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.