Crew Blog
On the way to China
29 January 2008
Another race start over and we are on the way to China. A double first for Glasgow, for the first time we were first over the start line and something to be proud of. We are all focussed on building on that platform and doing well on this whole race. There is a renewed determination to trim, trim, trim, sit on the high side rail, sleep on the high side bunks and generally do everything we can to squeeze out the extra 0.1 knot which might make all the difference. In Singapore we even bought some especially lucky New Year gifts for the boat which now has decorations in the saloon and heads as well as a lucky New Year hat which can be used for helming or giving master-classes in the dark arts of sailing. Andrew looks particularly professorial when giving one to one tutorials. We have also bought Hannah a new disciplinary tool to deal with underperformers. (An inflatable mallet affectionately termed Hannah’s hammer!!)
Amongst the other highlights of these first hours have been visits from passing sea-snakes which vary in length from one metre to 20 metres depending upon who saw it. (Even at sea, size matters it seems), and some extremely close quarters tacking with New York in the pitch black.
It’s still unbearably humid below deck, a circumstance which will change and leave us grumbling about the cold by the time we reach Qingdao. Because we are still in tropical waters there are still some specific down-sides and up-sides. Early on during the first night we had our first squall and torrential downpour. In less than an hour we saw more rain than we had for a week in Singapore, leaving the watch on deck absolutely drenched. A few hours later, during a sail change and putting the Yankee #2 to bed, those of us on the foredeck got absolutely drenched. The upside is that the rain and the sea water are still warm. Despite the heat, nothing dries off below deck and the familiar olfactory delights are returning. We just got soft and sweet smelling in air-conditioned luxury last week.
Back to the racing now!
Colin Sherriff
1. Kathy Carter, Hurley 29 January 2008
Come on the black pearl keep up the excellent start we need to see another podium place.
Best wishes for a safe leg
Kathy Carter
2. Ingrid Reynolds, London 30 January 2008
Great blog Colin, and lovely picture of Andrew and Sue. Ingridx
3. sian reynolds, at my desk! 30 January 2008
great blog Colin! fab hat Andrew!! All sounds great fun onboard but those snakes sounds rather awful! Im only just getting over the tramour of the flying fish! Love to all x
4. Lorna & Jon Darke, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan 30 January 2008
Hi Hannah and crew of the Black Pearl - great to hear from you and everyone seems to have had a great time in Singapore - love the teddies by the way! The snakes stand no chance of getting on board do they?? Hope Hannah has no need to use her mallet on anyone this trip. Sail fast and safe, as always, but can we also have a podium position please? Go for it bonny boat!
Lorna & Jon
5. Dee & Nick Sawyer, Aberaeron, West Wales 30 January 2008
Thanks for the blog! We need more of them, even though we know you have better things to do!!
Keep the faith we’re sure you can do it!!!
Keep going GLASGOW !!!
Dee &Nick;
6. John Diffenthal, Sandhurst, Berkshire, UK 30 January 2008
Andrew has lost a few pounds - despite the amount of food that Sarah told us he was packing away in Freemantle. He obviously wasn’t getting enough exercise in the forest. Glad to hear that he is doing 121 coaching - it’s probably keeping his mind off not having a daily Times crossword to keep him amused.
It’s all very, very close at the moment and a mistake by you or the boats ahead will mean places up or down for you. Sail fast and sail safe. Go Glasgow!
7. Sarah, Crowthorne 31 January 2008
Looking good Andrew! Keep up the good work Glasgow - keep pushing for that podium finish!
8. Dipxy, Dumfriesshire 31 January 2008
Great blog, Andrew. Glad to hear you’re all having a whale of a time. Pity about the weather in front of you .... but it’ll be practice for when you get home!!!!! Don’t envy you seeing those snakes (yuch), hope they don’t come overboard with the water!!!!! Anyway Hannah should have a proper mallet, a whip or she might even want to consider rigging up a gangplank. Sure she doesn’t need any of these extra pieces ‘cos you’re all giving 150%, thanks for the excitement. Lets see what speed you can actually get out of the Black Pearl, go on I dare you. How about 200 nm in 12 hours?
What the Black Pearl needs is:
A wet sheet and a flowing sea
A wind that follows fast
And fills the white and rustling sail
And bends the gallant mast (Cunningham)
Have a safe, happy and trouble free journey.
Best wishes
xx
9. Doddsy, Glasgae 01 February 2008
Well done on the progress up the leader board Jimmies, loving you work!
All to play for and some valuable points can be gained for the overall race so keep her lit and show them what the black pearl’s all about by getting back to the way we started!!
See you all in snowy China in a couple of weeks!
Doddsy
ps apparently Qingdao is most famous for its beer - not sure why I mentioned it but it seemed oddly relevant!
10. Rhona Dunn, Oban 09 February 2008
Still following your progress Sue. Just looks wonderful and how exciting to be near China!
11. Hels, West London 25 February 2008
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift; that’s why it’s called the present” Eleanor Roosevelt.
So seize it with both hands & move on up into another podium position.
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