Race 13 - Day 4
Crew Diary - Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland to Den Helder, Netherlands
21 July

Hully Gully Championship

I used to live in Utrecht, a city 35 km below Amsterdam. Once every summer we had an event down town called 'de Piekenkermis.' It was a gathering of all types of merry go rounds like the 'Centrifuge', 'Octopus' and 'Hully Gully'. You could enter all attractions for a Piek (1 Gulden which was the equivalent of 0,25 Pound ca 1995). Together with friends I would spend hours on these machines being turned around and pushed up and down at high speeds. I could live on these thrill machines.

20 years later I step on board a Clipper 70 racing yacht. This Hully Gully may not turn rounds but it certainly goes up, down, left, right, forward and backwards. After all my Hully Gully experience I thought this one was more of the same. So I didn't worry too much about it.

When we turned around Japan to start the Pacific Ocean crossing (Leg 6) and got a high sea state rated as a mere 'moderate,' this Hully Gully knocked my body balance system totally out in a matter of seconds. 1-0 for this new Hully Gully which out of respect I now call 'the Mistress Hully Gully'.

I had to lay flat in order to beat her as every time you stand up it feels like your worst hangovers.

Our medic, Dominique, came by to discuss the game tactics against my Mistress Hully Gully. Eat no matter how you feel or where the food goes. Drink, drink, drink and take medicine. That is what I did.

Fortunately, after a day being bed bound, the next day I woke up feeling hungry and feeling good. It is 1-1 in the Hully Gully championship.

From Leg 7 till the current race to The Netherlands I beat Mistress Hully Gully with the one medicine that helps me, the patch behind my ear. So after another four races the score is 1-5 in favour of me. One more race to go so she can never beat me.

Looking forward to Den Helder the stopover in my homeland. To see my family and friends, to my own bed, to herring, to broodje frikandel met, to bitterballen, to driving my car, to a good barbeque and so on and so on.

Groeten vanaf de Noordzee.

Leo

In OTHER NEWS:

- One of our medics 'Doctor Clare' cured a moth that was stranded on the deck by treating him or her with a mixture of honey and water. After a while he or she flew away.