Level 1

At last, the 28th March came and it was time to head to Clipper HQ in Gosport for my Level 1 training. Had I really been waiting years? Yes, I had! As I got closer to Portsmouth the tension in me started to rise, oh the anticipation of it.

The forecast for the week was good and I had already met the Skipper, Emily, as she was the one who looked after us on our "Wet Wipes" weekend last April, so I knew it was going to be a good week. Home for the week was going to be CV3 - "Welcome to Yorkshire" aka the big pink boat.

At 1700 we all met at the Training Office and found out who we were going to be sharing the week with. There were 8 of us on CV3 for the week and what a mixture we were. Really this should have been no surprise as Clipper attracts a very wide ranging demographic, with perhaps the exception of age. The average age is fairly high, probably due to the cost.

However, we still would have made an interesting Venn diagram; 3 x first time on a yacht,  2 x women, 2 x Swiss, 1 x Dutch, 1 x Australian etc. But the dynamics of the crew were fantastic and by the end of the week emails were swapped and we were all great friends.

Level 1 is a fairly conservative week as even if you have sailing experience (and three of our crew happen't set foot on a yacht before) a Clipper 68 is very different to your average leisure cruiser. Big difference being the weight of sails and the loads under which all the sheets and lines are placed under.

Because of this one of the key parts of the training is safety and safe methods of working. How ironic that the day we practice our first Man Overboard (MOB), that Andrew Taylor on Derry~Londonderry~Doire should spend 1.5 hours in the Pacific having fallen overboard.

Emily (Skipper) and Paul (Mate) provided a really fun, safe and good learning environment, which made the week a great experience.

Roll on Level 2 in June!

A Polar Bear vs Clipper

So what has a Polar bear got to do with Clipper? Answer at the bottom.

11th January saw 100+ Clipperites attend a meeting at the Little Ships Club in London. It was good to meet up with some old friends. Unfortunately, didn't have to mingle afterwards and make any new friends as I was taking Rosemary to the top of the Shard as her birthday treat!

The aim of the meeting was to provides us with some useful in sites into participation of the Clipper experience. First to speak was Rob Lewis, sponsor of Mission Performance who gave some very useful information about extreme team building.

Next was Ben Bowley, senior training skipper. Plenty of useful information about choosing the right ethos and goals for your boat, conflict resolution (which will happen when you get a group of sleep deprived people in a confined space!), things to do to help the skipper and plenty more.

Finally we asked questions to 6 people who have just finished (though still had other Legs to do) Legs on the 13-14 race. This provided useful gems about personal hygiene, clothes, kit as well as low and high points about the experience.

And the Polar bear? As you will see from Rob's CV he has been to the North Pole and shared his own experience of confronting a Polar bear, which is to run at it making as much noise as possible!

Luckily the odds of meeting a Polar bear between the UK and Brazil are slim.

Early Christmas Fun!

Christmas is coming, time for fun! Eighteen of us, some old freinds and some new freinds decided it would be a good idea to meet at Dickens in St Kats. The first challenge came when trying to meet someone you've never met in a crowded London pub. This is when Facebook showed that it did actually have a use!

"Anyone here?"
"Yes, outside"

"Hi. Chris?" "Yes, Ben?" - great, lets get a drink! This continued throughout the next couple of hours as more "strangers" approached our table and asked in faultering tones - "are you Clipper?"

A great evening was had drinking and eating pizza. Though to my shame this evening resulted in my first sleepover on the train home, resulting in my wife coming to get me at 00:30!

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking,

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Clipper 2013-14 Race Start

Oh my! What a weekend! Two years to wait before my turn!

Sunday September 1st saw London provide an amazing send of for the 2013-14 race. St Katharine's dock was buzzing, crowds lined the Thames, people gazing down from Tower bridge. I have never felt so excited in my life, sorry Rosemary, James and Jessica, but that's how it was, I was just buzzing. There were a couple times I nearly cried, thinking about what those lucky lucky people were about to embark on and what it will be like in two years time, when I'm on one those boats waving good bye.

The fun started Saturday evening at the 15-16 crew party. Time to meet up with old friends Mike, Ali, Sarah, Rosalind, Ian, Patrick, Tracey ....... as well as meeting new crew like James, Pipa, Thomas and more. The beer did flow!

0930 Sunday and St Kats woke up. Boat crews were introduced to the crowds - Pipe bands, Jamaican dancers, all sorts. In groups of four, Clipper 70s slipped their lines and locked out into the Thames to rapturous applause. Three times this happened, each time was magical.

First Sue and Gary arrived during all this, then Jessica followed by Paul & Sam and Tania & Gary. Though I had been boring them for over a year now about Clipper, I think on Sunday, they understood. They felt the buzz, they could see the crowds and more interestingly, they could see what it had done to me that day.

"Happy Christmas!" Oh yes, they won't see each other until next summer!






Sunday was of course just the ceremonial start, you can't race 12 Clipper 70s down the Thames! So where were they going? The answer was Queenborough, just 30 miles from home. On the train home I was tracking them via AIS and once home could see them rounding the Montgomery heading for the entrance to the Medway. Gary and I downloaded our photos whilst having a cup of tea and then off in the car. When we get to Queenborough GREAT Britain was moored to the pontoon, OneDLL picked up a buoy and Qingdao was bimbling around ready to raft against OneDLL.

As the light faded in came Invest Africa, Team Garmin and Henri Lloyd. Time to go home have some dinner, drink some wine and relax. Can't wait for the home coming, but first the race!

GREAT Britain Naming

A slightly more upbeat post than my last one. 3rd August I went to Trafalgar Square with my Rosemary, Sue & Gary to see GREAT Britain, which had been planted on the terrace just outside The National Gallary.

What a magnificent site!

I wore my T-Shirt with the Clipper logo on so the staff would know I was already signed-up. That was a good move the nice Clipper staff I spoke to allowed us on board for a look around. The others found it quite interesting to look below as it allowed them to better understand what conditions would be like and so make it easier for them to understand what I was telling them.

RIP Brian

Yesrterday we laid Brian to rest. He was the relative that had his leg amputated earlier in the year. It was all very sudden, he was at home recovering, having physio ready for his false leg, when bam - heart attack. Life is so transient, don't waste it. Even if don't sign-up for Clipper, do something with your life.

In the words of Miranda - "What have you done today, to make you feel proud?"