My new home has arrived in Gosport harbour - welcome CV28! And...

We're doing the Sydney to Hobart!!!

This has been a very eventful week for Clipper crew, and more specifically for our boat's crew and all the people on the fourth leg of the race, which goes from Albany in Western Australia to the East Coast. It was announced earlier this week that we are officially registered for the Sydney to Hobart race - a dream come true for me!

The Rolex Sydney Hobart 2013, Bluewater Classic Yacht Race is one of the most difficult yacht races in the world and is an iconic event in Australia, and is well known as a must do for race sailors around the world.

I was in Hobart one year when the boats came in and I stood looking at the sailors and beautiful yachts with envy thinking I would love to do that, but how would I ever learn to sail, cover enough sea miles, and get to be part of such a crew before I die. This whole Clipper experience has granted me that opportunity and I am absolutely stoked. All twelve the Clipper yachts are going to participate and we are not only competing against each other, but we are also competing against all the other super yachts! Wild Oats, watch out!

Since I last posted an update we've had our crew team building weekend in the New Forest and it was great to meet people for the first time at the beginning of the weekend, and leave feeling that these people are now like family and we'll have a connection for the rest of our lives. We enjoyed laughing, drinking, eating, doing an obstacle adventure course, sharing some stories from our training, planning our team's approach, and just relaxing together.

Some of our crew at our team building weekend. We did an adventure tree top challenge and just monkeyd around. Skippy also came along.

Last week our shiny, sleek, beautiful, out of the box new boat arrived in Gosport and she will now be kitted out and branded. She is CV28 at this stage - we'll get the name of our sponsor this coming week. We are all overly anxious, curious and excited with anticipation. The sponsor will very much influence the culture of the boat, although we have already bonded around our "Team Excellence" branding. We have a boat song, which will be played every time our boat gets into each harbour, an when we step out on to the stage and the podium to celebrate a race win - Fat Boy Slim's Right Here, Right Now! Initially I didn't really like it much, but I have totally bought into the simplicity of the message. It is very apt for my own personal life, as well as for the race and the day to day approach on the boat. The beat is catchy and I now love it. The other teams will probably get sick of it because it will be played everywhere and often!

She's very naked here but will get all dressed up and supplied with her fowl weather gear in the next week. She's home for the next year!

We have our crew mascot as well now - Skippy! He is a little pirate in Aussie green and gold colours that someone's mother knitted for us. He even has the eye patch and parrot on his shoulder. Real mean little guy, responsible for all the profanities and mischief on the boat!

Skippy on his way to the cottage to meet the crew

The plans are coming together for our crew. A lot of work needs to be done in the next 24 days - I think we might be heading for a few through-the-nighters. But we are up for it and actually looking forward to rigging out our new home.

The excitement is really building up. I can't wait:  Right here, right now!

Victualling - a logistical challenge in every sense

A famous quote by Napoleon Bonaparte is that an army marches on its stomach. This is even more true for a crew of a racing boat, and the person responsible for feeding the crew is a victualler. But feeding them involves much more than just providing sustenance and fuel.

We are usually divided into two watches (crew teams) of ten or eleven each who then take turns to sleep and eat, or go on deck to sail.  On our level 2 training course we were on a 68 footer, which had no table to eat from and we just grabbed sauces or condiments from the raised foot area. A table is actually not practical when the boat is moving very fast at an angle and on a bouncy sea.

On our level one training we were on a 60 footer with a smaller crew. We at least had a table. I was 'reprimanded' by the skipper after the course that I put too much care into my management of the food and the kitchen. He said that I will be disappointed on the race if I make so much effort because the crew will just grab and run to go on deck or to head for their bunks. It is not practical nor smart to try and please people. Victualling is about being hard nosed and merely providing fuel. No niceties really - just dish up in a dog bowl and they eat what they get!

Just to recap: we are doing eight legs on this race around the world, with 22 to 24 crew on each leg. There are 12 identical 70 foot yachts racing against each other. Each of the legs require that we plan, buy, pack, store and cook for the crew. Last week I was on a one day course to help prepare us for the job. I am on the victualling team - it is definitely not a job for just one person. 

To give you an idea of the stats: On the Pacific Ocean leg, which is 30 days more or less, for 18 crew x 3 meals per day = 1620 servings
Total race meals = 250 days x average of 18 crew x 3 meals = 13,500 servings
Cereal for 250 days x 18 crew at 2kg per day = 500kg
Toilet rolls for 250 days x 3 per day = 750 toilet rolls
Biscuits 250 days x 2 packets = 500 packets
Bread mix 9kg flour per 7 days = 325kg

How to pack all of this, where to store it on every leg in the boat, how to cook when the boat is at an angle and jumping around on the waves in a storm, how to keep the areas clean and germ free, how to prevent food from being wasted while making sure there is enough…. all logistical issues we are having to deal with and manage.

We are trying to simplify this process by working on a seven day menu with really simple dishes that we repeat. We have freshly baked bread each day and some surprise menus as a backup, and to make things less boring. But it will be a case of: "Ok, tinned bolognese sauce on spaghetti - must be Tuesday lunch time!"

We do have some snacks planned - each day will have fruit, biscuits and chocolates included in the food bags. When a crew member has a birthday there is usually a cake - if the weather allows us to bake. The highlights in terms of food, according to previous round the worlders, are the care packages that family or friends send to stopovers or bring onto the boat before the crews leave on a race leg - hint, hint! ;-)

Overall though, food will be fuel - merely that!