The World is flat?

For those following us on the race viewer you will see that we have been taking a very northerly route (we are not going to the Arctic!). Matt's plan was to sail the shortest distance to San Francisco which means following 'The Great Circle Route' (on the Globe this is a large curve from Asia to America). I thought that the Earth got smaller the further north you go, however with our position dropping from 3rd to 11th. I am beginning to wonder if in fact the World is flat and not round as previously thought! This also means it is incredibly cold as we are sitting roughly 200 miles further north than the rest of the fleet, I have my many layers on and the crew know it's really cold when I resort to drinking two Hot chocolates a watch, I never drink hot drinks, but at the moment it gives me that extra bit of warmth!

I have really enjoyed this race so far, it has been tough and we were all talking the other day about how we feel we have really raced the boat, done appropriate sail changes at the right time and when a difficult job needs doing, it gets done. Our watches are very even, Derek is my watch leader, I'm assistant, we then have Claire, Stephen and our new joining crew members for leg 6: James Pettit (our medic), James Kenyon ('Beanie' the Sea cadet) and Peter Wilcock (from leg 2). On the other watch we have Kate as Watch leader, Gaurav (assistant), Ben Pate (joined as permanent RTW in Singapore), Paddy Hays (who decided to stay after volunteering to help us on the last race), Orla Reed (from Leg 2), Richard Wall and Carl Lee (new joiners). Every watch is different compared to your previous watch and it's up to us to adapt and push the boat to its best. I had one of my most thrilling experiences on the helm the other night; We were on a point of sail that we call a 'Power reach' this is where the wind is coming just forward of our beam (less than 90 degrees) and along with the waves coming from behind us we were reaching speeds of over 20 knots, which at night time when it is dark is incredible,  out of the corner of my eye I saw glowing streams in the water alongside the boat, when I looked I saw that we had some Dolphins with us, I could only see them as the phosphorescent Plankton clings to them and you can see a streaming glow behind as they power through the water, it was amazing they could keep up!

For now we are keeping a close eye on weather information which could shake up the fleet, there are a few low pressure systems around at the moment (which bring rough weather) and it's about making the most out of them when they come, I guess there will be a few more stormy seas to get through before we get to San Francisco.

Mission Performance: Video of the 'Le Mans' race start. Qingdao

http://youtu.be/ssNR5Pb7YMg  

Goodbye Qingdao

One week into our big Pacific crossing and already it has been, full on, tough and tiring! The send off from Qingdao was amazing with hundreds of people waving goodbye to us. After a successful start we were sitting in the lead group, however a few hours later the race was suspended due to the poor visibility and with so many fishing vessels about this was a good call.

For the next day we motored and the following morning all the fleet met to do a 'Le Mans' start, we all started with our Yankee 1 (biggest head sail) and full main and then after keeping the same course and sail plan for 10 minutes we could change to which ever sails we wanted. The wind was behind us, perfect territory for a kite hoist! The first boat to successfully hoist their kite was going to get the head start. Thankfully Bruce went up with no disasters but for some of the other boats we saw some spectacular kite wraps!

Over the next few hours we were doing well averaging around 13 knots but in the afternoon Matt saw a huge, thick mooring line caught around our keel (the weight at the bottom of the boat to help for ballast) trailing 30m behind the boat with a massive knot at the end (hopefully it would slip off or someone would have to go swimming)! After doing some circuits at 2 knots for half an hour the knot end pulled the line through and we were free to get back up to speed, however at this point the fleet had already got some miles on us. Later on conditions were variable; sometimes we were making good speeds and then the wind would die off and we would be bobbing along slowly with another Clipper Yacht 4 miles away getting considerably better speeds. This all meant constant sail changes day and night, meaning already all of us were tired! It was like this until the day before yesterday when the wind shifted behind and we decided to hoist Bwian, but after doing so well with kites over Leg 5, Bwian ended up in the water; An 'all hands on deck' call was made and after successfully retrieving him it was a relief to see that Bwian had again made it out alive with no major damage! Steadily the wind built over the afternoon, and having our Yankee 1 up was making it difficult for the helm. So we decided that we should change to the 2. It was getting rough and I went up onto the foredeck  as number 1. My job was to stand outside on the bowsprit (a bar that sticks out the front) and un-hank the sail as it came down, while we were all trying the wrestle the sail down apparently we did 25 knots, which was very exciting to experience while standing on the very front part of the boat! Since then the wind has built and sea state has become rougher, helming has been tough but my top speed so far has been 22.5 knots, last night I spent 3 hours on the helm, even though it was tiring, helming in these conditions are what  I enjoy the most and I think the Pacific will have a few occasions like this!

Now, a message for my brother Scott..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!..... 12 today!

Qingdao Departure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC2qTcUfsA4 

Chinese home stay

Before we left Qingdao a few of the crew spent a day with a Chinese family. Gaurav and I met up with Cherrie, Wang and Richard their 8 year old son (along with a reporter and photographer). Cherrie, was able to speak good English.

First we all drove to their flat which was quite small but very nice inside and helped out with the making of fresh dumplings and noodles for a great lunch along with various other dishes including pork and clams.

Making lunch

After lunch some friends of theirs joined us with their 8 year old daughter who had a violin and gave a short recital; She was incredible! Gaurav took some video so I hope one day to be able to post it up. Next was a trip to a nearby art studio where we practised Chinese calligraphy by making signs of friendship. Then it was along to see Richards primary school which was very colourful and smart. We met all the children and had a question and answer session talking about our race around the world  (Cherrie acting as translator). We then got back into the car and drove around Qingdao to a beautiful park near a beach before heading back to the boat to show them where we lived. Finally in the evening there was a large buffet banquet for the prize giving ceremony.

My final full day in China was spent finishing  off the sail repairs and getting Mission Performance ready for the next leg. It has been a great stop over, but now the time has come to face the Pacific.

Drums, cymbals and Babies

We knew we could not beat Derry~Londonderry~Doire on elapsed time on the race into Qingdao, however the last 6 hours of sailing were exciting. Wind conditions had changed so we were able to use our code 2 spinnaker 'Bwian', with all crew on deck and our best helm on the wheel, in darkness we crept up and managed to beat them over the line by less than a minute to claim 2nd place in line honours.

Although we have just missed out on a podium place and finished 4th overall, there are still many  positives to take out of this race; Our new volunteer crew members have fitted in very well with the rest of team and have taken on the Mission Performance ways of giving feedback and been open on any issues that they had, which is great for a boat which punches above her weight with the crew numbers we have on board.

The rest of the night was spent giving the boat a big deep clean as we motored towards Qingdao for a morning arrival. GREAT Britain went in 1st and we followed. The weather was sunny and cold with a dry air, but not freezing. First of all you could see the skyline of Qingdao, then when closer you could hear lots of beating drums and cymbals followed by multicoloured smoke fireworks and lots of people dressed in traditional Chinese costume and uniform. Having tied the boat up and gone through customs we were led up a large platform to a fantastic welcome with security guards having to push people back to allow us all to get on to a stage. We were then introduced to the crowd and the City dignitaries. Matt was presented with a fabulous cape, while we were all given really nice scarves and 'Year of the Horse' teddy bears, photos were then taken and I got the chance to spray the rest of the crew with Champagne. We then made a 5 minute walk to the race office and along the way people were coming up to me, shaking my hand and giving me babies to hold and have my picture taken, luckily I had some miniature teddy bears in my pocket to give as gifts to them, I am not sure what the babies thought, but their mums and I seemed rather overwhelmed by it all?

At the race office we had some lunch and met the new crew members who were going to join us for the next leg, including James Kenyon a Sea Cadet from Somerset. After checking into the hotel we then went back to finish cleaning the boat as she was going to go out on a corporate sailing trip the next day, although I spent that day with Claire and Orla (who is rejoining the boat) repairing our code 3 spinnaker 'Thor' in a large basement.

On the 14th I am looking forward to going on a 'Home stay' for the day with a local Chinese family to learn more about their cultures and how they live, followed by a large banquet for all the teams. So far this has been an amazing and unique stopover, with people who cannot do enough to help and make us all feel so welcome.

Bouncy, bouncy

As we work our way through the last 200 miles of this race to Qingdao trying to chase down GREAT Britain and Derry~Londonderry~Doire, the sea state has changed, from the very rough conditions of the notorious Taiwan Straight to a flat calm, the wind has come round and dropped in strength making progress slow. We hope to get into Qingdao on Monday, this will make a change for us, being able to greet the majority of the fleet in and not be as rushed, as we are usually towards the rear of arrivals.

I was well prepared mentally for this race; very rough, bouncy, cold, wet and hard work. However it has been a very rewarding leg, with the conditions we had I have learnt so much off Matt and the new crew members, lots of little tips on how to make Mission Performance go that little bit faster, from being able to sail her even closer to the wind towards a waypoint, to recording our figures and averages and evaluating them as to where we can improve still further. We all feel we have raced the boat well over the past week pushing ourselves to the limit and with a crew of only 12! This is a lot less than the two boats ahead of us! 

Can you guess who it is yet ?

Helming has been difficult, not just because of the sea state, but also having to avoid the many cargo ships and whole villages of fishing vessels, we have a constant watch out for potential collisions and are convinced the fishermen talk to each other over the radio on how to push us off course and out of their path, on one occasion a fishing boat looked as though it was going to pass behind us before altering course to come straight at us, so we had to 'heave to' (a way of breaking hard) to avoid a collision and go round them.

One race I am winning is how much of your wardrobe can you put on with the temperature dropping so much and I'm in the lead with 10 layers. This makes the hard task of moving round the boat even harder, on one occasion while climbing out onto the deck I got caught up in some of the ropes and became stuck on the floor, much to the amusement of the rest of the crew! 

Of course this all helps to prepare us for the big, big challenge of The Pacific...coming soon, to a boat near you!

'Non, je ne regrette rien'

I have been told by my supporters back home that there is a lot of negative chat on social media for the race, so when I get to Qingdao I will read it. Only the crew who are experiencing this race can judge whether it is worth it or not, everyone I have asked is not bothered about the motoring, they agree that safety is important and the Clipper Race is making sure everyone is safe to avoid any accidents and that is the right thing to do!

Mike who is only doing Leg 5 has no regrets doing it and has enjoyed the motoring!  

We are now 3 days out of Hong Kong- stopping there for only a few hours; enough time to fix the forestays and refuel. So this next race will be measured on elapsed time and we set off first with Derry~Londonderry~Doire  and GREAT Britain not far behind.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston on hand in Hong Kong

Matt and Sir Robin fix the forstay

                                                 
Light winds were forecast for the race start and 10 minutes before we were due to cross the start line we were seeing only 5 knots and then this suddenly increased to 30 knots, heading into the wind, so it has been very unpleasant for the past few days with large waves that you slam into and then fall off with a huge crash at the bottom. This all means little sleep for the off watch as you are woken up by the huge bang or the feeling that you are going to be thrown out of your bunk.

It has also gone from shorts and t-shirts weather to full wet weather gear in the space of a day; now I'm back to 7 layers and drysuit on, and I suspect it will only get colder as we head north.

This morning the wind has decreased allowing us all the reorganise our belongings and get some rest, on the weather reports it seems the rest of the fleet will be entering into a large wind hole, that hopefully we will be able to avoid!