Race 5 - Day 4
Crew Diary - Race 5 - Day 4
25 December

George Dawson
George Dawson
Team Qingdao
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So this is Christmas

For nearly all the crew (Dale being the possible exception), this is our first Christmas at sea and none of us are quite sure what to make of it! There are some definite lows, most obviously being away from our friends and family at home, but overall spirits are high and we’re enjoying the somewhat unique experience of Christmas at 45 degrees. As I sit here in the saloon writing this blog, Donna is busy decorating the wall beside me with our Christmas tree… it’s drawn out in green pen and decorated with “baby cheeses” if you know, you know.

Galley duty today is being covered by victualler Diane and circumnavigator Kev and they are absolutely killing it. Breakfast was bacon and eggs, always a good start, however, lunch blew it out of the water with roast chicken and all the trimmings: potatoes, stuffing, bacon (again), carrots, onions and parsnips all covered in lashings of gravy. Preparations for dinner are underway and rumour has it there are prawns in the cool box – very excited to see what emerges from the galley next!

Of course, Christmas wouldn’t be the same without presents and there has been no shortage on board today. It started with a hamper and card from our sponsors in Qingdao, the additional snacks were certainly very gratefully received! Next up was Secret Santa, with “novelty” presents such as a Clipper Race branded kangaroo emerging from Santa’s stocking. Finally, we had presents from our supporters, including off-going crew member Yangtze who made sure to stash the boat full of prezzies before she left. On behalf of all the crew, a huge thank you to Qingdao and the other supporters who have helped make this day special for us!

Which of course brings me on to the fantastic Christmas video! What a lovely surprise, there are too many people to thank individually, we lost count of the number of Bertrand’s supporters who managed to get a message into the video, but as I’m holding the pen I will say a quick thank you to my family, especially my nephews and nieces for singing me carols!

That more or less brings me to the end. Hope everyone is having a fantastic Christmas wherever in the world they may be and, as ever, love to all our supporters.

George and the crew of Qingdao