Day 04 – 3^rd September

Perfect Conditions

A big bright moon crossing the Bay of Biscay. It was so bright it was as if someone had put flood lights on, which made it nice and easy trimming the sails and helming. What a great night that was.

During the day Port watch hoisted the Code 3 and so our speed went up, which was nice. As the day progressed, the wind increased so we dropped the C3.

Skipper's Blog

Hello from ClipperTelemed+! Yesterday provided us with a fantastic day of spinnaker sailing across the Bay of Biscay. The last time I was in the Bay of Biscay it was howling at 35 knots from the south west and I was heading....south west. Less than ideal conditions!

That made yesterday a very welcome fantastic spinnaker run in the sunshine. Not only that but we managed to pull some miles out of Unicef and inch our way forward a little. By midnight though it was time to gybe. Port watch was on deck and ready for the task. Keep in mind that we hadn't gybed the kite at all yet and so they were about to gybe in the dark in 17 knots without a practice run in the daylight.

Alex Laline was on deck ready to manage the complex lines running across the bow. Justin Howard worked the preventer around to the windward side of the boat. Linda McDavitt managed the pit with the preventer winch, tack line and spinnaker halyard and we were ready to go in a heartbeat. 

Waiting for Dinner

Nick Abramczyk flew the kite through the first half of the gybe. Mark Jenkinson drove the pedestal grinder like a mad man while David Juniper pulled in the new active spinnaker sheet.

Debs Spicer ran the pedestal grinder on the main sheet for Javier Sopelana Martinez who brought the main in and across the boat and Justin double-dutied up and ran the runner forward once we had gybed. Finally at the back end of it all was Mark Stevenson driving the boat in the dark.

With a "helms to weather" we swung the boat through the wind and everyone went into action. The only one who wasn't compliant was the spinnaker which developed a little hour glass. The guys ground on the sheet and luckily enough the kite unspun itself and the hour glass spun out. Not to worry though as Linda had the spin halyard ready to ease a little just in case. That was our bailout plan if the kite didn't unspin.

A fantastic job was done by all and we settled in on the new gybe toward the coast of Spain with an added bonus of hopefully squeaking a few more miles out on our competition and working our way towards Mission Performance!

Crew Blog

Apparently Mother Nature heard our appreciation yesterday and rewarded us with yet another wonderful sight, that of a breaching whale off starboard side. The irony...Port Watch was on deck and Starboard were off snoozing in their bunks, however the sounds of the crew jubilantly pointing to the whale just feet off the boat got the sleeping crew out of their bunks and on deck, alas it disappeared. The beautiful mammal returned just before dinner...again with Port watch on deck! Our Moby Dick moment.

Dinner Preparations

On the subject of dinner and meals for that matter, I finally have a much greater appreciation of mealtime for my wonderful black lab rescues at home in Washington DC, Kodi and Kina. On board we eat on a very specific system that allows the incoming watch to eat first, then go on deck so the off coming watch can come down and eat. It all makes sense and helps keep the boat moving as well try feeding 22 hungry mouths at once in the galley it gets a bit congested.

Not only are we on a set schedule we are also on portion control because we can't exactly carry around a grocery store to resupply as needed...some eat more than others...in fact it appears some of us might be hungry always. Now don't think we are all starving, we are well fed and there is plenty of food, thank you to our victuallers John and Debbie for their hours and hours of shopping and countless more planning our meals...however, the call for any leftovers or helping to clean the bowls is met by many wagging tails.

Weather today...Fantastic! Oh High Pressure System, how you reward us with blue following seas, clear warm skies and puffy white clouds...and barely enough wind to keep us moving...however, buddy, time to stop the sunbathing...we have a party to get to in Rio! We're not complaining...thank you kind seas...more wind please.

We're also not alone in our battle of musical chairs and who's left without a seat when the wind disappears...so thank you to our fellow Clipper Race yachts helping to push us along.

Meals...Breakfast: Cereal, Lunch: Tuna Wraps, Dinner: YUMMY! Noodles and fresh peppers with chicken and sweet and sour sauce. Thank you Mothers Ryan and Birthday Boy Craig (who baked his own birthday cake!) Great job today.

Kitemare: 1.0...DONE and DONE...kite is back in the bag...thank you to Alex in his lead role as sailmaker (when he's not catching a wave at the helm or on the bow) and for Nigel, Debbs, Chris and our Skipper for hours (actually days) of taping, sewing and more sewing! You Rock.

Starboard watch lead by Elaine is leading an international watch who have now hoisted spinnakers twice and repacked and wooled them both in this bouncy environment. As a crew we are all trying to exemplify the words of Sir Robin Knox Johnson who said: "Seamanship and safety skills predominate throughout the race."

Day 03 – 2^nd September

I got involved in the Code 2 repairs during the night as Alex, Nigel and Debs were falling asleep at the machine. Getting 300 m sq of material through a domestic size sewing machine is quite a challenge and so it trying to thread the needle under such interesting conditions!

Passed Alderney in the morning, the last land we will see until the Canaries.

Justin & Mike

Dropped a number of places after we dropped the Code 3. However, we re-hoisted this morning, which help get us back on track.

A whale broke the surface near to the boat much to everyone’s excitement. Unfortunately, I was off watch, so missed the first sighting.

We are starting to recover places during the day and now that the repairs to Code 2 are finished we have 5^th gear back again!

Skipper’s Blog

The sewing is finished! Our sail repair team has grown in numbers. Alex Laline and Nigel Odling recruited Debbie Spicer and Chris Geary to the sewing task to give them a break and even the Skipper pitched in on a little sewing to get the job done.

They were working so hard at it that it wasn't unusual to go pass by the sewing machine and see them slumped over and asleep trying to get it done.

Great job done by all to get our medium weight spinnaker back together.

Fortunately the weather has been very much on our side and everyone is settling in nicely to their jobs and the routines on board. For dinner last night we had a sailor's version of shepherd's pie. Mince, corn, peas and gravy in the bottom of the bowl and a nice big spoonful of mash on top.

Very yummy!

Doug

The occasional dolphin has been spotted but not much for wildlife yet other than at watch change seeing all the unusual creatures climb out of their bunks and don their gear! Speaking of the team, they are doing fantastic.

We got the lightweight spinnaker up yesterday and they were doing so well with it we attempted to carry it into the night. The helmsmen were doing a great job of driving up and down in the pressure and calling their helm adjustments to the trimmers and the trimmers and grinders were doing a wonderful job of keeping the kite full. As the wind increased, it became apparent that we were going to have to take the kite down. It's always tricky taking down a big spinnaker at night. It's very hard to see and as the breeze was up it was a bit noisy on deck. We rehearsed the roles and steps in the take down and then went for it.

Then Tony Truong blew the tack line. Chris Geary managed the spinnaker sheets. Mark McCauley and Hal Stokes ground in the clew. John Randall, Han Kim and Nigel Odling gathered up the sail through the letterbox for the douse and Elaine Hargreaves managed the halyard down all while Mark Stevenson was driving us deep downwind. Great job done by all and the kite came down flawlessly.....It took lots of effort but flawlessly never the less!

Crew Blog

Today we enjoyed the sun and warmth of a high pressure system. Which helped the crew's appetite
increase, unfortunately this also means there is a direct correlation of less wind and reduced forward progress towards our destination. After a great job of the crew to peel back into the pack as you might have noticed on the race tracker the wind stalled just off the coast of France. 

Quite a lovely place to float around. This gave us a chance to play around with sail trim, hoisting our Windseeker and trying to hold ground as the tide turned and we actually went slightly backwards, apparently the Queen was not ready for us to depart her waters just yet...We all know this will be the norm...wind, lots of wind, we feed the fish...wind diminishes and we play with sails. Repeat.

Powdered Milk vs. Protein Mix...humm, do you know the difference between two white powders? Well not when you mix them...they both look the same. The big difference comes when our Mothers, Doug and Justin, accidentally mixed Hal's protein powder thinking it was powdered milk. Luckily their keen sense prevented any spiced up drinks. On the subject of Mothers...lets get to the great meals today...

Breakfast: Cheesy Eggs...fantastic. Lunch: Amazing. Dinner...Shephard’s Pie! We also understand that Doug added to all the meals some of his secret special special secret Doug spice..the crew loved it...

Kitemare repair enters its final stages...so the count on that folks would be an astounding zillion hours of repair for a five minute hoist debacle. Never underestimate the meanness of a kite...that being said we are nicely clipping along right now with one of our other kites...this is the first night we've enjoyed as we move through the Bay of Biscay not seeing land...we're entering further south and into the Atlantic Ocean. Oh I have to give a shout out to the cute little dolphins of course...the crew love them...thanks for providing them mother nature.

Lastly, we have our first BIRTHDAY! Craig, Happy Birthday Mate! The crew appreciates your ability to keep us all on course and to helm the boat as fast as she'll go!

Day 02 – 1^st September

Sunny But Cool

The sun came out and we were happy. We overhaul UNISEF and Ichorcoal during the day which helped pick the mood of the boat high. Unfortunately, my seasickness weakness reared its ugly head whilst trying to lifting out the Code 3 from the sail locker. I was wearing a patch as well, which was very annoying. However, I managed later to wool the Code 3 down below, which I was quite pleased about. Had some great fun helming, which is what it is all about! 

Skipper's Blog

Good morning from ClipperTelemed+. We just got the Windseeker up with the sunrise and will probably need to swap it out for the lightweight spinnaker as soon as the breeze builds a little. The sailmakers are still working on sewing the medium weight spinnaker back together.

We are stuck in a cozy little spot in the current between Ile D'ouessant and the Traffic Separation Scheme and trying to nudge our way forward. There is almost no wind and definitely a strong current taking us north. We can see the other boats around us wallowing in the same lack of wind and current. Nothing like waiting for the breeze to fill in!

Lunch

The good news is that the food has been great so far. We've had some interesting combinations of beans, chilli, potatoes and cheese on top. We are also very lucky on ClipperTelemed+ to have a large stash of Frank's Red Hot sauce, which makes a great addition to every meal!

Our daily happy hour started off with a bang yesterday. Happy Hour is a chance for both watches to get together and spend more than five minutes together. We have added a story telling moment in our happy hour where one or two of the crew tell us a bit about where they are from and where they have been in the world. We certainly have some well-travelled people on board!

I smell breakfast.....time to go!

Crew Blog

4-4-6-6-4. Repeat. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

That's our current watch system, we rotate between a Port and Starboard watch which in a constant rotation you will always be on a different watch each day...we've set in and are working out the kinks...and don't worry if we are not getting enough rest...on a yacht when given the chance you can sleep instantly.

2200-0200...Port

0200-0600...Starboard

0600-1200...Port

1200-1800...Starboard

1800-2200...Port

Welcome to day two...we understand that Race Viewer is quite addictive. So all of you get back to work! JUST KIDDING! We need and appreciate your support.

Food: Thanks to Mark and Mark for keeping us well fed asides from the fact they themselves had little appetite because well it really sucks having to be in a listing galley at 40- degrees and cooking and having the green monster always lurking around...but they were fantastic.

Breakfast: easy...bread and some cereals...Lunch...whoa! Baked Potato and Chilli! Yummy tummy...and dinner Rice and lots of good and healthy while they last fresh veggies...

Weather: Of course sunny all day!

Wind: fantastic. While we are not at the right angle to fly our kite (and the kitemare repair continues...thank you to Debbie for jumping in and Alex and Nigel whom continue to endure sewing upside down ...the skipper included. We never thought the day would ever come after sail change mania during our various levels of training when the training skippers enjoyed watching us wrestle with sail changes...we've been on one tack all day!

Fish Fed: A few with offerings from a couple of the crew...the mate writing this blog himself (knoticalnic) had the distinct pleasure of pumping all the poo overboard when we were the appropriate range offshore..that’s the kind of thing that seemed to get left off the Clipper Race web page when I applied.

Justin and Doug spent some quality time with the poo machine when they successfully fixed the heads after some leaking of the salt water intake...to the immense relief of the crew.

Lastly, the entire crew of ClipperTelemed+ would like to thank all of those whom jumped in over the last few weeks during the prep weeks and delivery and in London to get us off safely and soundly for this first leg to Rio. A special shoutout to Annie, Laura, Barnaby, Neil, Nick, Eelco, Jenn, and Regina and any other crew that made it down, thanks again!

Day 01 – 31^st August

The Start Line

The actual race start was at the end of Southend pier. Being August Bank Holiday Monday, it was of course raining. Despite that, the pier was crowded (I didn't know until I got home, but my friend Gary was in the crowd) with people and there were quite a few spectator boats bimbling around as well. It also gave us one of the few opportunities to wear our nice new name stamped foulies on this Leg.

At 1230 the gun finally went and we were on the road to Rio. A number of the fleet put spinnakers up straight away, but Diane (skip) wanted to play a more conservative game, so we kept on white sails as we headed out of the estuary to North Foreland. Despite not having the kite up, we were holding up quite well and we could see others having kitemares ahead.

I was designated as one of the primary helms for starboard watch and though I was officially on Mother duties, I was asked to take the helm as we headed for Red Sands Towers. As we rounded these and the wind angle improved, skip decided to put the Code 2 up. Exactly what happened I'm note sure, but something went wrong with the hoist. I could see the clew under the boom and heard ripping sound as the tear in the sail appeared. The team did a great job in rescuing the sail, but it was a big setback so early in the race.

My next challenge was to survive the rest of  Mother watch by having to cook dinner as we headed down the English Channel.

Skipper's Blog

Kitemare!

Long night for our first leg, but we are getting settled into the watch routine and getting used to being on board. We took a few miles out of some and then gave some back but we are working on pulling in a few boats.

The guys are still sewing!

Crew Blog

We have a lot to talk about! Where to begin. Of course it was an exciting day for all of us...one that seemed to not really have a start and it certainly at this point does not seem to have a finish...just yet...we know that we have about 5,200 nautical miles ahead of us...

Sunday slipping lines for us crew was a surreal moment for all involved. Oh the tears were flowing...the smiles were abundant and the air was charged with electricity ...which in the UK is 240 volts...zap! We know that for all of us we share a common bond in doing this...everyone made sacrifices to be here to be a part of this race. We are supported by all of you reading this blog on your mobile device hopefully sipping a beverage we might like to enjoy with you when we return to tell our tale tales...and day one certainly was chalk full of them for us aboard ClipperTelemed+

To set the scene for you after our incredible experience waving goodbye to loved ones and steaming under the Tower Bridge...we motored down the river Thames. We arrived around 2300 BST and were surprised as we moored along one of the Clipper Ventures training vessels that the person on the receiving lines was none other than the omnipresent Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Calm, cool and reassuring all while smoking a cigarette which we all thought he had given up on his last epic solo sail...

There is just not one person this race is about nor is this race one that is won by just one person. However there is one person whom we all know is one heck of a great sailor and inspiration for all us crew on board pretty much any this vessel... That one person is one that all of you know and all of us whom have been able to meet him instantly respect and appreciate his care and attention to our vessel and to all of us. A living legend. As we start this journey we hope only to follow in his sea steps and return safely to port...and hopefully on the podium!

Weather: Sheet...yes...but we all know it could be and will get worse...today kinda spat on us...as if all the months and months of training to get to race day could be rewarded with some sun...alas we are not fretting because we know King Neptune will soon be letting us know just how much sun his ocean can and will bake upon us...

Food: Hats off to the mothers of the day Linda and Chris

Breakfast...eggs , scrambled, toast.

Lunch...ham and cheese sandwiches, apple, chips (oh wait, I mean crisps!)Dinner...Mashed Potatoes and some strange but tasty sausage link thingy and then of course the obligatory coffee, tea and biscuits served up throughout the watches...so far we have not fed the fish! I'll let you figure out what that means...

The good..the bad the ugly.

The Start! Weee we're off to Rio! Great start...right in there...we flew our Yankee one...our stay sail and our full main and were in the thick of the sails all around with their kites up...some had some hiccups but pushed on...

Kitemare take one...we hoisted our medium weight spinnaker... then it turned into a little cry baby because...well various reasons that we will as we get better and better be able to do better and better...however the skinny is we are now breaking in our crews on board sail machine...as we are Alex and Nigel the sail makers stuck down below deck and still not feeding the fishes!

Pomp And Ceremony

The crowd went wild!

Sunday saw the build of nervous tension and excitement as the day progressed. We were instructed to be on board at 0900. So a last hearty breakfast in the hotel and farewell to Rosemary. An hour or so later, with not much going on I managed to show a couple more friends quickly round the boat and hung around a little bit more with family and friends until the pull of the boat got too much for me and so I said my final farewells until I would return on 8th October.

The morning started to drag and we started to grow impatient, we had had enough of the build up, we wanted to go sailing. However, there was the send of ceremony to be completed first. St Kats was packed with people come to see the spectacle and cheer of their loved ones and friends. Two years previous I was on the quay side watching the 13-14 race leave. Then I was on the outside looking in, now I was on the inside looking out.

Drummer up the mast

The ceremony started and a troop of drummers embarked on the boats to be winched up the mast. We had the base drummer, which was a delicate operation getting him up to the first spreaders with is drum. When their time came it lasted about 10 seconds and because of the general noise in the dock, if you weren't paying attention, then you would have missed it!

The first crews disembarked and made their way around the back of the dock for their appearance in the stage. Being the 10th boat the wait for our turn grew, but finally we were off. As we reached the holding position near the stage Visit Seattle and PSP Logistics gave us a round of applause, which we returned. As each crew made their way onto the stage, the boat song was played, as was Best Day Of My Life - American Authors. As we approached the stage Sir Robin was there to shake our hands and wish us well. The compere asked Diane, Han and Linda before our team photo was taken and our last hurrah before we left the stage.

Official crew photo

Soon after the first boat slipped its lines and headed out onto the river Thames. We had to do a 10 point turn in order to get out of our mooring, but eventually we were off. As we shot through the lock, we lined up on the port side ready for the photo boat and then joined the other boats circling around on the Thames. The river was was packed with spectator boats full of cheering and waving people. The river banks were also jammed full of people. It was a strange feeling, it felt like being a rock star!

Going through Tower Bridge

When all the boats were on the river Tower Bridge opened for us. One the previous race, only three boats went under the bridge, but this time, we were all going under. It was really special moment to go under Tower Bridge as it is not opened for just anyb
ody. Once through we then had the backdrop of The Tower of London on one side and HMS Belfast on the other. Once GREAT Britain and UNICEF  had made their way to the front of the flotilla, the bridge opened again and we headed of down river to Queenborough, where we would spend the night in ready for the proper race start the following day off Southend pier.

The spectator boats followed us down river, but one by one they turned round to head back up river. A number of tall ships were moored at Greenwich and as we passed them we exchanged salutes. Though the crowds thinned as we made our way down the river, they never truly disappeared until we had got passed Gravesend. At one point a drone flew out to us and waggled its wings at us.

Darkness had fallen by the time we entered the Thames estuary, which was a shame as this is my home sailing ground and I was looking forward to seeing it from ClipperTelemed+. Bed time came and I posted my last Facebook message and signed off until Rio. Tomorrow, we would be leaving these shores on an adventure, which none of us, not even Diane had any kind of experience.

What fun!

Boat Preperation

21st - 29th August 2015

After nearly 3 years of waiting, the time finally came, I was going to Rio!

Arriving in London

The boats had already been delivered to St Katharine's Dock in London the previous week, but I had now signed off from work and so was now ready to start my Clipper race. I had taken most of my kit down to Gosport the weekend before, so I had a small of cloths to last me the week whilst in London. So I got on the train and made my way to London.

I had met a few of my crew mates the weekend before when I dropped in at Gosport as well as a couple when I did my Level 4, but the majority of the crew were strangers to me. It's fascinating though how quickly you Know who you will connect with and those who you will never create much of a bond. During the week we got to know each other better, with Wednesday being the official crew arrival day, when we were finally all together.

Team building

During the week I also bumped into some of the "old" (original sign-ups) crew on their various boats. I don't why is surprises me so much, but I've been signed up since February 2012 and have met loads of people and made lots of friends, but I'm not actually sailing with anyone I did my training with, or have got to know during the various social events over the years. With over 700 crew taking part I suppose it shouldn't be such a surprise.

A lot of the prep work had been carried out in the previous weeks down at Gosport, but there was still plenty to keep us occupied. One of the tasks I had, was to get the entertainment system going. This consisted of a waterproof Bluetooth speaker for the cockpit and a Seagate media system for storing music and videos. My job was to try and get the media system accessible from anywhere on the boat.

Doug working hard

As the week progressed, jobs were completed and CV26 started to look ready to go. As the days passed, so the crew started to get impatient and wanted to go sailing. During the week, Steve & Jordi from work and Vince with his family visited on separate occasions and I showed them round the boat. During the evenings we went to various pubs and restaurants and got to know each other better still. Korean BBQ was an unexpected and really good find thanks to Han.

Korean BBQ with Han, Doug & Debs

One of the interesting things we found out about Linda was that she had used Pole Dancing as a means of getting fit for her round the world adventure. What you need to know about Linda is that she is 69. Now that in itself would cause some fun and amusement, but it just so happens that living in St Katharine's is an employee of NBC and she has picked up on Linda's story and want's to run a piece on her and the race.

Ryan watching intently

So one morning 12 of use accompanied Linda to a Pole Dancing class along with a camera man from NBC. What followed was a couple hours of fun and laughter as a group of mainly middle aged men tried to do Pole Dancing moves. John's painted toe nail certainly got some special attention.

On Wednesday evening I helped at the ClipperTelemed+ corporate event showing shipping company executives and the like round the boat. Free beer and nibbles was our reward and we got to wear our sexy black ClipperTelemed+ crew kit!

As the weekend approached, St Katherine's got busier and busier and the excitement grew. Friday night saw the official Crew Party take place. Rosemary joined me for this, which allowed her to meet some more of the crew and catch-up with some "old" Clipper faces.

Explaining to Emily & Leo where I'm going

Saturday was manic! Friends and family turning up to look round the boat. By lunchtime I was exhausted, hungry and thirsty, so it was time to adjourn to The Dickens Inn for a pizza and a drink before heading of to the Leg 1 race briefing.

Last supper!

After race briefing, which mainly consisted of confusing everyone about the rules for the motoring corridor (I decided to leave it to the skipper to understand!) it was off to a "Good bye" meal with 20 of my friends and family. The next day saw my journey to Rio begin with the official pomp and ceremony.

Team Building

Unfortunately, because we are so geographically dispersed as a team and because Clipper hadn't highlighted the date of the Team Building weekend, not many of us could make it. However, we rose to the challenge and had UK and Canada based events in order to increase the opportunity to meet our fellow crew members.

For the UK event, we went to the Oxford Wakeboard & Ski Club. Having never water skied I didn't hold out much hope of success! Hal went first as he organised the weekend and of course blasted round the lake as he had learnt to water ski when he was younger. The bar was set high, but it would soon be lowered!

We had a choice of skiing or wakeboarding. Apparently skiing is easier to get up, but harder to stay up when compared to wakeboarding. I chose wakeboarding. We went out in pairs on the boat, a little beast of a thing. Eecole went first and unfortunately, proved to be quite good as well, managing to do two circuits of the lake on one occasion.

So now it was my turn. To start with, you hold the pole that sticks out from the side of the boat and on the second attempt, I managed to stay up and go the length of the lake. Then it was time to try the rope off the back. I managed to get up out of the water once for about two seconds, but that was all I could manage.

This was followed by a BBQ, for which we were joined by our sponsor ClipperTelemed+, who came bearing beer and wine, which was nice.

After the BBQ we played some team building games and discussing our goals and objectives as a team. Having got all serious, it was time to wind down again, so a two mile walk was embarked upon to the nearest pub!

Having borrowed my friend's massive tent, when we got back from the pub, we all huddled in it for another hour or so chatting and drinking some more.

In the morning, we packed our tents and Hal guided us to a nice little cafe on the banks of the Thames for breakfast, from which we made our respective ways home. We all got to know each other a little more and had a good time in the process.