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.