Race 10 - Day 25
Crew Diary - Race 10 Day 25
21 April

My Clipper Race adventure started with Leg 6 when I joined an experienced crew of ‘round-the-worlders’ and multi-leggers. It felt a little like starting school where you feel very much out of your depth alongside older and wiser people, however I was relatively quickly up to speed with how the boat was run and evolutions completed (Clipper Race training coming back to me and other crew members and the Skipper always ready to tell you what was done wrong).

Our first race was a 9-10 day journey from Zhuhai (in SE China) to Qingdao (in NE China) with the first section being upwind to go past the bottom of Taiwan. Spending 4-5 days beating upwind with the boat at a 35-45 degree angle was not pleasant and contributed to around a third of the crew being seasick (and lying at various spots on the boat with sick buckets). Luckily after we rounded Taiwan, we were able to go downwind which made for a far more comfortable experience.

One of the highlights for me of this leg was coming on deck to see the spinnaker flying from the front of the boat illuminated by the deck lights and shortly afterwards being given the opportunity to helm the boat with the spinnaker flying. One of the great things about the Clipper Race is that amateur sailors with limited experience are not only given these opportunities but actually expected to be involved with all aspects of sailing the boat. We finished the race in 10th place – disappointing but reflecting some crew errors during the race and decisions on course which didn’t payoff.

After a four day (and much needed) rest in Zhuhai we started the next race to cross the Pacific Ocean to Seattle. This is the reason people have signed up for Leg 6 and much was expected (and feared) about the potential crossing, with big waves and extreme cold, wet conditions expected. In reality, only the cold and wet have been felt and the ocean feels remarkably calm (hopefully I’m not tempting fate for the last week of the race) and we are on course to reach Seattle within the expected arrival window and by the end of April.