Crew Blog

Brendan aka Banana Boy

14 May 2008

We are a couple of hours from Panama City. It seems along time ago that we won the race from Santa Cruz. It was amazing that I won my first ocean race and I am still high from it.  Being on the ocean it’s been great working with the crew and the skipper. It’s been hard to keep up with my nick names as they come up with a new one nearly everyday depending on what crazy jobs I have done that day. - Danny has a long list of jobs for me! Danny sent me down to the keel to remove a piece of kelp the size of a palm tree which we were towing for a few days. I had to go down with my Rambo scuba knife to cut free the tree and whilst I was down there I polished the hull with my head, all before breakfast!  It meant I had a blue rinse like Marge Simpson for a few days from the anti-fouling. I became the bird man of Hull & Humber when I was sent on an expedition, code name Bird Poo, to remove six birds, all the same size of a Pteradactyl. I managed to get them to fly away with some gentle encouragement from our water gun and large broom! 

Danny finally coaxed me in to performing in Hull & Humber’s Spiderman charity video production.  Unfortunately Spiderman was seen climbing the anti-wrap on Nova Scotia, just as we were boarded by a evil sea slug creature which meant I had to come to the rescue as Banana Boy!  I was wearing Danny’s yellow one piece suit and nearly keeled over with heat exhaustion.  But it was brilliant fun and I hope you all get to see the final cut. 

I feel very privileged to have been given this opportunity of a lifetime and on behalf of Jamie and myself thank Hull City Council for enabling us to take part in the race.
I would like to say big hi to my family at home and big hello to everyone at ASDA Kingswood store in Hull.

Brendan aka Banana Boy