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.

Report on Race 2: Maderia to Rio de Janero

Departed on August 12 at about 14.00 hours. We crossed the start line in about 6th position. Again we were first to hoist our spinnaker. There was a small fleet of craft to wave good bye and amongst the ships a naval frigate with the President of Madeira on board. He had visited our yacht just prior to the prize giving ceremony and commented that we had “beautiful girl crew on board”.
This is our first transatlantic crossing which will take us 3,700 n miles to Rio.
Ships log entries:
13/8/11 Flying fish becoming a more regular occurrence in the ocean & on deck.
14/8/11 Now leading the fleet. Our rightful place!
15/8/11 Chafe is an ongoing problem particularly halyards & guys. Various modifications have been made and have reduced to a point, but there is still a bloody long way to go. Skipper is concerned about the ITCZ and chaffing.
16/8/11 Just wrapped the spinnaker 0300 am
18/8/11 Medium weight spinnaker just exploded from top to leach . All hands on deck early afternoon. Heavy weight spinnaker hoisted.
19/8/11 EGS very rough seas warning.
20/8/11 Three members of crew seasick - luckily it’s not me, now I have my sea legs after the stint down from Southampton. The bilges are now being pumped every two hours. We are carrying out buckets. Well heeled over.
22/8/11 Very warm day, amazing sunrise a red ball of fire.
23/8/11 Tanning despite my connection with MPA (Melanoma Patients Aust).
Equator party today at 00o 00o 010 s. Night sky just starting to show the Southern Cross. We are in the southern hemisphere.
26/8/11 Gibb snap shackle broke on the spinnaker down she came.
27/8/11 A beautiful morning Pat on the helm we are in line with El Salvador.
* The log entries are done every hour by the various watches – hopefully these short extracts gives you a bit of an insight!!!
Let me share with you a typical menu and the preparation carried out by the ‘mother watch’ three times a day.
Breakfast: Porridge or muesli with mixed milk powder.
Lunch: Powdered scrambled eggs with bread baked earlier.
Dinner: Macaroni cheese.
Treats maybe something as simple as opening a pack of biscuits or making some popcorn.
Mothers morning prep is to make up the milk for breakfast.
Make up the cordial for the morning watch.

Bake any bread, scones or cookies that are in the day bag.

Divide any chocolates, sweets into 3 watches for the next 24 hours.

Mothers evening prep is to retrieve the next day food bag out of the locker.

Soak any beans for the next day’s food.

Ships log entries:
28/8/11 Passing huge offshore oilfields on platforms about 100 nautical miles from coast of Brazil. 17 platforms in total.

30/8/11 Strong winds overnight came close to broaching twice. Heavy weight spinnaker ripped from top to bottom. Skipper at the helm at the time doing 23 knots. All hands on deck. Put up the Yankee 2 still doing 15 to 20 knots downwind. 105 nm to Rio.

Arrived in Rio (first across the line!) at about 3.30am. We had to drop sails and wait in the harbour for daybreak and the light so that the film crew could capture our arrival. No welcoming craft. It was an anti climax arriving when you compare it to Madeira.
Great to be here and we have the next 10 days on shore all be it that many days will be spent on the deep clean, sewing sails & doing the numerous repair jobs. Heads, caulking every entry point into the yacht so that we lessen the bilge carrying.

We could see the Christ the Redeemer statue on the surrounding hilltop and the way the clouds covered the hill it appeared to hover with a bright light illuminating it.

We were advised by Clipper we were third through the “scoring "gate" with one extra point awarded and the fastest through 5° to 10° south 301 nm in just on 30 hours and awarded one extra point making the total of 12 points for winning the race. 
Congratulations to all the crew & a big thank you to all out there that are following the race and a very special thank you to those who donated more for Melanoma Patients Australia at the end of this first leg.

This is my first internet cafe experience. Photos to follow shortly. Thanks heaps again Jan & Chrissy for being there & making this work.

We sail for Cape Town in South Africa tomorrow departure in the middle of the afternoon. They are predicting rougher, cooler weather so we’ll see how we go.

All the best for now.
BAMO      

     



A Brief Summary of Race 1: Southampton to Maderia

We departed Southampton on Sunday July 31, 2011 with much fanfare, there were 100's of spectator craft & HM aircraft carrier Illustrious "Lusty" to see us off.

We were first across the line and the first to hoist our spinnaker on a down wind run through the Solent. We crossed the Solent, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay and then into the north Atlantic on our way to Madeira.

We weren’t always in front, with the lead changing several times throughout this first part of the race. The conditions changed constantly; one minute we would be becalmed, the next minute the wind was up and we were doing some 15 knots beating into the wind.

At one stage we had to drop our kedge anchor to stop ourselves drifting back. We were in 140 metres of water with anchor chains, sheets & halyards being used to give us the length we needed. The anchor also broke free and there was much grunting & cursing as we tried to make good our anchor at the bottom of the ocean.

We saw dolphins & whales. Crossing the shipping lanes at night with driving rain is no easy feat, our lookouts had a constant vigil and several times we were in radio contact with the big ships as they courteously altered course so as not to run us down.

The rough conditions brought the normal amount of seasickness, me included, particularly when in the galley doing ‘mothering’ duties.

Some ships log entries*:

5/8/11 Very fast, very healed over, very scary.

6/8/11 Going nowhere.

7/8/11 Lovely clear night, sailing well, pleasant conditions.

8/8/11 First wrap of spinnaker all hands on deck.

9/8/11 Great dinner, great news – we’re in the lead by some 60 nautical miles & travelling fast. First sighting of land since departure.

9/8/11 Arrived in Madeira 13.35 an inspired win by Gold Coast .

The sun was shining as we arrived and there was a small fleet to greet us on arrival. The Madeira Islands are volcanic and steep with much vegetation on three sides of the islands. It was first settled in the 1400’s by the Portuguese.
We were happy to be on land again, having travelled some 1400 nautical miles.

First few days in Rio

Email from BAMO - Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:31:28 -0000 (GMT)

"We won you little beauty.

I have been in a hotel for the last two nights working on the yacht during the day. Today is our last deep clean day so we are then free to explore the city. It looks a great place with many parks, walkers & joggers everywhere.

You can see the statue of Christ the Redeemer from the yacht and I plan to visit it shortly.

I will visit an internet cafe for the first time on my time off & send or at least try to send some photos and more words.

I’m feeling good - all systems working well. I reckon I have lost 3 or 4 kilos but feeling good. All my sore muscles are recovering. I lost a sandal and my orthotic over the side when we were changing a sail up the front in a storm - Chrissy could you please ask Mr chard to make me a new set and bring them to Cape Town.

Talk soon,

love BAMO

Click here to see brief clip of Gold Coast's arrival in Rio
plus a short interview with Richie, the skipper.

"

Gold Coast Australia secure Race 2 victory - 31 August 2011

Email from BAMO

"Hello it’s me in Rio - yes we are here in Rio. We arrived at 4am this morning with the news that the next yacht is some 100 nautical miles behind. We are tied up at the marina but can't leave until cleared by customs after 9am this morning. It looks like a beautiful city with a fantastic natural harbour. I will find out over the next few days.

All is well - I feel great but look forward to having some time in a hotel with shower, toilet etc.

BAMO."

Excerpts from the Clipper website:

Gold Coast Australia secure Race 2 victory - 31 August 2011

Gold Coast Australia has won Race 2 of the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race from Madeira to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, crossing the finish line in Guanabara Bay after 19 days racing across the Atlantic Ocean.
In a highly tactical contest between the teams racing the ten 68-foot yachts, the crew of Gold Coast Australia emerged victorious. The pivotal moment in their first transatlantic race was their decision to take a route directly through the middle of the Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of Africa, utilising the funnel-like effect of the islands on the wind to catapult them through the centre of the archipelago and out the other side into a position of strength.

Third to the Scoring Gate behind Singapore and Welcome to Yorkshire respectively, Gold Coast Australia has been locked in a three-way contest with the British and Asian entries for the last 3,000 miles, gaining the ascendency as Singapore suffered steering failure. The Australian team capitalised on their position, stretching their lead and were first to cross the Equator into the Southern Hemisphere, beating the rest of the fleet to the beginning of the Ocean Sprint, where they were the fastest team to cover the distance between five and ten degrees south and earned a bonus point for doing so.

Paying tribute to his crew, who will pick up their second yellow winners’ pennant at the Race 2 prize-giving ceremony in Rio de Janeiro next week, skipper, Richard Hewson, said, “I’m very proud, the crew have performed really well, they’ve been fantastic. We’ve played all our tactics as we said we would.”

The Tasmania-based yachtsman continues, “There were a few parts of the course where we just went from one side to the other just trying to cover the rest of the fleet in the first half of the race but we timed crossing the Doldrums really perfectly – only had about four hours of the Doldrums experience – and then we were off again. We’ve had some brilliant downwind sailing and then coming in here this morning, it was just phenomenal. We got to enjoy it for a bit longer than we were expecting as the wind died just outside the harbour but to be here now…words can’t describe it. I can’t wait to explore Rio and I actually can’t wait to start the next race! Bring it on!”

For Gold Coast Australia’s Brazilian crew member, Annelise Nelson, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, winning this race has even more resonance. The management consultant now lives and works in London but still calls Rio home.

Against the backdrop of the iconic landmarks of Sugar Loaf Mountain and Corcovado, topped by the imposing statue of Christ the Redeemer, round the world crew member Annelise said, “It’s been really emotional sailing in here. I was helming as we crossed the finish line and it was fabulous to see all the familiar sights. It’s been a great race and to come in first was just perfect.”

The result means Gold Coast Australia will consolidate their overall lead in the race, having scored two wins in the first two stages and two bonus points: one at the Scoring Gate and one for the Ocean Sprint.

There are fifteen races in total in Clipper 11-12 with a Formula 1-style scoring system. The yellow, red and blue pennants for first second and third places in each of the races are highly prized by the people taking part and the teams proudly fly the pennants in each of the ports of call.Welcome to Yorkshire and Singapore are expected to arrive later today, with the remainder of the ten internationally-sponsored teams due in Marina da Gloria by 5 September. The crews will spend time preparing the yachts for the next race, across the South Atlantic to South Africa, as well as enjoying some well-earned downtime exploring the delights of the Brazilian city, including Copacobana and Ipanema beaches, the historic central city and the cauldron of the Maracaña Stadium where the people of Rio indulge their passion for Brazil’s national game, football.

Race 3 from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town starts on Saturday 10 September at 1400 local time (1700UTC).