Race 8 - Day 11
Crew Diary - Race 8 Day 11: Sanya to Qingdao
15 March
As Leg 5 draws to a close, we start to look towards the future, what will the times ahead have in store for our intrepid crew? Will the world ever again see the DJ-wizardry powers of Brooks-McCracken combined? Will AL make it through a shift without banging her head? Will Ellie ever see a whale?! We can but wonder. For now, we know this much. The team have battled through heat, no wind, some wind, even occasionally a fair amount of wind, and memories will live on forever. We look back on the key attributes of our hardy sailors, so here is the Yearbook for the Class of Clipper RTW 2017/18 Leg 5:
Most likely to get his groove on – John “feel the beat” Young; Special Mention: All knowing wisdom, with a sage single nod of the head, you are accepted.
Most likely to gain injury – Harry “bashed knee, slashed heel, puffy eye, dodgy elbow” Brooks; Special Mention: still always on deck 20 minutes before his shift. Hero.
Most likely to wrestle with frozen chicken and win – Laura “solutions, not problems” Kearley; Special Mention: Most embarrassing moment in the crew meeting “Next one to blow the Skip... I mean Spinnaker!... eats the chicken feet.”
Most likely to maintain Parisian chic despite full of cold on board a 70ft yacht in the middle of the Chinese Sea – Anne-Lise “dejected and miserable is my thinking face! to hysterical laughter in 30 seconds” Perrin; Special Mention: Also most likely to find inventive/French means of getting around the swearing ban – Putain!
Most likely to fall asleep at the helm – Seumas “Focus!” Kellock; Special Mention: Newsworthy bowel movements. Who else gets a cheer after a visit to the head?
Most likely to pull a 360 – Felicity “helming hero” Armitage; Special Mention: chief thrower-away. Don't stay still for more than a moment or you'll be in the bin too.
Most likely to be pushed overboard – Cameron “we love you really” McCracken; Special Mention: Fearless bow-king.
Most likely to push Cameron overboard – Keith “give me strength” Williams; Special Mention: Victualler Extraordinaire.
Most likely to blow a sail – Paul “Helm 3 – Sails 0” Bidwell; Special Mention: Calm in the face of adversity. Even excrement covered adversity. The life of the crew engineer...
Most likely spokesperson for Sanya – Interviewer on Sanya Cultural Tour day: “Would you recommend Sanya to your friends to visit?” MS: “Well... it depends what they're after. China, maybe, yes, but I haven't seen much of it yet and Sanya. I don't know. The trees are nice.” Mirjam “PR Guru” Schierscher; Special Mention: Deck whizz. Chafe can hide nowhere. She sees everything.
Most likely to eat the cupboards bare – Tom “Is that bread going spare?” Dixon; Special Mention: More use of 'decent' and 'outrageous' in his 18 years than ever before in the entire history of the English language.
Most likely to throw up at the slightest hint of a swell – Ellie “I'm just going to sit here for a while with my new friend, Bucket” Clarke; Special Mention: Rocking the matted mullet look.
Most likely to give obscure star gazing facts – Bob “Venus shine” Beggs; Special Mention: More war stories than you can shake a stick at.
Most likely to deliver the understated – Mik “Bear away guys. Guys, you could do with bearing away. Guys, bear away. Bear Away!” Moore; Special Mention: best chortle onboard.
Class of Team Unicef Leg 5, take a bow. It's been a blast! (or should that be blow?!)
Over and out.
Ellie Clarke, CV21 Unicef