4:26 PM Sun 21 Aug 2011 GMT
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race update from crew member Lisa Blair representing Queensland on Gold Coast Australia.
As the race start cannon sounded my heart skipped a beat as I realised, here we are, officially sailing in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. A dream come true for many and the challenge of a life time for many others as over 200 crew from over 40 different nationalities jolst for the best position in the fleet. Seconds later all thoughts of achievement are gone as we focus entirely on the race. The best wind angle? Do we need to tack? Are there spectator boats ahead? Where is the next mark? Gold Coast Australia takes the lead position racing towards the next mark at a rate of knots leaving behind not only the rest of the fleet but an impressive entourage of support boats and well wishes.
After such adrenalin fuelled start with a kind sea breeze, frustration crept in for the Gold Coast Australia crew as the wind drops to near zero with the setting sun. All we could do was watch as our windless sails flapped uselessly against the rigging only to be replaced with the kedge anchor when the tide changed. Our racing adrenalin ebbed as the only excitement was seeing the rest of the fleet drift backwards at one knot of speed whilst we maintained our lead with a healthy 0 knots. For many, me especially, the feeling that we are racing around the world had not yet hit us as the Isle of Wight was only a few miles off the starboard beam. For the next few days, as we slowly crept across the English Channel the kedge anchor became a very valuable item on board. The only time that we could not use it to combat the tide was when we found ourselves in over 150 metres of water directly over an Explosive Dumping Ground.
Crew morale took a blow on day two as we found ourselves trapped in a wind hole whilst the rest of the fleet sailed past in light winds taking us from the lead all the way down to ninth position. Life on board was much the same as in harbour as we bobbed around in the English Channel utilising this time to rest and finish any last minute jobs that still needed to be done. As soon as the wind arrived on day three we focused and fought hard to creep up on the leading boats moving from ninth to fourth position in just one watch cycle. Maintaining that focus, we slowly closed the gap between us and the lead boats so by day four we were back in the lead.
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Unpleasant conditions crossing the Bay of Biscay - Clipper Round the World Race - Clipper Ventures
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Light winds were soon to become a distant memory as we left the English Channel and sailed into the infamous Bay of Biscay. We are now living life at a 60 degree heal with strong winds, rough seas and drizzling rain as the Bay lives up to its reputation. Every sail change has become a fight as the waves threatened to take them straight off the deck and the standby crew would find themselves huddled on deck in freezing cold conditions trying to rest there tired muscles and catch a little of the allusive sleep while copping waves in the face and rain in the eyes. 40% of the crew are taken by sea sickness making our watches short handed and the journey hard. The smallest of things becomes the greatest of challenges as just moving from one side of the boat to the other requires scrambling along the deck like a rock climber. I was given the extra challenge of fulfilling my Mother Watch duties. This is where one person is dedicated to preparing the crew meal for each watch. Cooking for 17 people in a regular sized kitchen in a nice and stable house is hard enough but when you find it easier to walk on the walls than the floor of your kitchen because of the heal of the boat and when nothing likes to stay put, instead everything prefers to jump right off the shelf the minute you take your hand off it the challenge becomes greater but success at last.
After coping a bashing through the night day six dawned with Gold Coast Australia almost be-calmed as we tried to round Cape Finistere and exit this forsaken place. Visibility is poor with sea fog so we were all on extra alert for any shipping and lobster pots that may foul our keel. Once again we were to battle fickle light winds as we drifted back into third place in the fleet position. All the crew used this little breather to re-coup from sea-sickness and tired muscles so that when the wind showed on day seven we were ready to use it to our best advantage.
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Thats me on the Bow - Clipper Round the World Race - Clipper Ventures
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Again crew were cold and wet on deck as we sailed around the last of the Bay of Biscay on-route to Portugal. My position on Gold Coast Australia is 'Bow' so I seem to test my foul weather gear the most, often finding waves hitting me in the face. Another crew member, Barry Moore, was on standby trying to catch a couple of minutes rest on the rail when he was swamped by a wave setting off his life jacket. A joke now but not the kindest of conditions to be sailing in but by the end of the day we had cleared the Bay, hoisted our spinnaker and comfortably sailing downwind back into the leading position in the race fleet.
Another of my jobs as 'Bow Person' is to be the one dedicated to going up the mast anytime there is a problem. Some of the problems are things like tangled halyards or repairing chaffed points or running new rigging. This is often an easy task however when the boat is pitching and rolling the effect at the top of the mast is increased to the point that it is a struggle just getting up there. I have since been dubbed 'Bow Girl' with a super hero monologue to accompany my mast journeys as I often spend more time up the mast than on the deck during a watch.
With the Bay of Biscay becoming a distant memory nature shows us her beauty delivering ideal sailing condition where we are under full main and medium weight spinnaker sailing under a cloudless night where the sky became a sheet of black velvet filled with a million pin pricks of twinkling light. Nature also shows us her grace as we are visited with pods of steel gray dolphins who play on our bow and the majestic beauty of whales as they visit our beam. Day 8 dawned with blue skies and spectacular sunshine as we close in on Madeira. The weather gods maintained their kindness offering use perfect sailing conditions and pristine spinnaker sailing.
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Crossing the Finish Line at Maderia - Clipper Round the World Race - Clipper Ventures
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By day nine we had gained a 60 nautical mile lead on the nearest boat and less than 120 nautical miles to go until Madeira. By 12:00 the mountainous peaks of volcanic rock that forms Madeira was peeking out from the horizon and shortly after we crossed the finish line in first place still holding our impressive lead of 60 nautical miles. Wow what a feeling that was to have crossed the line first in the very first race when there is the rest of the world to sail. I have the feeling that this is the standard for the rest of the race and that the team on Gold Coast Australia are more than capable of achieving more podium positions. I would also like to say thank you to all of the very many people who have helped me achieve this because without your support I would not be sitting in Madeira with a first place position.
Lisa Blair blog
Clipper Round the World website
by Lisa Blair
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Double Is Pt, QLD
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