Race 2 - Pre-race
Crew Diary - Race 2, Pre Race
13 September
Race 1, Day 13/09/2019 Bernard Tommasini Crew stopover manager blog
Hello everyone, welcome to our Zhuhai team blog!
This is Bernard writing as a Stopover Manager, a happy Stopover Manager actually, as things are wrapping together nicely and CV28, Zhuhai is ready to cross the Atlantic towards Uruguay.
After a deep clean that lasted two days including some rest for the team after a challenging Race 1, we got to our priority tasks and ‘department mode’ organisation i.e. Bosun/Engineering/Sails/Victualling/Media; each one, with their own checklist.
Rigging and safety checks have been carried out by Skipper Nick with Yue just after deep cleaning.
Most Importantly, our Code 3 Spinnaker is 100% fit, thanks to Ina and co who have been sewing with our on board sewing machine and their hands during three days in a row.
Most importantly, our generator and water maker are back in business the electrical feed is now fixed.
The flush leak in the heads at the front of the boat has also been repaired, a number of stanchions have been sealed again so that the bunks and lockers remain as dry as possible.
The navigation station is working well, and deck repairs have been duly completed with the exception of our port primary winch that will be fully fixed in Punta del Este.
During the stopover, every one of 17 Zhuhai team members were involved.
As for the morale of the team, well, it is high enough I should say.
On Thursday from 2:00 to 7:30 pm we had our open boat session: Zhuhai was visited by more than 200 guests, some of them applying for a future Clipper Race; mainly people on vacation in Portugal.
Then in the evening, I prepared one of my favourite recipes: sausage Risotto for 17 people in one big pan and… it was a success! Two bottles of red portugese wine helped a great deal too.
Then we went to a rooftop bar close to a swimming pool at the Jupiter Marina hotel and we enjoyed a nice sangria with fresh fruits and the company of country folk music trio, a nice get together with relaxing time. We had a magnificent view of the Algarve from the fifth floor of the rooftop bar of this very civilized hotel. You could feel the team bonding.
Finally, the jewel in the crown was the following morning from 9:30 to 12:30 am at the Jupiter Algarve hotel where our team of 17 members met to debrief on Race 1 and the stopover with a view to improving both performance and fun on board, safety remaining paramount.
Ina as a professional coach, did facilitate the meeting in a swift and gentle way applying the ‘ELA’ methodology which stands for Experience/Learning/Action. There, everyone had an opportunity to express their views on three main areas of interest and ways to improve the current situation. One of these areas was communications on board for instance. The rest will remain between crew members; as we do not want to give away our plans for taking the lead here:)
All in all, this exercise that will happen at each stopover was an excellent boosting experience for everyone.
You’ll get some more news from Bernard down the road to Uruguay, Ciao!