Race 8 - Day 10
Crew Diary - Race 8 Day 10: Sanya to Qingdao
14 March
Hello everyone (and Dad!)
It has been an interesting leg. We had all forgotten the 'fun' of bouncing around upwind. The feeling of being airborne for a few seconds as the boat slams into another wave and you try find a soft or stable landing. The planning in getting from A to B and trying to get as many things done as possible in that trip, as you really don't want to have to move again. But at least the water was warm as it splashed over the bow when we were up there doing headsail changes! And the very windy days when we had the storm jib flying....a few of us had a giggle when the Skipper asked us to trim it one windy night. Surely it was just a case of checking was it still flying!
Then having to dodge the miles of fishing nets that suddenly appear in front of us or on the AIS. Peering at fishing boats through binoculars trying to figure out whether they had fishing nets out, and were they trawling from the back or from the side. And seeing the chinese fishing fleet in action the last few nights was incredible. As soon as the sun sets boats began switching on their lights, and by an hour later the whole horizon was lit up. Some crew members counted 120 different lights! Like running the gauntlet....you have to stay a safe distance (over a nautical mile) apart from other boats, you cannot communicate with the fishermen over VHF (due to radio and language barriers) and we were flying a spinnaker! Everyone was on a high after finishing the night watches having got through safely. So now we are on the home stretch, counting down the miles and hours to Qingdao, and planning our stopover in a port renowned for its welcome.
We can only arrive into the marina during daylight hours 9am to 5pm. If we arrive outside those hours we are planning the cleaning and maintenance we can already get on with while waiting for clearance. So Friday will be the dreaded Deep Clean day, followed by a nice meal out together to celebrate another leg completed. Saturday and Sunday will be maintenance days, although we haven't many big jobs to do but it will be nice to get some of the small fiddly jobs done that have been put on the long finger. Although Saturday is also busy for other reasons. Its St. Patrick's Day, Its Prizegiving evening, and there are a few rugby matches to be watched (venue yet to be sourced!). I'm sure there is an Irish pub in Qingdao somewhere that will help us raise a glass to the Irish Saint, and the Irish rugby team!!
Other stopover activities include meetings for Department heads (Medical Assistants, Team Coordinators, Media Crew) which is a good chance to meet crew from other boats, Cultural visits including a friendly soccer match between crew and Qingdao officials! We will also have a corporate sailing day for guests and a refresher sailing day for new crew joining us for the next leg. And then we are off again next Friday to cross the Mighty Pacific to Seattle!
Lá Féile Pádraig le gach duine sa bhaile
April