Race 6 - Pre-race
Crew Diary - Race 6 Start
22 January
A race with not a breath of wind - so we amuse ourselves in other ways!
My Daughter Jaz and I joined the race for Leg 5 and will join later for Leg 8, our first few days at sea on WTC Logistics or Black Betty as we affectionately call her, have been great fun and very interesting.
For four months I have read all the blogs at home in Scotland and now I am writing this right here right now from the balmy Coral Sea!
The circumnavigator core crew Kaz, Rachel, Ben, Paul, Suzie, and Laurence, Skip Rich and AQP Dan have been brilliant at coaching us new leggers both above and below deck. They have been welcoming, have huge patience in showing us the procedures, our duties and where things are stowed and answering our 100s of questions. The banter has been great with a lot of laughter.
Our passage has been interesting since leaving Airlie Beach the fleet had to motor to ensure our safety and the Great Barrier Reefs safe through a narrow channel called the Hydrographers Passage, the pilotage and course are the key focus. Once beyond the main reef, we were due to have our Le Mans start, but there was no wind at all so we continue to motor in the full sun and sweltering heat. So with no racing and us all slowly boiling like lobsters along with the other boats around us, Skip put out a call to the others to join us for a swim! What a sight 11 Clipper boats stopped in the Coral Sea and people jumping in and cheering from various boats. Everyone aboard Black Betty raced to get changed into swimmies, even those fast asleep on the off watch. We threw out a long line with fender ball on the end for people to hold onto and put out a scramble net to climb back and off we went. I thought I heard my skin sizzle as I was one of the first to jump in the deep blue Coral Sea…. Wonderful. We played in the sea and took selfies and a team picture, Dan was keen to play pirates and boarded Bermuda nearby, fortunately they did not keep him hostage. What a treat on a hot hot day.
We had another night motoring looking for any breath of wind, it was the most amazing star-filled sky, the Southern Cross and the Milky Way were clearly visible, it was a truly awesome sight and I lay on my back watching for shooting stars, I was rewarded time and time again. Then it was time to start my Mother Watch and cook bread for a hearty breakfast as the Le Mans start is scheduled for 7 am.
Bird Watch were in the hot seat for the start and Shark Watch cheered them on and took videos and pictures, what a site eleven Clipper Race boats all lined up on an imaginary start line in the middle of the sea with full main, Yankee 1 and Staysails flying, it was not as fast as the Formula one start I saw in Monte Carlo two years ago, I guess we were about 9 – 10 knots but what a majestic picture.
Well, it's time to prepare and cook with Laurence, my round the world buddy who made chocolate brownies for lunch to cheer everyone up in the full sun and again currently no wind… now I wonder if we could get another cheeky swim in this afternoon….?
Hello to all Jaz and my supporters and especially sending love and Coral Sea Sunshine to Sandy, Owain, Josh, Jade, Bear and Winnie xxxx