Race 6 - Day 10
Crew Diary - Race 6 Day 10: Hobart to Whitsundays
15 January
Days at sea - 11
Crew on board – 19 plus Lance (skip) & Jacob (mate)
Number of days without any squash to flavour the water – 6/7
Days with no butter – 0.5 (we should be there by now)
Hi all,
So it has been a while since my last blog for two reasons. One, our timing of arrivals being my blog days and two, my responsibilities increasing on the boat.
Also, after 5 months sailing on a yacht of 70 feet there does run out of things for me to talk to you about apart from everyday happenings! But I will try and make this interesting...
I would like to talk a little about some of the people who will leave us in Airlie Beach and how I personally feel about the knowledge that they are not going to be around everyday. It is the strangest thing boat life as it's like work and home all rolled into one and you spend more time with these people than you would with anyone you normally would at home. Also after this experience there is a chance we may not see some of these people again... very strange
First up is Steve (The recycle master) Scholtz. Steve has been a great constant in our team since leaving Liverpool, getting involved with many tasks on the boat including sail repair which I'm sure Mikey and Helen would say he has been an incredible addition to their team. He is our storage manager which he does a great job at packing away but remembering where it is when asked is a slightly different experience.
“Steve, where are the chopped tomatoes?” …....
“Under a bunk on the port..... starboard... no, port side...........hang on a second, let me get my storage plan.”
He has massively improved in all areas of sailing and this leg has been involved in the sail changes on the foredeck with me and Nano getting pretty wet and his efforts have been greatly appreciated.
Secondly Carrie “The fish whisperer” Rich. I have no idea where to start to sum up Carrie. She left us once in Cape Town and rejoined us in Fremantle. It felt like part of the boat had been left behind. She is always smiling and always willing to help, she is my go-to person on the boat if I'm feeling a little low or want some advice on how to deal with something. She also is not half bad at sailing as well and will be a shame to lose her knowledge for the remainder of the journey. When on land, she can make the most amazing salads to accompany the wine. She is also the original “Pink Crocs” wearer on board Liverpool 2018!
Next up have Paul A (Paul Almond) Protector of the Yankee and Spinaker Halyardddd. He, like Steve, has been with us all the way from Liverpool and is about to complete the special achievement of sailing to the other side of Australia with us.
He is the inventor of various things on board like past and future I-Spy, making up numbers of boat speed when on the helm and self service breakfast on his Mother day. He took over Pat's Caf from Pat on leg one and has carried on with its high class service, Pat would be pleased to know! The question does remain though who will take on Pat's Caf from Leg 5. Maybe a new crew member would like the challenge and can apply to Paul while we are in Airlie so he can run over the service requirements!
Wow, we are losing some quite special crew members and a large part of my life over the last 6 months and haven't really thought of it till now!
Next up is a guy that needs little introduction, Nick “Red” Redman. He wears flip flops most of the time and is the writer of the most amazing blogs that I have sent to the Race Office. I'm sure they agree that the content on occasion has been interesting to say the least but incredibly funny all the time. Also with us for Leg 1, only to then sign up for Leg 2 and then missed us so much while we were on Leg 3 that he is back with us for Leg 4, but I don't think we can convince him to stay on for any more as much as he would love to, I'm sure. He is the most amazing bowman and mast climber and has made life easier for most of the rest of us by being the first up there so not as many of us have to be there getting smashed by large waves. I would probably say he loves it and it's the best part of the boat - others I'm sure would disagree...
He is also our resident makeshift hair dresser on board and for those of you who saw Jonny P “Man of the Sea” Prosseco's hair cut in Leg 1 would agree how talented he is!
In addition to these people, Leg 4 has had some very special characters and a few of them will be returning for future legs. Which I hope will give me more opportunity to get to know some of them that have been on the “other watch” for this leg !
These Include :
Rick “E” Peters: Ask him about his baking skills (should be on Bake Off soon, I'm sure of it???)
Fretts “Fretts” (I don't know his real name): Fixer of many problems on board
Nick “Grandpa” Sherri----dan: Thinks he is on a cruise and the quality of the food needs to improve at the restaurant!
Sophia Mueller: Improved sailor an all round laugh especially when her German-English translation doesn't quite work out as expected.
We should arrive at some point soon in Airlie and hopefully will get to say all the goodbyes before they all dash off home and we carry on the team's journey with “fresh blood” onboard which is equally exciting to meet everybody joining us.
Wish us luck in the final few miles of sailing and we hope to do all supporters, friends, family, past and present crew proud by sailing our best in the last hours.
Rememember to “Think Pink” our pink family keeps growing as we travel the world and we appreciate all your support over the last few months and months to come.
Neil “Elvis” Stafford