Race 8 - Day 10
Crew Diary - Race 8 Day 10: Sanya to Qingdao
14 March

Peter Speight
Peter Speight
Team Nasdaq
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When the Blog schedule for this Race was published, I had rather hoped that my lucky allocation of 14th March would mean I could write it by the pool at my hotel in the Qingdao Hotel, actually not at all. I understand my hotel is very nice though some distance from the actual marina we are staying at. Something to discuss another day.

Obviously, my hopes have been dashed and we are still at sea. In fact we are all (still) at sea. We, on board Nasdaq are some 250+ miles from our destination, which given the forecast suggests at least another couple of days sailing and the coming to fruition of a potential worst-case scenario.

It seems there is a 9-5 arrival policy for Qingdao. At 5 pm the gates are shut and after that you have wait until the morning shift arrives with the key at 9 am. Present arrival estimates place us firmly within that window. Further enquiries have established that we will have to spend any enforced offshore time motoring around in circles, not parked at anchor.

This scenario raises many questions of which 3 are perhaps most pertinent

  • - What to do with the time available? Open a dry casino perhaps, or possibly subject ourselves to further elements of the recently established Clipper Race re-assessment programme. We began with some knot tying tests this week which left many in tears not least Rob who was forced to watch it all. Much more likely, we will begin elements of the deep clean.
  • - What patterns to weave while motoring in circles? Is this at our discretion and if so at the Helm’s discretion or to a prescribed course set by the skipper? Either way, given our capacity to steer a straight course it could be very interesting.
  • - Will anyone notice if we sneak in park up for the night and shove off at 630am before re-entering in all our splendid glory sometime after 9?

We are not alone in this predicament, there are 3-4 boats at similar risk. Interestingly, the forecast suggests there could be an almighty scramble for places as we all converge at high speed on Qinqdao and, yes you guessed, into a possible wind hole just offshore, before emerging to stumble across the finishing line.

Could be a bit of fun to be had yet.

I’ll finish with today’s bit of sailing excitement. Just after first light we came across a line of fishing nets. The helm having had just enough time to see them promptly chucked a handbrake turn under full spinnaker and to his utter amazement, and everyone else’s, brought the boat to a halt no more than 5m from the nets without bringing the house, rigging and other bits tumbling down. Crew members, some raised from their bunks then began the interesting task of gybing the boat by walking the spinnaker round. She was reluctant at first, but the combined efforts of our foredeck crew finally persuaded her to dance on another tack.

Without photographic evidence, we have only eye witness accounts to draw on, but they all tell of a helm with big white bulging eyes expressing his dissatisfaction at the lack of warning he received from his watch mates. The normal rejoinder in such a case, “We missed, didn’t we” somehow did not seem appropriate.

Pete