 |
RACE START DAY Just spoke to BAMO on his mobile from Southampton. He sounds positive and anxious to get going. He said Sir Robin's speech at the crew briefing was excellent and there was a fantastic party atmosphere and heaps of people in Southampton. The first leg is more than 6,000 miles - after they cross the starting line, they head south to the Portuguese island of Madeira for the inaugural sprint; from there they cross the Atlantic to Rio de Janeiro. If you want, you can leave a message of support on the Clipper Facebook page. What an amazing 11 months it is going to be for BAMO & Chris !!! |
Sunday, July 31, 2011
0 days to go .... bon voyage BAMO
Friday, July 29, 2011
2 Days to go - posted by Chris Moore
Well only 2 days to go now before Baz -Bamo (as he is known on board as there are two Barrys) sails off
from the UK. Last week Colin (his bro) and Colleen (sisterinlaw) and myself were able to look over the yacht. OMG theres not much room to swing a cat. The galley only just fits 2 people and I saw it when
the yacht was in dock, I could not imagine trying to cook for 18 people breakfast, lunch and tea every day whilst the yacht is rock and rolling over the waves. It would be my worse nightmare.
On the day we looked over the yacht the side signs where not on, so on sunday it will be the 1st time we see the yacht in all its regalla. I did manage to get a photo of their yacht flag flying proudly
Barry is extremely positive about the whole trip and has made some great friends already, many of them are doing around the world as he is.
At present I have booked to see him in Cape Town, Geraldton(WA) and Southport(QLD). It has just been announced that the yachts will be docking in Tauranga (NZ). It will certainly be a busy year 'flying wise' for me this year.
In a way I am looking forward to sunday and in a way I am not as I will not be seeing Bamo until he gets to Cape Town. I know by reading many of the emails from other wives that we are all concerned for our partners. My two nieces Lyn (working in London) and Sarah (working in Dublin) are both coming over
to wave Bamo off at Southampton. It should be a very festive day, even the Royal Navy's helicopter carrier HMS 'Illustrious' will be escorting them to the start line. Wish us luck as I know there will be many tears on the day.
Regards, Chris Moore
from the UK. Last week Colin (his bro) and Colleen (sisterinlaw) and myself were able to look over the yacht. OMG theres not much room to swing a cat. The galley only just fits 2 people and I saw it when
the yacht was in dock, I could not imagine trying to cook for 18 people breakfast, lunch and tea every day whilst the yacht is rock and rolling over the waves. It would be my worse nightmare.
Barry is extremely positive about the whole trip and has made some great friends already, many of them are doing around the world as he is.
At present I have booked to see him in Cape Town, Geraldton(WA) and Southport(QLD). It has just been announced that the yachts will be docking in Tauranga (NZ). It will certainly be a busy year 'flying wise' for me this year.
In a way I am looking forward to sunday and in a way I am not as I will not be seeing Bamo until he gets to Cape Town. I know by reading many of the emails from other wives that we are all concerned for our partners. My two nieces Lyn (working in London) and Sarah (working in Dublin) are both coming over
to wave Bamo off at Southampton. It should be a very festive day, even the Royal Navy's helicopter carrier HMS 'Illustrious' will be escorting them to the start line. Wish us luck as I know there will be many tears on the day.
Regards, Chris Moore
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Final week before departure on 31/7/11
Since Level 4 training, the focus has been on carrying out all of the jobs that are necessary before departure. The skipper Rich has written up a list and there is a ‘To Do’ list that must also be done by the Clipper staff.
I have written on the blog before what you have to do for the deep clean but essentially it involves:
· taking all the covers off the seats and the bunk bedding, washing the covers & the sponges separately
· taking off any lead clothes that need repair
· taking off all food and or any containers that are on board from the galley
· servicing the two heads (loos) and replacing all the pipes (where you may discover some slippery artefacts!?)
· pumping out the two grey tanks, taking off the inspection covers and using a high pressure gurney to clean out the sludge (from the kitchen/sink waste)
· pumping out the two black tanks, taking off the inspection covers and using a high pressure gurney to clean out the sludge (yes, from the heads) although surprisingly, they were the cleanest of the tanks
· using the high pressure gurney to clean out the bilges from the bow to stern
· taking off all the life jackets, checking they are still in good order with the gas, light & whistle all OK
We also had to take off the pulpit and the stanchions along the port side. From the heeling over at sea, a simple hose test showed that the leaks were coming from around the seals/bolts that hold these items.
The two new spinnakers had to be numbered. Each panel within the sail has to be numbered so that it is easy to identify when there is a repair needed.
All the sails had to be reflaked on the pontoon or nearby park.
We swapped the life raft on the starboard side for a new one that will be within dates for usage around the world
Clipper serviced the wheel at the helm.
The radio and navigation area was serviced with focus on the satellite phone & link to the computer.
The list goes on & on. They always say that most accidents happen on arrival into port, and that’s what happened to us - poor old Tim managed to be walking backwards (doing, of all things, a safety inspection) and managed to fall down an open hatch. Luckily after a visit to the hospital he had not broken anything but was sore and sorry.
With as many crew as possible doing a lot of the work, ownership was taking place because this is now our yacht and everything we do is for us for the next 12 months.
One of the biggest tasks, that involved as many crew as possible but was led by a single crew member, was the victualling. Lucia was the leader for this task - the purchasing of the food for the chosen menus. This was conducted between several shops, with the major supplier being Makro. The aim was to work out the number of estimated days for Leg 1 (Southampton to Rio) plus add an extra 5 days for emergency.
You repeat the meal/menu every 7 days so if the leg is say 28 days, you would repeat the meal/menu 4 times during the voyage.
We laid out on the floor 8 bays so that you could put the food necessary for each day plus the extra bay for emergency. We had heard various stories about allnighters and how complicated it can become.
The team was back from the shops about 3pm and a general roll call got 8 of us up to the sail loft where we had done the layout on the floor. To make things more interesting, also on our roster for the use of the loft was the team from Derry/ Londonderry and then we had an interloper, Qingdao who got mixed up on their day. We worked well as a team and got on with the job. Lucia, Debbie, Hannah, Babs, Eric, Wayne, Patrick, Peter, Taz & myself - we finished about 11.30 and that was after we had trollied the lot down to the yacht.There are many individual courses that are being done including sewing, still photography, media, engineering, medical, victualling etc etc so we will be busy right up till we depart.
My brother Colin & sister in law Colleen are arriving soon so I will take two days off to greet them & catch up on all the news.
I'm feeling positive about the trip although there is still a lot to be done.
Talk to you soon.BAMO.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Level 4 Training 12/7 - 19/7/11
For the first two days I stayed in Portsmouth at the Royal Maritime club. It was very convenient to the ferry to cross over to Gosport. The venue has been there for many years with images of ships of the royal navy from the past, HMS Victory to the present day. The Prince of Wales is the patron.
As well as guests like myself we had officers from the Sudanese Navy, Australian Navy and Royal Navy in attendance, with the dining room set up as an officers mess. Tariff was £60 a night including full English breakfast.
Day 1 (July 12) - visited the Clipper office so they could copy my passport info, visas for Brazil & USA plus the yellow fever certificate. Also revised the standing orders contained in the sailing contract, picked up the Clipper apparel, a polo shirt & the "Henry Lloyd oilskins" salopettes and jacket. The top or jacket is a smock type that you pull over your head - it seems a bit awkward but they say it is far more waterproof than the type with a zip in the front. An easy few hours just making sure all is in order.
Day 2 - attended the radar course held in one of the Clipper training rooms. The aim of the day was to teach us to use small boat radar to assist decision making in collision avoidance, pilotage and navigation.
Learnt about: switching on and setting up, understanding the picture, refining the picture, radar reflectors, collision avoidance, fixing position by radar, pilotage by radar.
The instructor made the course interesting and palatable for what some might say could be as boring as bats*#t!
I' m pleased to say I passed It is a pleasure to look at the new digital radar screen with colours rather than the traditional green screen.
Day 3 - met the crew on board " Gold Coast" Australia for the start of our Level 4 sailing training. I had met some of them at the crew announcement day on the 30/4/11 but this was the first time that I would be sailing with the guys.
There were 18 people on board including our skipper Richard Hewson. I had sailed with Richard before on Level 1.
At the first team meeting on deck in the morning, Richard announced we would be taking part in a number of races over the next few days against the other 9 yachts in the fleet for the round the world race. Spinnaker work and gybing was on the agenda, with racing conditions and 4 hour shifts 24 hours a day to be the norm for the next few days.
We were to set sail for Cherborg in France (the marker was a fairway buoy), then turn north to Eddystone Lighthouse of the coast of England near Plymouth, then east to the "Needles" (the southern-most point of the Isle of Wight) with the finish off Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The race route was some 500 nautical miles.
Quite a few of the crew have only experienced calm conditions during their training and they were about to find out that the ocean ,wind and rain can change one's outlook on life at sea.
The English summer forgot to send the sun and most of our week it rained with 35 knot winds and moderate seas. We rated it as force 7 or 8.
Luckily I was not sick and can thank the conditions in Tasmania as a pre cursor to what we experienced for the week. Three of the crew were sick, two of them in their bunks for 2 to 3 days.
From my perspective I still haven't got all the names of parts of the yacht and evolutions off pat but was reasonably happy with what I had retained from previous training sessions. We were split into 3 watches with 4 hours on then 4 hours off then 4 hours on standby. It was cold because of the wind, with a full moon in the evening. The English summer means that it doesn't get dark until 10.30 or so in the evening and it starts to get light at about 4am. Combine this with a full moon and you feel as if the earth never gets dark.
The start gun was fired at 2pm in the Solent near the NAB tower with one of the Clipper 60' training yachts as the other end of the starting line. It was a Le Mans start with all the crew standing behind the primary winch - the only sail already hoisted was the mainsail. On the gun you walk or jog forward to your assigned position and do your part to get the yacht moving.
The yankee & staysail are hoisted simultaneously, running backstays adjusted, mainsail trimmed, yankee & staysail are trimmed with trimming starting from the bow first. We got away to a great start going across the start line first.
We turned the fairway buoy off the coast at Cherborg just on dusk and as we neared out of the gloom came two other yachts - we rounded in 3rd place with only a few hundred metres separating us after some 9 hours since the start.
The seas had been building since we left the Solent and we had been pounding into rolling waves with the wind almost abeam of our heading. The change in direction meant that we had much the same, with the only difference being that we were now heading into the darkness, and the conditions always seem worse in the dark.
The ‘mothers’ had been busy in the galley during the day and for some the heeling over of the boat had caused some difficulty in food preparation. However their tenacity prevailed and we ate Chicken Marsala for tea with rice.
We were finding out where the yacht leaked; the front hatch over the rope locker, the port side when heeling over produced a steady waterfall above several bunks and above the lounge area. These areas were recorded and marked with the view that they would be an area of focus and repair when we were back in port. The portside head was out of commission and was also put on the repair list.
It was all good stuff, sleeping from 8pm to 12 midnight was our off time then we were on deck fully dressed as the back-up crew. You need at least 10 crew to change tack under difficult racing conditions - yes you could do it all with only a few but you don't want to lose momentum or a place every time you change direction.
At the Eddystone Lighthouse (pictured left) we went around the marker in 2nd place - from the regular radio reports we were advised that several yachts had now pulled out of the race. Injuries, sea sickness amongst most crews was prevalent, gear breakdowns like no gas, ripped sails were common. We were sailing downwind, the spinnaker up and cruising down the waves. You had to be very careful on the helm that you didn't gybe. It was exhilarating and we were going to the final mark. We felt good that we as a unit were keeping our food down (the ‘mothers’ had baked bread, cookies and cake all as experimental meals for the big trip) and overall we were functioning as a capable crew.
We arrived at the final marker at about 1am in the morning with The Needles off the Isle of Wight on our bow and the hooter signalling the finish of the race and confirmation on the GPS indicating that we had passed the finish line first. YIPPEE we won.!!!!!!
We anchored on a buoy off Cowes later that night - it is so easy to climb into the bunk when you are not heeled over. We woke up at 8am the following morning. The schedule for the day was a series of exercises on safety; MOB drills, fire drills with the fire pump, steering with the back-up steering mechanism & radio drills on maydays (the signal for ‘grave and imminent danger requiring immediate help’ and pan pans (the signal for an urgent situation of a lower order problem such as a mechanical breakdown or a medical problem).
The following day we did literally hundreds (OK, maybe it was only 99) but it seemed like 100's of tacks, reefs, sail changes - big to small, small to big, up & down from below dragging sails backwards and forwards. Every time we changed sails we had to flake them on deck. What a tiring day, there is no glamour in humping sails up and down the main companion way with the yacht well heeled over and a moderate sea running. We started to find out a bit more about ourselves - most passed with flying colours.
One more tack the skipper said “and if it’s perfect in every way we will go into Cowes and send two crew members for fish & chips”. Three more goes and we were done. It was about 9pm and we were starving - we phoned and headed for Cowes. We just touched the wharf and the 2 runners were off for our food. A few minutes later they were back and we were heading down the Solent under power, fish & chips distributed to all on board, heading into Gosport at the end of a solid few days training.
The training that we received on Level 4 was exactly what we needed - it was repetitive, trying at times with the sea conditions, but a reality check for everybody on what we can expect for the up and coming challenge. We are learning to relate to one another and had started to bond as a team - we certainly will be counting on one another as time goes on.
Over the next few days tied up at the marina we would be focusing on carrying out the repairs and general maintenance that need to be done before our start on the 31/7/11.
As well as guests like myself we had officers from the Sudanese Navy, Australian Navy and Royal Navy in attendance, with the dining room set up as an officers mess. Tariff was £60 a night including full English breakfast.
Day 1 (July 12) - visited the Clipper office so they could copy my passport info, visas for Brazil & USA plus the yellow fever certificate. Also revised the standing orders contained in the sailing contract, picked up the Clipper apparel, a polo shirt & the "Henry Lloyd oilskins" salopettes and jacket. The top or jacket is a smock type that you pull over your head - it seems a bit awkward but they say it is far more waterproof than the type with a zip in the front. An easy few hours just making sure all is in order.
Day 2 - attended the radar course held in one of the Clipper training rooms. The aim of the day was to teach us to use small boat radar to assist decision making in collision avoidance, pilotage and navigation.
Learnt about: switching on and setting up, understanding the picture, refining the picture, radar reflectors, collision avoidance, fixing position by radar, pilotage by radar.
The instructor made the course interesting and palatable for what some might say could be as boring as bats*#t!
I' m pleased to say I passed It is a pleasure to look at the new digital radar screen with colours rather than the traditional green screen.
Day 3 - met the crew on board " Gold Coast" Australia for the start of our Level 4 sailing training. I had met some of them at the crew announcement day on the 30/4/11 but this was the first time that I would be sailing with the guys.
There were 18 people on board including our skipper Richard Hewson. I had sailed with Richard before on Level 1.
At the first team meeting on deck in the morning, Richard announced we would be taking part in a number of races over the next few days against the other 9 yachts in the fleet for the round the world race. Spinnaker work and gybing was on the agenda, with racing conditions and 4 hour shifts 24 hours a day to be the norm for the next few days.
We were to set sail for Cherborg in France (the marker was a fairway buoy), then turn north to Eddystone Lighthouse of the coast of England near Plymouth, then east to the "Needles" (the southern-most point of the Isle of Wight) with the finish off Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The race route was some 500 nautical miles.
Quite a few of the crew have only experienced calm conditions during their training and they were about to find out that the ocean ,wind and rain can change one's outlook on life at sea.
The English summer forgot to send the sun and most of our week it rained with 35 knot winds and moderate seas. We rated it as force 7 or 8.
Luckily I was not sick and can thank the conditions in Tasmania as a pre cursor to what we experienced for the week. Three of the crew were sick, two of them in their bunks for 2 to 3 days.
From my perspective I still haven't got all the names of parts of the yacht and evolutions off pat but was reasonably happy with what I had retained from previous training sessions. We were split into 3 watches with 4 hours on then 4 hours off then 4 hours on standby. It was cold because of the wind, with a full moon in the evening. The English summer means that it doesn't get dark until 10.30 or so in the evening and it starts to get light at about 4am. Combine this with a full moon and you feel as if the earth never gets dark.
The start gun was fired at 2pm in the Solent near the NAB tower with one of the Clipper 60' training yachts as the other end of the starting line. It was a Le Mans start with all the crew standing behind the primary winch - the only sail already hoisted was the mainsail. On the gun you walk or jog forward to your assigned position and do your part to get the yacht moving.
The yankee & staysail are hoisted simultaneously, running backstays adjusted, mainsail trimmed, yankee & staysail are trimmed with trimming starting from the bow first. We got away to a great start going across the start line first.
We turned the fairway buoy off the coast at Cherborg just on dusk and as we neared out of the gloom came two other yachts - we rounded in 3rd place with only a few hundred metres separating us after some 9 hours since the start.
The seas had been building since we left the Solent and we had been pounding into rolling waves with the wind almost abeam of our heading. The change in direction meant that we had much the same, with the only difference being that we were now heading into the darkness, and the conditions always seem worse in the dark.
The ‘mothers’ had been busy in the galley during the day and for some the heeling over of the boat had caused some difficulty in food preparation. However their tenacity prevailed and we ate Chicken Marsala for tea with rice.
We were finding out where the yacht leaked; the front hatch over the rope locker, the port side when heeling over produced a steady waterfall above several bunks and above the lounge area. These areas were recorded and marked with the view that they would be an area of focus and repair when we were back in port. The portside head was out of commission and was also put on the repair list.
It was all good stuff, sleeping from 8pm to 12 midnight was our off time then we were on deck fully dressed as the back-up crew. You need at least 10 crew to change tack under difficult racing conditions - yes you could do it all with only a few but you don't want to lose momentum or a place every time you change direction.
 |
| 'The Needles' off the Isle of Wight |
We anchored on a buoy off Cowes later that night - it is so easy to climb into the bunk when you are not heeled over. We woke up at 8am the following morning. The schedule for the day was a series of exercises on safety; MOB drills, fire drills with the fire pump, steering with the back-up steering mechanism & radio drills on maydays (the signal for ‘grave and imminent danger requiring immediate help’ and pan pans (the signal for an urgent situation of a lower order problem such as a mechanical breakdown or a medical problem).
The following day we did literally hundreds (OK, maybe it was only 99) but it seemed like 100's of tacks, reefs, sail changes - big to small, small to big, up & down from below dragging sails backwards and forwards. Every time we changed sails we had to flake them on deck. What a tiring day, there is no glamour in humping sails up and down the main companion way with the yacht well heeled over and a moderate sea running. We started to find out a bit more about ourselves - most passed with flying colours.
One more tack the skipper said “and if it’s perfect in every way we will go into Cowes and send two crew members for fish & chips”. Three more goes and we were done. It was about 9pm and we were starving - we phoned and headed for Cowes. We just touched the wharf and the 2 runners were off for our food. A few minutes later they were back and we were heading down the Solent under power, fish & chips distributed to all on board, heading into Gosport at the end of a solid few days training.
The training that we received on Level 4 was exactly what we needed - it was repetitive, trying at times with the sea conditions, but a reality check for everybody on what we can expect for the up and coming challenge. We are learning to relate to one another and had started to bond as a team - we certainly will be counting on one another as time goes on.
Over the next few days tied up at the marina we would be focusing on carrying out the repairs and general maintenance that need to be done before our start on the 31/7/11.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
In UK trialing my packing for 12 months.
3.30am on Friday July 8 we both awoke to an earth tremor - it was quite an experience laying there, holding on thinking to yourself "I'm not on the boat yet - why is everything moving?".I reckon it lasted about 90 seconds with the tremor moving away with a rumble. Eventually peace & quiet returned with no dramas, no alarms, just go back to sleep as if nothing happened.
Arrived in London on time, weather good, traffic as normal. Our friend Christine had battled to get to the airport for over two hours, where the journey normally takes about 1 hour. Aparently the M25 was a carpark.
I had left all my gear at Christine's place since my last training session at the end of May. I needed to add a couple more items to make it complete for my 12 month challenge. Deck sandals, mouthguard, vacuum packing bags & extra socks were needed. A morning shopping in Guilford saw this mission completed with coffee & apple studel a bonus for our efforts.
The photo shows the gear that I will take for the 12 months. I have compiled my gear based on the Clipper guide and feedback from various skippers, who have more experience than me on what is required for an around the world voyage, plus my experiences on the training to date.
I reckon the secret is to put all of the categories of gear into vacuum bags, then take the air out so that you can fit so much more in.!
Bottom to Top:
Pair of deck boots.
Pair of deck shoes.
Pair of deck sandals.
8 pairs of socks.
6 undies.
4 sets of top & bottom thermals.
4 T shirts.
2 pairs of waterproof padded shorts.
I set of midlayers, sappolettes & jacket.
3 chamois towels.
2 pairs of gloves one with & one without fingers.
2 thermal beanies.
2 neck warmers.
1 neck & hat combo.
1 set of top layer oilskins top & bottom. [not shown in photo]
2 shirts with collar for shore use.
1 pair of long trousers with belt for shore use.
1 Minnie Mouse [well travelled mascot who wants to travel the world on a yacht]
A camera bag with Lumix LT3 camera, various cables & Apple nano Ipod with images & music.
2 head torches. [both with red & white illumination]
goggles.
mouthguard.
wallet /watch/mobile phone/ digital voice recorder.
sailing knife.
To help celebrate the crossing of the equator (twice) various small koalas, tattoos, balloons etc.
A water proof bag for the above gear.
A water proof " Ocean Sleepware " sleeping bag with pillow & sheet liner.
I travel down to Gosport on 12/7/11 with all the gear and will continue to assess what I need. On completion of the Level 4 training on 19/7/11 I still have time to change things before I join the yacht on the 22nd before departure on the 31st.
The vacuum bags are definitely the secret and they also double as waterproof bags to combat condensation, wet sails & general leakage. Talk to you again soon.
Barry Moore (BAMO).
Monday, July 11, 2011
Last few days prior to level 4 Training.
I am now in the UK and alot has happened in the Clipper world since the crew announcement day on April 30. We understood there to be only one yacht from Australia. It was a combined entry from Geraldton in WA & Southport in Queensland.
We have now been informed that in there will be 2 Australian yacht entries, one sponsored by Geraldton in WA & the other yacht sponsored by the Gold Coast in Queensland.
I am on the Queensland yacht with skipper Richard Hewson & the same crew as previously reported. I'm sure not only will there be competitiveness between all other yachts but we will be putting in a special effort to win against the other Aussie yacht.
As a crew we are now working on strategies for comfort over the 11 months race with considerations being given to humidfiers, fans, rice cookers & other top secret equipment to help give us an edge over the other crews.
A crew fund has been organised with each crew member putting in 50 pound per leg, this is for incidentals that we will need and for that all important first shout at the bar when we are on the hard.
Communication is happening between all crew members and the loved ones left on the dock. Christine my wife has already organised flights and accommodation to see us off in Southampton and then other trips to South Africa, Geraldton & the Gold Coast. Via email she is starting to get to know some of the other crew partners and is looking forward to meeting as many as she can of my new "family".
Level 4 Training will commence in the Solent off Gosport/Southampton on 14/7/11. This is the first time that the fleet of ten yachts will race against each other day & night. I know that it will pull the teams together.
It is going to be great to get to know your team in real race conditions & hopefully set the standard for other yachts in the fleet.
We spend 5 days on the water with an extra 2 days in the classroom on radar & covering standing orders.
The week 20/7/11 to 27/7/11 is organised to cover a whole raft of subjects from victualling, medical updates, tuition on still & movie cameras to satellite communications. Some of the subjects are for skippers only and the others are for volunteers from each yacht so that you should have a least two people with extra knowledge on all facets of the yacht's equipment, safety, sail maintenance, engineering etc etc.
On the 28/7/11 the round the world crews & Leg 1 crew sail the yachts from Gosport to Southampton. This should take the day.
29/7/11 & 30/7/11 we are in Ocean Village Southampton attending to all those last minute things prior to our departure on the 31/7/11 to race around the world.
Next time I blog I will be able to tell you if everything has gone to schedule.
Bye for now Barry (BAMO)
We have now been informed that in there will be 2 Australian yacht entries, one sponsored by Geraldton in WA & the other yacht sponsored by the Gold Coast in Queensland.
I am on the Queensland yacht with skipper Richard Hewson & the same crew as previously reported. I'm sure not only will there be competitiveness between all other yachts but we will be putting in a special effort to win against the other Aussie yacht.
As a crew we are now working on strategies for comfort over the 11 months race with considerations being given to humidfiers, fans, rice cookers & other top secret equipment to help give us an edge over the other crews.
A crew fund has been organised with each crew member putting in 50 pound per leg, this is for incidentals that we will need and for that all important first shout at the bar when we are on the hard.
Communication is happening between all crew members and the loved ones left on the dock. Christine my wife has already organised flights and accommodation to see us off in Southampton and then other trips to South Africa, Geraldton & the Gold Coast. Via email she is starting to get to know some of the other crew partners and is looking forward to meeting as many as she can of my new "family".
Level 4 Training will commence in the Solent off Gosport/Southampton on 14/7/11. This is the first time that the fleet of ten yachts will race against each other day & night. I know that it will pull the teams together.
It is going to be great to get to know your team in real race conditions & hopefully set the standard for other yachts in the fleet.
We spend 5 days on the water with an extra 2 days in the classroom on radar & covering standing orders.
The week 20/7/11 to 27/7/11 is organised to cover a whole raft of subjects from victualling, medical updates, tuition on still & movie cameras to satellite communications. Some of the subjects are for skippers only and the others are for volunteers from each yacht so that you should have a least two people with extra knowledge on all facets of the yacht's equipment, safety, sail maintenance, engineering etc etc.
On the 28/7/11 the round the world crews & Leg 1 crew sail the yachts from Gosport to Southampton. This should take the day.
29/7/11 & 30/7/11 we are in Ocean Village Southampton attending to all those last minute things prior to our departure on the 31/7/11 to race around the world.
Next time I blog I will be able to tell you if everything has gone to schedule.
Bye for now Barry (BAMO)
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Fantastic news. MPA* Fund Raising Amount Raised over $9K.
Well done to everyone who supported our MPA* fundraising dinner dance at Castle Hill RSL on June 11.
We raised $9,655.00 - a great result. When you add that amount to the current total of the Everyday hero website ($7,170.00) the grand total todate is now $16,825.00. Fantastic!
I am now in the UK for final training, so we should be close to the halfway point in terms of our target when the race starts on 31/7/11.
More about that soon.
* Melanoma Patients Australia
I am now in the UK for final training, so we should be close to the halfway point in terms of our target when the race starts on 31/7/11.
More about that soon.
* Melanoma Patients Australia
Monday, July 4, 2011
Team Gold Coast Australia
It's full steam ahead with my preparations for the Clipper 11-12 Race. I've been named on the Gold Coast Australia team and the team site is now up and running. It has all sorts of interesting info about our team - about the skipper Richard Hewson (from Tasmania) and the crew taking part (average age, nationalities, what legs they're doing). Plus you’ll be able to follow our progress on the site when Clipper 11-12 starts in just 26 days!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)