Sunday, October 30, 2011
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.
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.
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) |
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.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
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 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
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
Post script - most of the teams are actually becalmed by a huge high pressure system as this blog is posted!
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.”
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
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:
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
- Got to go to the toilet 20 minutes dress & undress all your foulies.
- Forgot my hat.
- Forgot my gloves.
- Got to put another layer of clothing on its colder than I thought. 25min
- Got to take a layer of clothing off its warmer than I thought. 25min
- Need my sunglasses it’s glary.
- 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
- I'll just pop down and get my camera. Sorry it took so long I couldn't find it.
- I'll do the next log. Log entries are done on the hour every hour.
- Another good time to toilet, find something extra to eat, whatever. 20 min
Saturday, October 15, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Monday, October 3, 2011
Prizegiving in Cape Town
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.
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