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"