Race Withdrawal

My shoulder had caused me some grief again on the last leg so I put my name forward to visit the medicos to get it checked out. My appointment with the local hospital was the following day and the consultation with the doctor led me to have an MRI scan on my right shoulder.

The scan report was not what I was expecting. In medical terms it showed a partial thickness tear involving the supraspinatus tendon, moderate fluid collection in the subacromial and subscapular bursa, subscapular tendinopathy and severe osteoarthritic changes in the acromioclavicular joint causing impingement of the supraspinatus tendon.

As a result the doctor couldn’t sign off on my going back on the yacht. I was off. I was (for now) out of the race.

My first reaction was obviously great disappointment, but the reality is that safety must come first. To continue with my condition would mean I’d be no good to myself or anybody else on the yacht - I can’t lift my arm above shoulder height without pain and I only have about 50% strength in the arm & shoulder below shoulder height.

I feeI like I have let the crew and my support team down, but they know if I could be there, I would be.

The plan is to see my own doctor and a specialist in Sydney with the hope to rejoin the yacht later in the race. I will let you know the outcome.

I ended up showing Andrew the doctor who did the MRI and Paulette over the yacht

Geraldton – the best stopover yet.

We crossed the finish line on Leg 3 Race 4 of the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race on the morning of October 30 marking the end of 4,800 n mile race across the infamous Southern Ocean.
We arrived into Geraldton on a beautiful sunny day, with absolutely clear blue skies. We were met by an enthusiastic crowd on the water and the headland overlooking the entrance to the marina. It was great to see my wife Chrissy laughing, smiling and waving the boxing kangaroo flag.

Quarantine staff and customs were there to meet us and the processing of the necessary paperwork was done as fast as possible. Plenty of people from the Geraldton Yacht Club were also on hand to greet us, along with family & friends. We were all invited immediately to have a beer and barbeque at their expense alongside the marina. What a greeting, our prayers had been answered.

It made you proud to be an Aussie, the reception was the very best – relaxing, genuine - just what we needed after being at sea for 27 days.

With our 4 winning yellow pennants plus the pink/white pennant won by Tim  for his ghost story

After our beer and BBQ it was business as usual. The deep clean took 1½ days. We really got stuck in with a reward to follow.

Our arrival was just prior to the Melbourne Cup and Geraldton had its own race day organized, so any Clipper people who had arrived prior were invited. They put on a bus for us and admittance was at half price. We had tried to explain to our non-Aussie crew mates that the nation stops for this event and to be prepared for a fun day. It was - those who went to the function had a laugh and a punt. The locals turned out in style, the women wore their best regalia, the fellas behaved themselves. Another good thing about a town with a population of 30,000 is that everything is close to everything. It was no hassle to get there or back, the sun was shining and we were having some laughs.

Geraldton had really gone to town on their decorations. Down the main street there were banners all about the Clipper fleet. There were competitions for shopkeepers to see who could create the most prominent Clipper-related display. Not forgetting of course that there is a Geraldton-sponsored yacht in the race. It was a homecoming port and they took on this role with gusto. The official parade along the town foreshore saw all the yachts marching under their respective banners. An announcer talked about the individual yachts as we marched and our theme songs were played as we walked into the main arena. Local politicians and the mayor spoke, then we moved on to the yacht club for a well-earned top up of drinks and nibbles.
 Chrissy had organised for me to speak at the Geraldton Rotary Club. I sent her an email when we were at sea suggested it and she went ahead and organised it on my behalf. I wanted to share with the local business community what it’s like to participate in the race - real stories, real events, not hearsay or fancy brochures. I’m so pleased I did. Chrissy accompanied me and we attended their 7am breakfast meeting. About 35 people were there, and you could see how proud they were to be supporting their own yacht. This was the second time the ‘Clipper circus’ had come to Geraldton, but it was the first time anybody from the yachts had spoken at a Rotary function.

I took all my gear; boots, thermals, foulies etc. Among the Rotarians there were a couple of yachties who were amazed at my description of the minimal amount of creature comforts on board. They seemed to enjoy my presentation as they asked plenty of questions at the end. I know that they will convey the stories to others around town. It was good to give something back to the community.



This message is just as you go below the stairs it reads:

 "Everyone brings joy to the good ship gold Coast Australia some when they join....some when they leave"



South Africa to Geraldton Western Australia. Leg 3 race 4

Both the skipper and the Clipper team had told us “this leg will be a lot rougher and colder than any of the other legs so far” and they were right.

Sailing to the east from South Africa across the Southern Ocean bound for Australia is a journey that all blue water sailors talk about but very few actually get to do. I am privileged to be one who has now achieved that. I am also privileged to have experienced the huge swell that comes from an ocean that has nothing to stop it forming since it began off the coast of South America.

You regularly see waves at 40-60' - sometimes they come side on, other times across your bow or the most thrilling is sailing downwind with them behind you. You surf down the wave. We are 68' long so you can do a quick check on the height - do we just fit top to bottom or is this one bigger than us? This can go on not just for 5 or 10 minutes, but potentially for a couple of days. It's exhilarating, exhausting and scary all wrapped up into one. The sneaky ones come in over the stern quarter and catch you on the helm or on the main sheet. One moment you are laughing at your fellow crew mates on the bow or in the pit or on one of the winches as they are literally buried in a wall of water, and the next moment they are laughing at you as they are completely missed by the next wave and you are ‘attacked’ by tonnes of sea water.

At night or during the day under heavy sea conditions you always have your lifeline connected. I now make sure that my lifeline is almost at full stretch when connected and that I have sufficient length to enable me to operate my work station but make sure if I am hit, I will only be washed the minimum distance on my line. I have found this technique saves lots of bruises & reduces the potential to break something.

The generator on the yacht is run every day for up to 6 hours .The main aim is to recharge the batteries. Separate batteries are used to start the main engine and for other tasks like powering the navigation station (including the email & sat phone). When the generator is running it gives off some warmth and has the potential to dry socks, gloves & undies. The only other warmth on board is from your own body heat. Keeping yourself warm becomes paramount.

It is fair to say that we all got cold during our Southern Ocean crossing. We sailed further south than what we originally expected, we went south to 49 degrees almost down to the Antarctic convergence zone. One of the yachts saw a couple of icebergs so suddenly we were on iceberg watch.

We went from only active crew on deck, doing ½ hour rotations to having an extra body doing iceberg watch. We were told that icebergs have a luminescence at night so they should be easy enough to see. Growlers are low icebergs that may only be a metre high with a few metres below the surface but they could be some many metres across. We didn’t want any of those on our watch. My waterproof sleeping bag became my place of refuge and warmth. At times I would put my washed socks and undies in with me to dry them out. This took about 72 hours but was well worth the result.

During the really cold shifts I was sleeping in two sets of thermals top & bottom, waterproof socks & a beanie. What a snug state to be in, but you can imagine what it was like getting out of the bag some 4 hours later, back into the cold environment half dressed knowing what it was going to be like on deck. Worse still is when an “all hands on deck” cry is heard. You may have been fast asleep, warm & comfortable, only to be called up on deck to face a high involvement situation – everyone is expected to be in an immediate state of readiness, wide awake and adjusted to the night vision.

This certainly gets the adrenalin pumping.

An ‘all hands on deck’ only occurs when the on watch needs immediate support from other crew members eg for a wrapped spinnaker, major sail change or changes during heavy weather, crash jibe or tack, resulting in gear failure or winch cross over. In the Southern Ocean we broke a spinnaker pole and shredded the heavy weight spinnaker as a result of a sudden wind gust over 55mph. To see a pole bent and turned back on itself with the spinnaker still full of wind is a sight to see. It has a mind of its own and traverses the foredeck at a rapid rate. This can cause the yacht to broach and all aboard to have that moment when the bile in your throat moves upwards. It’s not panic but more controlled mayhem for a few moments. We got better at these moments and thankfully had no major physical injuries during our first three legs.

We spotted many whales during the crossing - they tried to avoid hitting us and we did the same. The standing order was to keep the watertight doors closed as there has been many stories of yachts hitting whales and definitely coming off second best. We saw the two largest breeds of albatross - the Wandering Albatross and the Royal Albatross - they have a wing span of up to 140” (3.5m). Albatross are said to be the spirits of old mariners and wonder the oceans worldwide using the winds to cross the major oceans of the world. You don’t see them flap their wings that often they just ride the thermals – apparently journeys of some 5000 nm is common. Penguins were also spotted they were always by themselves, small elusive & fast.

‘Grey, overcast and not to be disrespected’ is how I would sum up the Southern Ocean - “been there, done that, I respect you” - show me the warmer climates.

For a while there the crew were noticeably down or flat. Cold, difficult conditions after 20 plus days at sea could take the energy out of the majority on board. For about a week I was saying “the sun will come out tomorrow” and as we got closer to the west coast of Australia, the sun did finally come out and almost immediately crew enthusiasm was renewed. The biggest factor was the ability to dry our foulies or wet weather gear. The bonus of taking off one piece of clothing had the desired effect - life was renewed, we were back in control, survival mode became a thing of the past.

We had gone deeper south than any of the other yachts, doing many extra nautical miles but as a result we had the winds in our favour, while the others were caught in a hole with no wind. We were doing constant speeds of 10 to12 knots straight towards Geraldton. The distance to run (DTR) of 1000 nm was the milestone we had thought about for a number of days. At the current speed, it meant we would be on land in 4 to 5 days max. The talk turned to what we would eat and drink and how long we would stay in a hot shower. Several crew members visualised taking a plastic seat and a cold beer into the shower with them and just sitting there until the beer was gone.

Talk was good but we all knew that we needed to remain focused for the remainder of the race. 1000 nm seemed a relatively small distance to us by then, but for weekend sailors it would probably seem like an incomprehensible distance still to travel. I mean no disrespect to any yachties, but we were getting used to covering vast distances in all sorts of conditions. Mind you we still had the utmost respect for the oceans and what they may bring.

We crossed the Race 4 finish line on the morning of October 30. Our arrival in Geraldton marked the end of a grueling, 3.5 week, 4,800 nautical mile race across one of the planet’s most forbidding expanses of water. In addition to the ten points for winning the race we also secured three bonus points for being the first team to reach the Scoring Gate.

It was a beautiful sunny day and we were met by an enthusiastic Aussie crowd, including my wife Chrissy with her boxing kangaroo flag.

We were home, South Africa to Australia via the great Southern Ocean.

We had arrived 2 days earlier than anybody else was expected and we had our 4^th winning pennant in the bag. 4 out of 4 - what a way to go.

Cape Town

The ‘meet & greet’ in South Africa at the end of Leg 2 was terrific.

The warmer weather made all the on board tasks easier to perform. We had won the leg so all was well with the world. There is no doubt the more you do something, the faster you get at it - our deep clean went well, not only were we faster but we were more efficient . We were starting to know what we were doing and how to do it. We were also motivated by the fact that finishing all the tasks meant we had more personal time to see Cape Town.

Chris & I had both been to the Cape before but it had been some 15 years since our last visit. There has been a huge amount of development along the waterfront and we both compared it to Darling Harbour in Sydney. They held the FIFA soccer world cup there in 2010 so the infrastructure is in place for tourism and the demands for masses of people.

Table Mountain is a must for any visitor to Cape Town. We had done it before but thought about doing it again. The crowds and waiting time was out to 2 hours so instead we circumnavigated Cape Town on the giant red open-top double-decker bus. It was a very pleasant few hours taking in the sights and smells of Africa.

First beers in Oz

Australian victory on home soil as Gold Coast Australia continues winning streak

Sunday 30 October 2011
Chrissey Moore was on hand to welcome BAMO and the victorious Gold Coast Australia crew back onto Aussie soil. Here are some excerpts from the Clipper website ...

Gold Coast Australia has continued its winning streak, recording a fourth consecutive victory in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race. The team finished Race 4 of the 40,000-mile circumnavigation at 07.04am Sunday October 30.

The victorious Gold Coast Aust crew (BAMO is sixth from the left)

 Skipper Richard Hewson, 31 said “It’s fantastic to be home.”
Asked about the secret to their continuing success, Richard said “It’s down to good management and good sailing. The guys pushed really hard, we’re a good team and everyone works hard and really deserves this.”
During the race the team had a severe spinnaker wrap that cost them their workhorse heavyweight kite.
“The spinnaker issue was quite full on – we knew we had a big storm approaching and when the spinnaker wrapped we knew we had to get it down. If we didn’t then we probably would have lost the rig so there was no choice but to cut it away.”
In addition to the ten points for winning this race Gold Coast Australia also secured three bonus points for being the first team to reach the Scoring Gate. Visit Finland denied them a clean sweep by beating them in the Ocean Sprint.
Their arrival in Geraldton marks the end of a gruelling, 3.5-week, 4,800-mile race across one of the planet’s most feared and forbidding expanses of ocean during which they had to dodge icebergs and deal with mountainous waves whipped up by winds of up to 70 knots.
During the race from Cape Town, South Africa, Gold Coast Australia raced across the Southern Ocean, descending to latitude 48 south deep in the Roaring Forties. Rain, hail and even snow blown up from the Antarctic made for uncomfortable living conditions on board the stripped down 68-foot yachts as they battled their way towards the sunshine and glorious beaches of Western Australia.
The yachts will spend the week in Geraldton before setting sail for Tauranga in New Zealand. It is a much anticipated return visit to the West Australian port that became an instant hit with the crews when the city hosted its inaugural stopover during the last edition of the event, Clipper 09-10.
Among the activities during the stopover the crews will enjoy the typically Australian atmosphere of Melbourne Cup Day with a day out at the Geraldton Turf Club and a visit the beautiful Abrolhos Islands.
For the start of the next stage of the race, on Sunday 6 November, there will be a stunning Parade of Sail past the Foreshore which will featuring all ten yachts in formation.
Dutch entry, De Lage Landen, is expected to arrive in Geraldton tomorrow, with six more of the teams, including the home yacht, Geraldton Western Australia, anticipated on Tuesday ....

More feedback from Chrissey & BAMO to come.

RACE 4 Cape Town - Geraldton WA

In the race from Cape Town to Geraldton, the Southern Ocean has lived up to its reputation - a point not lost on the competitors in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Here are excerpts from some of the crew diary entries posted on the official Clipper website.

Race 4 Day 13 Skipper Gordon Reid – Edinburgh
“Yesterday we saw the barometer fall 24 millibars in as many hours, a sure sign that some seriously heavy weather was on its way and sure enough it came,” The winds rose to over 40 knots with gust of up to 50 knots, the sea boiled with white foam everywhere, wave after wave covered the boat and everyone on deck, the cockpit filled with water and ran below, the boat was side swiped repeatedly and everyone below shaken but not stirred. … This is adrenaline rush central. Even though you need to dig deep and do things you might think twice about back in the other real world the rush is inspiring.”


Race 4 Day 13 Skipper Olly Osborne – Visit Finland
“Down below the mothers struggle in the galley to produce a hot meal for the off coming watch as the unpredictable motion of the boat sends the contents of every locker slamming from side to side."


Race 4 Day 13 Skipper - Ian Cochie – Qingdao
“This morning finds us in strong winds and big waves which makes it exciting. But looking out over the waves when you are riding a crest the ocean looks amazing and, at the same time, one of the most inhospitable places on the planet.”


Race 4 Day 14 Skipper Richard Hewson - Gold Coast Aust
“Sailing in the Southern Ocean, whilst very beautiful, is very draining on the body’s energy levels, the bitter cold sifts through layers of thermals, mid-layers and shell to bite away at the skin causing crew to get terribly cold. When one gets cold your ability to think and concentrate is depleted leading to small mistakes that unfortunately sometimes can compound to larger mistakes.”

Race 4 Day 14 Skipper Ben Bowley - Singapore

“The last 24 hours we have not really been racing, more a case of being taken for a very wild ride by one of the most extreme parts of the world in which to go sailing … Once again it was the waves that provided the greatest challenge: this is not to say that the experience was wholly unpleasant: seeing the awesome raw power of Mother Nature in all her fury is an experience few are privileged to see in their lifetime.”

Race 4 Day 14 Skipper Mark Light – Derry-Londonderry
“What an experience for everybody on board, big winds, big swells, large waves, very physical helming and all round demanding conditions! This Southern Ocean is definitely one place that you must see and experience….but not necessarily come back to.”


Race 4 Day 14 Skipper Gareth Glover – New York
“Sometimes a wave hit the side of New York and it must be what is like to be hit by a bus at 40pmh: the whole yacht would stop in the water and crew were thrown around like dolls from one side of the yacht to the other. You can try and hang on but you just got ripped from where you were to where you got put by the sea. Most of the time it was more like racing a sub than a racing yacht.”


Race 4 Day 14 Skipper Gordon Reid – Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
“Sometimes it gets a bit splashy and a bit splashy and you have to dig a little deeper, once more the team delivered the goods when it counted! If you think it sounds dramatic and scary reading the blogs, get yourself down here and feel the awesomeness of Mother Nature in her full untamed. Wild, furious glory!”


Race 4 Day 14 Skipper Olly Osborne – Visit Finland
“Occasionally when you reached the peak of a wave as it passed beneath the boat you could see for what seemed like miles over the furrowed, white streaked seascape, and it does serve to remind you how remote this place really is. … The sea state was rather confused at times, boiling with anger as the winds came roaring through."


Race 4 Day 15 Skipper Ian Conchie – Qingdao

“After this we had to change halyards to lower him but unfortunately his control line (to stop him swinging) broke, causing him to swing from side to side violently. One swing he came my way and managed to wipe me out giving me a nice nose bleed all over the deck! Seven hours later and we managed to recover most of the kite and began racing again, but unfortunately we lost a lot of time drifting around with no sails up which has cost us dearly.”

Race 4 Day 15 Ben Bowley – Singapore
“The Clipper Race now represents the greatest collection of boats and associate crew in this part of the world, no one else being crazy enough to venture down here.”


Race 4 Day 15 Skipper Gordon – Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
“In this extreme environment things get broken, we can’t just leave it or ask someone else to fix it so today we had a visit from Bob the Builder, when Bob has a problem what does he say ‘Can we fix it?...Yes we can!’ No is never an option, not here, not ever!


Race 4 Day 15 Skipper Richard Hewson – Gold Coast Australia
“Gold Coast Australia has been good to us, as she has received more of a pounding over the last few days than in the first three races put together and is looking forward to some love and maintenance on her arrival into Geraldton.”


Race 4 Day 16 Skipper Mark Light - Derry-Londonderry

“We are well and truly in know ice fields so vigilance is critical. Our nights are very, very dark so a keen radar watch is set and we have out powerful searchlight plugged in and ready for routine use, sweeping the area in front of our boat at regular intervals. Down below the watertight bulkhead doors are kept shut and the crew have been well briefed.”

Race 4 Day 16 Skipper Richard Hewson – Gold Coast Australia

“It is not surprising that we are cold as our position is nearly closer to Antarctica than Australia.”

Race 4 Day 16 Skipper Stuart Jackson – De Lage Landen

“We are all looking forward to making some miles north soon to warmer climes as it seems everyone has happily ticked the Southern Ocean off.”

Post script - most of the teams are actually becalmed by a huge high pressure system as this blog is posted!

RACE 4 - DAY 11 Clipper Website Diary Entry

Hi to all of our followers thanks for tuning in. As most of you are aware we have a four hour watch system. In normal weather conditions all of the watch are on deck at the one time, during extreme weather conditions only the stations that need to be attended to constantly are manned. This means that out of six on watch only three need to go on deck and the others take over every 30 minutes.

 

I was sitting there pondering on the humorous side of the number of reasons why crew members can suddenly find reasons to go below while on normal watch or extreme weather conditions watch.

 

10 Reasons why the Scallywags need to go below, me included:

1. Got to go to the toilet 20 minutes dress & undress all your foulies.
2. Forgot my hat.
3. Forgot my gloves.
4. Got to put another layer of clothing on its colder than I thought. 25min
5. Got to take a layer of clothing off its warmer than I thought. 25min
6. Need my sunglasses it’s glary.
7. Who wants a cup of tea? I'll put the kettle on. Not done that often but is an opportunity to scour the galley for extra biscuits or nibbles. 30min
8. I'll just pop down and get my camera. Sorry it took so long I couldn't find it.
9. I'll do the next log. Log entries are done on the hour every hour.
10. Another good time to toilet, find something extra to eat, whatever. 20 min

 

Whatever reason you can come up with that sounds feasible.

 

Word for the day: With apologies to Mary Poppins ' Super cala fragilistic ex pee ally docious'

 

Bamo Pedia says: Where the super journey through the great Southern Ocean is suddenly raised to another level of fragility when an ice breaker alert is called for, it is enough to make you want go to the toilet more.

Humour is good on board, we had a Halloween party this afternoon in conjunction with a 25 year old tradition promoted from our colleagues on board the Derry-Londonderry yacht. A story was put together by a crew member Tim Burgess on ghosts that was submitted for judging, it was based around crew members of Gold Coast Australia and we had fun reading it out aloud Different crew members playing different roles from the story. We had some fun.

 

It is cold but we are all coping well, slowly but surely over the next few days we will be making our way south to warmer climates so keep smiling as we are.

 

BAMO

Email from the Southern Ocean

Email message:
Hi Chrissy, all is well this end.You have kept up i'm sure with the latest info from Clipper. We have experienced snow falling on the yacht - wow it's been cold.
Saw small penguins, even they looked cold. It's about 3 degrees with wind chill factor freezing on deck so we are spending 30 minutes on deck then rotating 3 at a time. Got most of my gear on when on deck and sleeping in my thermals & two pairs of socks in my sleeping bag.
We busted another spinnaker pole & the heavywieght spinnnaker two days ago, it had to be cut away with knives & a saw!!!!
We have gone down to 46o latitude, way below Tasmania. We are aiming for a speed gate at the moment and once past should start to head north.
Keep up the good work at home.
Love to all BAMO
Tomorrow l do the ships blog so look out for it!

Update from Cape Town

During the Cape Town stopover, I finally got the chance to record some recent events.
Recollections from Rio
In Rio I managed to visit the “must do’s” - the statue of Christ the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf Mountain and various beaches including Copacabana and Ipanema.
It was a very pleasant stopover with good accommodation and food. They have an excellent underground railway system that is spotless. Rio is an expensive place to live and I would compare it to Australia prices. Their economy is booming. The architecture is a mixture of old, with very strong European influence and new steel/glass.
On the outskirts of the city you can see the 'favelas' or slums and they strongly promote these as no go areas. During the stay I had no problems and found everybody to be pleasant and helpful.
Trivia fact: Brazil has a larger land mass than Aust.

Report on Race 3: Rio to Cape Town
Departed on September 10 at about 14.30 hours. It was a beautiful afternoon with enough breeze to utilise the full main, the yankee 1 and staysail. We had a small group of spectator craft as it was the weekend. Rio harbour is a busy working harbour so we had to be aware of the big ships and their accompanying tugs around the start line.
This is our second transatlantic crossing which will take us 3,400 n miles to Cape Town.
It was a close start with the skippers on most of the yachts close enough to call out "get out of there" or something like that as we were within 1 or 2 metres of each other jockeying to be in the best possible position for the start.
We were first over the line closely followed by Singapore then Finland and New York. We made it first to the fairway buoy. An incoming freighter blasted all of us to say he was restricted by his draft he had a pilot on board and we had better get the *%@# out of the way or we would be run over.
We all tacked and made for the open sea, happy to be on our way, with glances back over our shoulders at the silhouettes of the hills of Rio as they quickly disappeared in the background.
I celebrated my 62nd birthday the next day. It is a birthday I will remember for a long time, mostly because of where it was celebrated.
We, as a team also remembered and paid respect to the memories of those affected by the events of 9/11.
Ships log entries:
Whales spotted close to the bot. Make sure all water tight doors are closed.
Spinnaker down, pole bent.
Strong squall wind up to 60 knots. Rain and rainbows.
Cold on deck. Hail storm had to bear away. Now leading the fleet.
Sailing well. Still freezing.
Sea fog rolled in. Spooky.

As all the daily reports indicated on the Clipper website we had strong winds and huge waves, I experienced for the first time some freezing nights on deck. It was a wakeup call that when going south we need to have the right amount of gear and strive for warmth. Gloves and goggles are no longer a joke. Looking and feeling like the Michelin man is OK as long as you are still flexible enough to do the job.
The yacht handled the conditions well - we broached a couple of times as a result of the sudden squalls and being over powered. For a few days we had the 3rd reef in the mainsail with the yankee 2 up front still getting along at about 10knots.
I have every confidence in the yacht as an ocean racer but she does tend to leak a bit from water over the deck or when healing over.

Yes it was all damp below, my only oasis or refuge was my waterproof sleeping bag. It is a beauty, I would roll it up on itself after every sleep and suspend it from the bunk at one end (it’s not just my bunk, but other peoples as well because of hot bunking) I'm sure being suspended helped keep it drier with circulation etc.
The 17 day voyage all becomes rolled into one, with two mini sleeps a day, mothering duties, bilge duties, cleaning the heads and eating keeping us on schedule to achieve and arrive at our destination.
Yes we got tired, at times exhausted but routine meant you must keep going. I would say it’s a bit like people who say when they retired from work you have nothing to get up for so you sometimes give up. Keep on keeping on, that’s the way.

Arrival in Cape Town
Our arrival in Cape Town - South Africa was on 27/10/11. Table Mountain could be seen some 20n miles out to sea. It was a little hazy at first but it soon became more than an apparition standing bold and strong on the African continent. We had done it, we had sailed from South America to South Africa and we were in first place again.
The greeting from family and friends on the dock was awesome. It was the first time that we had been welcomed by an official band and had so many loved ones waving, clapping, yelling, flying flags and smiling as we made our way to the marina. I spotted the largest boxing kangaroo flag being waved earnestly plus heard a klaxon horn being sounded and knew straight away it had to be Chrissy.
Well done team, 3 out of 3 ain't bad. We didn’t just win, we s*#t it in.

Within a few minutes we were tied up at the wharf and hugs and kisses given all round. We do respect our skipper (Richie) but thought it was a good idea at the time to throw him into the water as part of the celebration. He took it all in good Aussie humour and joined us in a celebratory beer or two.
I will let you know in the next instalment what we did in South Africa but at the moment I aim to do three things.
1. Drink beer
2. Sit on a porcelain toilet and take my time, and
3. Stand (or better still sit) on a seat in the shower, drink beer and take my time.
Talk to you soon, BAMO



Prizegiving in Cape Town

October 1 was prizegiving day in Cape Town. Gold Coast Australia proudly accepted their third consecutive winners yellow pennant and according to the Clipper website, were ‘persuaded’ to show off their dancing prowess as they were given a quick lesson in the minstrel tradition that is part of the city’s culture.
The crews then boarded the waiting trio of bright red City sightseeing open top buses which whisked the ten teams to the Royal Cape Yacht Club for a traditional South African braai, or barbecue.
Gold Coast Australia's win puts them firmly at the top of the overall race leader board, eight points ahead of Visit Finland and Singapore.
Race 4 across the Southern Ocean to Geraldton, WA starts on Wednesday 5 October.

Greetings from Chrissy in Cape Town

Well we did it, they will be collecting their 3rd yellow winners pennant in the next few days. They look so good the 2 flying up front, now we will have a third.



Click on the image to see video footage from Cape Town

I thought I would just share my thoughts here.

Baz is helping deep clean the yacht today, huge job (everything and I mean everything has to come off and be disinfected down). None of the yachts want to have happen with what happened to Edinburgh (half the crew with the runs) which means everyone has to be so careful with hygiene.

The day they arrived into the marina was just a fabulous day. It was hot and sunny, the band was playing and we were waving our flags. I would not have missed it for the world to see Barry's happy smile.

Huge big hugs were given as, many people from Oz had said "please give him a big hug for me" so I did and I named each person/family as I did so Barry was black and blue at the end it. Nah just kidding!!!!!

Jan had texted me at about 11:00 am to say "are they over the line yet and should I open the champers?" Well they did not get into the marina till 1:30pm - they were becalmed just a few nautical miles from the finish line. Once over the line, they had to manoeuvre around for the press so that the Cape Town tabletop mountain was in the background. They then dropped their sails and turned the motor on but it was broken so that had to be fixed before they could get to the awaiting (dried as prunes in the sun) welcoming family and friends. 

This morning I went to the marina early with Baz and had another more thorough look over the yacht (like I did in Southampton before they left). 99.9% of the crew were not there as most had booked hotels for a few nights. When going down the ladder below I could smell a strange aroma of dampness and ?????, it’s a real suffocating smell, I can't imagine what it was like in the tropics. Most of the crew has said it’s pretty much unbearable.

Baz proudly showed me his bunk (he has had the same one since the UK). I hear a few of the yachts have a rotating system each leg. When the yacht is keeled over they try to keep the weight to the high side, so when a person comes off watch they, wake you up, you roll your sleeping bag up and they roll theirs out and sleep in the same bunk. I believe it’s called ‘hot bunking’.

The galley is just something else - nobody has a real good word about mothering duties, but they have a fabulous rice cooker (bought in Rio) and it worked its little butt off the whole leg. Baz was pleased with the rice cooker as he does not like pasta (which is nearly every 2nd night) remembering there is no fridge or freezer on this yacht.  He has lost soo much weight, his clothes are absolutely falling off him. I have never seen Barry look so thin. He used to have thick chunky legs but now that he cannot do a walk everyday like he used too, his legs are really slimmed down. We have to go buy some new clothes (especially warm ones) in Cape Town. The next race Cape Town to Geraldton WA is a long (over 20 days) and extremely cold leg. 

Team mate Wayne Reed (left) with BAMO

Quite a few of the yachties want to know what GCA secrets are for coming first all the time. Wayne Reed – a RTW Aussie larrikin from Townsville tells them if the leg is approx 16 days long (Clipper require take you on extra days food just in case you take a lot longer) that GCA work in reverse - they take less food than 16 days worth, so the crew work harder so they don't run out of food. He tells people it also makes the yacht lighter with less food. LOL. We'll I have seen it myself a few crewies have believed him!!!!!!!!

Wayne’s wife Heather (RTW) was on DLL from UK to Rio, then after she left Madeira she got sick (flu) and on arrival the doc said she could not continue she had to fly home to recuperate for the Rio to Cape Town leg. She is now back on DLL. Clipper does not place partners or husband and wives on the same yachts.

As I write one of our crew Lucia has gone to the hospital (she may have cracked sternum as a wave knocked her down the other day and she fell hard on some equipment on the deck).

There’s no doubt about it Richie - the skipper drives the crew hard, so I guess that’s why they enjoyed throwing him overboard shortly after their arrival.

The crew have organised a bus to take us all to the wineries tomorrow and do a bit of sightseeing of Cape Town surrounds.

Gotta go now, we are going out to tea with some of the crew. In the next few days Baz will post something to the blog. He’s looking forward to seeing all the photos/race viewer etc etc on the Clipper website - they don’t see any of this info out there, only us armchair yachties know what’s going on.

Toodles,

Chrissy

A hat trick for Gold Coast Australia

Clipper announce Race 3 result

Hat trick for Gold Coast Australia as they score third victory in Clipper Race - 27 September 2011

Gold Coast Australia, one of the ten international teams competing in the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race, have continued their winning streak by finishing first in the third stage of the 40,000-mile circumnavigation from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Cape Town, South Africa. It is the third individual race victory in a row for the crew, ‘people like you’, led by Tasmanian skipper Richard Hewson.

The 68-foot yacht crossed the finish line in Table Bay against the magnificent backdrop of Table Mountain at 1256 local time (1056 UTC) today at the end of the 3,300-mile race across the South Atlantic. The team had led the fleet for the last eleven days and worked themselves into an unassailable position, which even their very slow progress in very light airs over the last two miles of the course could not damage. The victory has also consolidated their position at the top of the overall Clipper 11-12 leader-board.

Arriving in the V&A Waterfront, Richard was thrown overboard by his celebrating crew. The dripping but ecstatic skipper said, “Third time lucky – a fantastic race by all the crew. The finish was very challenging. We had light airs at the beginning and end and some really tough conditions in the middle, so the dunking and the finish really reflected the whole race, I think!”

“We had the Traffic Separation Scheme (shipping lanes) on one side and Table Mountain on the other side taking away our wind and we just sat there. We had been hoping to finish two hours earlier but without wind sailing boats don’t move!” continued Richard, whose uncle was on the quay to welcome him.

During the race, the second ocean crossing of the world’s longest yacht race, the crews faced mountainous seas and strong headwinds.

Townsville resident, Wayne Reed, a retired army officer who is taking on the whole circumnavigation, said, “We did have some severe conditions; we had number three reef in the main and number three Yankee up doing 20 knots on a broad reach which was quite exciting in ten to 12-metre seas. There was a bit of seasickness and we were very wet and cold but it was great. The team has really gelled. About halfway across the weather was getting people down but we chose to push through that and came up with a scheme which was to form the Gold Coast Choir and we decided we were going to learn a song on every race so that we can sing it when we come in to port.”

As they pulled up alongside the crew gave their own rendition of Africa by Toto.

“That was perfect today – you should have heard it four days ago!” joked Wayne, “I couldn’t describe the feeling any better than to say it’s euphoric. It was a great start, a great race and we’re absolutely ecstatic.”

Arriving in the V&A Waterfront, the crew were entertained by a traditional Cape Town minstrel group. Chrissy Moore and her new Clipper BFFs were also waiting excitedly – boxing kangaroo flag in hand. Text messages from Chrissy indicated it had been a long wait between the time the crew actually crossed the line and their arrival at the dock.

Chrissy will be sending back photos and stories from BAMO’s adventure over the last few weeks – can’t wait to see and hear all about it.

Leg 2 Rio to Cape Town - first ten days

For the Gold Coast Australia (GCA) crew it was a “very pleasant and particularly long” stay in Rio – a none too subtle hint about the passage of time between their arrival in Rio and that of the rest of the fleet.

Barry emailed to say he was looking forward to seeing the sites after spending many hours on boat cleaning and maintenance. Having a shave, haircut and going to the Clipper office to check on mail etc. were also on the agenda. The last days before the start of Leg 2 were filled with final boat preparations and checks for new crew joining the yachts. According to GCA skipper Richard Hewson one of the team’s main priorities in Rio was to repair the two spinnakers.

For the victuallers (those who organise/purchase the food or other stores) it was an interesting experience shopping in Brazil as they stock the boat for three weeks at sea. According to BAMO “A few of us were rostered to get fresh fruit and goods this morning. Each piece of fruit must be washed in anti-bacterial mix, then fresh water, to get rid of bugs etc and to help the fruit keep for a little longer.”

The Race 3/Leg 2 start took place on September 10 (the day before BAMO’s birthday) in the famous Rio harbour with the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer towering above. After a night of close racing in fluky winds in the 3,300-mile race from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town, the Clipper website reported that the teams had quickly got back into the routine of life at sea.

The GCA team had five new crew members join the race in Rio. Their presence made it clear to the others just how many things had become routine during the first two races. According to an email sent by BAMO a day into the race, the new team members were fitting in well and he too seemed to be settling in quicker than last time.

A diary entry from Nina Zeun indicated that BAMO’s birthday had not gone unnoticed. “Today held more excitement than many other ordinary days with Barry Moore celebrating his birthday (at least three times, once after each wake up the rascal) and the crew observing a moment of silence in memory of the 9/11 victims”. Barry also noted “Sea conditions are good, the weather is cooler at night, first time in the bag but not zipped up. Had a cake & card given to me on my birthday.”

It seems the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks were remembered across the fleet. The ten crews put their rivalries aside to unite in a minute’s silence to remember the people who died on September 11, 2001. The Clipper Race visited New York in August 2001, enjoying a stopover at Liberty Landing in New Jersey overlooking the Twin Towers. The fleet set sail on 31 August just 11 days before the attacks.

Janice Taylor from the De Lage Landen team posted a poignant diary entry. “Any subway car at rush hour in New York could carry scores of professions, languages, and cultures, and perhaps even a dozen religions. Each yacht in the Clipper Race is a microcosm of that diversity, with plumbers and PhDs trimming sails alongside students, secretaries and stock brokers; a native Spanish-speaker at the pedestal winch grinder in response to a Dutch-accented shout to ‘grind!’ We embrace each other through our diversity. We leave our ethnocentricity ashore, and we cultivate not just tolerance, but respect for other cultures. Not coincidentally, De Lage Landen ‘Embraces the World.’”

Historically the South Atlantic leg of the Clipper Round the World race has produced some extremely close finishes – in Clipper 07-08 two of the top three teams crossed the line just 40 seconds apart after 3,500 miles of racing. This year’s race has seen the lead change hands a number of times on the leg so far, with Welcome to Yorkshire, Visit Finland and Gold Coast Australia trading the top few positions many times.

Although light air originally hampered progress as the teams battled for position in frustratingly fluky conditions, just a few days later the teams faced a mix of strong winds, lulls, gusts, squalls, heavy rain and poor visibility. According to one of the skippers “It has amazed me just how wild it really is out here, a vast desolate area that has an almost eerie feeling to it.”

Scottish skipper, Gordon Reid agrees, “The raw power of the ocean and mother nature is all too apparent as we are side swiped by another monster wave and everything and everyone on deck is drenched from head to toe. But somehow we are inspired by being out here thousands of miles from anywhere the rest of the world seems so far away. In these extreme conditions the crew are all digging a little deeper to find the strength of character it takes to race a yacht and do all that is required to ensure boat speed is optimised at all times.”

Vision of big seas and crashing waves has sent a chill through the family and friends following the race on the various Facebook pages. As BAMO’s wife Chris commented “My nerves have been shot for the last few days, dreading reading the daily updates”.



Look closely at the bottom of the jacket to see the letters 'B A M O'



This image of BAMO (at left with his back to camera) was accompanied by the following on the Race News entry for the day “A third of the way into this 3,300-mile race between two continents and Mother Nature is baring her teeth and reminding the crews that she is in charge. Conditions have been testing and the teams are proving they have what it takes to race through them in the extreme sport of ocean racing.”

The report went on to describe enormous waves and winds in excess of 50 knots. The punishing conditions, may have been giving some of the crew an exhilarating ride but they proved bruising for others. Tim Liverton, a round the world crew member on Singapore, sustained a cut to his head when a huge wave washed him down the cockpit. On board Geraldton Western Australia, 49-year-old Hilly Bouteloup was thrown out of her bunk when the boat lurched up against a large swell and has suspected broken ribs.

According to Richard Hewson, the wind from the south brought with it the coldest conditions seen since leaving the UK. “One squall this morning at 50+ knots brought with it hail which stung our hands and faces like frozen needles as we eased sails and ran away with the massive gusts of wind”.

Ben Bowley, the skipper on Singapore agreed. “Life over the last 24 hours has been a constant cycle of get up wet and cold, put on wet and cold clothes and waterproofs, eat food (hot and welcome) go on deck and get more wet and cold, come below, get undressed (15-minute operation) get thrown across boat and land on wet and cold cushions, get into wet and cold bunk... repeat. “I would like to say that spirits and morale are high but that would be a terrible lie. Instead there is an attitude of grim determination to get through these next few days.”

GCA went into ‘Stealth Mode’ for 24 hours and emerged with an increased lead having spent a day under the invisibility shield.

As Chris Moore packs to leave for Cape Town, she's very excited about seeing BAMO and the crew. She has packed his new orthotics and other essential supplies for him. Chris would very much like to wave her new boxing kangaroo flag, so she is hoping they sail into the marina in the daytime. I'm sure Chris will have heaps of stories to write about on her return.