Crew Blog

New leg, new watches, new names

25 October 2007

Qingdao's crew pull together to move a sail

We say goodbye to the colourful town of Salvador and the hill where we have toasted one another and we get to grips with the task in hand. We were lucky not to have many repairs in port so it gave us the time to enjoy ourselves. Some went kite surfing, some went to the islands and some tinkered around the town picking up bargains.

We said our goodbyes to Olive, Bridge and Andrew and welcomed David and his non-stop jokes. With these changes come new watches. The skipper invited Chris and I to be watch leaders again and it was an honour to accept. With new watches in place came new names, gone but not forgotten are Slam and Glam and in place come Trick or Treat.

Trick watch is myself (Gary), Klaus, David, Ant, Daisy, Linda
Treat watch is Chris, Christian, Carlo, Oscar, Nicole, Vee

The names came from Daisy and our first quiz was won by Linda, who shocked herself with her knowledge of the boat.

As both teams worked hard at the start we had an exciting spotting in the first hours of the race… not flying fish or dolphins but a sperm whale.

Everyone felt happy to be back with nature and the motion of the ocean.

As for the race, it is all very early, I am confident we will do well. As for our route you will have to wait and see.

1. David Paulsen, Washington, DC 26 October 2007

Great start Qingdao!! Love the new watch names. Good luck to Carrie (Daisy) and her crewmates on the Trick watch.

2. Butty & Jo, Polperro, Cornwall,UK. 26 October 2007

Sounds like team Qingdao is really working well together,great work ! good luck on this leg, We’ll be watching daily as usual from Cornwall. Marcus you’ve just got to let the rugby result go! Bring on the six nations. Get on!

3. karen, ripon, north yorkshire 26 October 2007

Third place at 12 noon UK time - fantastic! Come on Qingdao and the Trick & Treat ..ers.
Keep the jokes rolling and the spirits high - thinking of you all (and especially David of course!) love Karen x

4. olivia koerfer, Back in London 26 October 2007

Good Luck guys! Great start, keep up the good work!! Am missing all the mindless conversation already

5. sarah, TUCSON 26 October 2007

GARY, STILL IN TUCSON, STILL EVACUATED. STILL ON FIRE. ALL SAFE. GOOD LUCK WITH THIS NEXT LEG AND ENJOY THE RIDE....LOVE S AND FAMILY X

6. Anouska, Derby UK 26 October 2007

Go Qingdao - a brilliant start - keep up the hard work & keep up the jokes David! Lots of Love Anouska & Dan xxx

7. Lao Tze, Almere 26 October 2007

Remember the Great Circle!

8. Rob and Ria, Antwerp Belgium 26 October 2007

All alone at sea, in the middle of the package. I bet this must be a clear choice by the skipper. It looks like a sure win ! Have a super trip, good luck and be safe. Get to Durban soon !!! But above all, enjoy.

9. Steve Pang, bath 26 October 2007

Good Luck for leg 2, see you all in Durban and welcome home Olive, Bridge and Andrew - Pirate.

10. David Paulsen, Washington, DC 26 October 2007

Just saw the 12:00 race viewer update today (26 Oct) - Qingdao is in first place by 20 miles!!! Now that’s what I’m talking about...Way to go Qingdao, that Brazilian beer must have fired you guys up! Congrats to Carrie and her crewmates.

11. josephkiff, pembrokeshire 26 October 2007

hey ant buddy !!

how art u then on the big man

hope its going well and me and gran are printing out every step you take of the clipper web site.

hope you will win this race as your 1st and 20 miles away from the nearest boat

speak soon lov jos xxxx

12. robert bennett, manchester 26 October 2007

Great to see you in the lead,
one note of warning though. Gary is always quick out of the blocks ,but usually can’t stay the course. Happily this time alcohol is not involved so you should be OK

13. Dave T, Gosport 26 October 2007

Go on Cholers, worse start but a better performance. Maybe a life lesson for you, me and our friends. I hope the wind stays in your favour and you can build on the lead. Pin your ears back for Durban.

14. lisa, knaresborough UK 26 October 2007

going well, keep up the good work, best wishes to david and all his crew mates in trick watch.
love ian lisa matt & Lauraxxxxxxx

15. Julian Presant-Collins, Milton Keynes 26 October 2007

Bring it on Qingdao!! First place! Fantastic achievement. Amazing what a difference changing the watch names can make. Just finished part B training with Martin who joins you on the next leg. Important you get to Durban first to give yourselves enough time to stock up on custard creams - boy can he eat!

16. kay Thomas, home 27 October 2007

Fantastic work guys. How exciting. Number 1! Enjoy. Great new watch names.

Kay

17. sam kiff, pembs 27 October 2007

Great news ant and guys! hoping that you win this leg
sam x

18. Xinmin Yan, Beijing, China 27 October 2007

What a start! Keep going, Qingdao!

19. Ena Harding, Garnant, Wales 27 October 2007

Well done for getting ahead - keep it up! A special hello to my niece Linda with congratulations on winning the first quiz. We will toast you all at our family celebration on Thursday. Thinking of you.. Love Ena xx

20. Jules & Jackie, Glasgow 27 October 2007

I knew Christian would never settle for anything but 1st. Well done to all on Qingdao---- My spell is working. Mum x

21. Monika, Cambridge, UK 27 October 2007

Hey Klaus! Have you gotten used to tea yet? Durban is waiting for you - hamba kahle!! (Zulu for “travel well”!)

22. Joshua nathan, harrogate 27 October 2007

hi grandad david. what a way to go! your going very good but don’t get too seasick. love from josh.
from jega well done leading the race, we are helping karen finish your wine, seen messages from lisa & co, anouska & dan & karen. from tash, hi david hope you are enjoying yourself, please don’t worry about mum because we are looking after her, keeping up to date on the internet, take care of yourself, love tash.

23. Jean, Boroughbridge North yORKS 27 October 2007

Well done Qingdao, watching the net for your progress. Bet you are having a great time, everyone sends their love David. Grandad is watching and keeping tabs in Oz. All the best to the rest of the crew, keep up the good work. Love Mum and Dadx

24. Susan & Rod, Huddersfield 28 October 2007

Wow! This is taking over our lives! Keep up the good work Qingdao! David our thoughts are with you. Sue & Rod

25. kay, work 29 October 2007

64 miles! You are really cheering up my every dark, clocks back autumnal mornings. Keep on trimming and finding that wind. So proud.
Kay

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