into my bunk for another attempt at sleep. Pretty useless really. I was such a mess, sweating and nearly unable to swallow without crying. I'd gone to the toilet and had to crawl back to my bunk, sobbing the whole way. Luckily one of the women who had been with us from Singapore to China (and was normally a crew member on Switzerland) was taking a nap on board (since Switzerland was out doing work). She found me in a heap on the floor and dragged me straight to the race office after check my temperature. Sarah in the race office was amazing. I was a wreck. She called up the insurance company and did everything in her power to get me a doctor's appointment. And just generally try to mop me up. Aly stayed the whole time. Eventually we decided I'd just have to go to the emergency room. Right at that time though one of the RTW crew members from the Derry boat showed up in the office - she's a paramedic. And bless her, she sorted me out. Susie (the paramedic), in combination with Aly (from Switzerland) and a doctor from another boat (I can't even remember his name!) stuffed me full of antibiotics for the raging throat infection I had. They lined up water bottles. They checked on me (all of them at different times) repeatedly and took my temperature and heart rate. I did nothing but drift in and out of sleep. This is where I tell you how much I love Claire. She took over my care at some point (everything is a bit fuzzy in here for me). She was so so good to me, constantly checking, getting me more water (and making me drink it), waking me when it was time to take more pills, etc. The same the next day - all day. She went out and bought me soft food to try eating. I managed some instant noodles at one point (hooray!). It was amazing to have someone there, watching my back when I was such a mess. I can never thank her enough! Thank you Claire! The guys were working to prep the boat for the next race that day. They were also great, not letting me out of bed for work and checking in to see how I was feeling periodically. Given that we only had one (very short!) race left, I was miserable. You can't imagine a more terrible way to end my nearly year-long journey. I couldn't take my one last stint as watch leader. I couldn't be a productive member of the team. I could barely get out of bed. Listen to your body kids! Try this sleeping thing! As it turns out, you can't keep pushing for 11 months without the body kicking up a bit of a protest. Lesson learned.

#clipper #sailing #den helder #netherlands

Oh! Oh oh oh!

I forgot one VERY important milestone that happened - we celebrated our first circumnavigation milestone - crossing all degrees of latitude!

We’d officially circumnavigated! It was such an amazing feeling - the group of us had sailed around the world and nobody could ever take that away.

There were another two circumnavigation milestones to look forward to as well: Our return to London (where the race started) and finally the return to Gosport (where the adventure started for most of us).

#clipper #sailing #circumnavigators #leg 8

Bits and bobs of life on board.

The Clipper Race departs from Derry-Londonderry for Race 15, the OneDLL Cup, to Den Helder, the Netherlands

To the Netherlands

This has been a bit of a difficult one to write. My notes about it seem to involve an unhealthy amount of anger and swearing. As you can imagine, it's hard to decide what is and isn't appropriate to write about. My personal issues - and those of my crewmates - have to be off-limits to a certain amount. I guess it's a game of finding the story to tell when you want to be honest, but not inappropriate. The best I can do is try, right? And maybe add a note that my blog entries represent my experiences - I can't speak for the stories of the rest of the crew. Sophie asked for a chance to be watch leader for this race. She absolutely deserved it (and was very good). But it put me in a bit of a strange position. Matt said Derek and I would be "co-watch leaders" for the other watch. No offense, but that's a way of saying "I don't know how to tell you I'm demoting you." Matt's a great guy, but tough conversations are not his strong point. Derek and I had a very awkward conversation where I had to tell him that I understood he would be in charge. Boats are not democracies. Or oligarchies really. They're dictatorships - and that's okay. It works. One person needs to be making the final decision. Derek was significantly more experienced that me - and much better at keeping his temper in check (I've only seen the man angry once. Once. It was enlightening and I loved it). It was very, very strange to go back to being assistant watch leader. I was used to making the final call. Where did my decision boundary lie now? What can I call and what can I not? At what point am I stepping on Derek's toes and how do I avoid it? It was uncomfortable to not have answers. Add on top of that the fact that I was now on a watch with a person I had been permanently separated from due to ... a difference of opinion shall we call it? This had been my decision. I'd had some difficulties with said person while I was watch leader - questioning my decisions, going over my head to the skipper, some unpleasant exchanges. I'll admit I did not behave like a saint - but if you keep pushing me and getting in my face, you can bet your ass that I'm not going to take it lying down. It's not really the right spirit for the boat. I should be a better person - but I'm clearly not (I can promise I'm working on it though. If you can’t learn from the experiences and better yourself, then what’s the point?). Anyway, I was nervous about this person being on Sophie's watch and doing to her what he had done to me. I'm a bit protective about her. It's just not fair for someone to be treated like that. Especially because anyone would be nervous to be watch leader for the first time. It's an experience that should be enjoyed, not making you miserable. So the person ended up on my watch. Predictably, it was a disaster. Too much water under the bridge at this point. It was absolutely the fault of both of us (at least I'm a big enough person to admit that). Ugh. This is all getting a bit petty. I apologize. The point is that we fought. It was miserable for me and I'd imagine uncomfortable for the rest of the watch. I'm sorry guys. You all deserve better. Enough about it. The sailing itself was relatively uneventful. We'd expected horrors heading through the Pentland Firth, but they never materialized. We'd been keeping pace with the mid-fleet teams and made a couple of bad calls that dropped us back down. I was still in burnout mode, so I can say I didn't honestly care much (I'm really selling myself in this post). It's just kind of not there in my memory - as was most of the end of the race as a whole. You check out and can only remember the emotions. Down the coast we saw an amazing amount of oil rigs - they are everywhere. About the only interesting thing to happen was us destroying the steering gear on the starboard side (a pulley snapped). That's what having a second helm is for! We made it to the finish, battling it out with Invest Africa for 11th place (only just behind Qingdao). Things were exceptionally close as the wind became fluke-y. I did get to drive across the finish (and kick Africa's butt). Matt drove for most of the finishes (especially close ones) - so I found that pretty exciting. From there it was just following the channel into the lock, and mooring up! This entry's a bit light on the sailing business. You'll have to check out Sophie's blog instead (Sea Pup Sophie). Different people, different experiences.

#north sea #sailing #clipper #netherlands #den helder

Derry Race Start

#derry #sailing #clipper #leg 8 #n ireland

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