Mountain Climbing on the Inside

I am sitting in the saloon on a bench without a pillow (we take them off because the crew come in from the rain and wet and spoil them with sea water stains and they also keep slipping to the floor in wild wind conditions), and  I'm writing on the little crew laptop that we store under the saloon bench. The boat is at about a 20 to 30 degree angle, which is an incredible challenge to move about. On deck is actually more comfortable and safer. What makes it worse is that we are pounding into the wind at about 9 to 10 knots (course over ground) to the finish line. The waves make the boat rock about in very unpredictable bounces with the wind speed at about 30 knots. Every knock goes to the core of your being and every one is at a different angle and in a different direction.

We have more or less 120 to 140 sea miles to go and it is actually quite nail biting. We are in the lead but are followed very closely by the current second place - Jamaica. It is becoming quite tactical now - when they tack, we need to cover them to stay in the lead. We are keeping a close eye on their every move. But so many factors can still influence the end result and so much can still happen. Our main focus, and the true win for us, will be if we can get over the finish line first. After all our hard work, that will be our victory. We've had so many set backs, and have persevered despite those, so we are feeling very proud with where we are at. Keep your fingers crossed please.

I am now going to try get my wet weather gear off - a claustrophobic exercise to get the jacket over my head - while keeping my balance and trying to not get thrown from port to starboard, or slide back down hill when I start the climb to my bunk. We have a rope strung to help one move about. I am developing good mountain climbing skills ;-). I just watched a guy slide on his backside all the way to hang his jacket in the wet locker. Another rather comical sight is to see the poor cooks in the galley wash the dishes after serving a challenging lunch session with pots, plates and food flying all over the place. They have to duck to avoid spreads falling from the top shelves. And then, they tack! And you have to adjust your bed to lean to the other side and everything that found a secure place on the previous tack now moves about trying to find a new resting place... until the next tack!!!

Using the heads (toilets) in these conditions is worth another blog... Stay

posted!

Let me go attempt getting into my bunk (by climbing half way up the opposite wall) and try to get some rest while rocking about and listening to the water swoosh past the hull. Luckily I am so tired after all the sail changes and reefs we've done this morning that falling asleep won't be too difficult!

Flying Fish and Sinking Whales

I can't believe we are almost done with the first leg - it has been an experience so far!

The short race to, and stop over in Brest was a good introduction, but it is a distant memory now. This race - the 4500 sea miles so far - has been full of highlights and incredible experiences. The most memorable for me has been the encounters with wildlife: we've seen dolphins playing around the boat - different types. Before the doldrums they were smaller and stubby with yellow whitish bellies, and they moved extremely fast through the water. Sometimes two or more of them would swim together and change direction in an instant, as if they are in telepathic sync. They would jump and frolic around the bow and we were sure they were looking at us while showing off in perfect performance. The past couple of days - this side of the equator, they were slightly larger and grey bellies - doing back roles to our delight. The guys were making fun of me because I would get into a completely exhilarated state and forget everything around me in awe of these creatures.

The whales are also a sight to see: a couple of weeks ago a Minke whale followed us for miles and then swam gracefully around the bowsprit before she decided to find a new play friend. Yesterday we almost bumped into a huge mother and calf right next to the boat - I am sure she was around two thirds of the length of the boat. It could be quite a disaster if we do happen to crash into a large whale, so we are on constant lookout.

Night time is an issue in terms of the whales, but we just hope they'll get out of our way. There are other wonderful sights at night: the phosphorescence in the wake of the boat amazes me every night. Sometimes big blobs of florescent green jelly fish go past like watery street lights guiding our journey. And then, in the full moonlight it is amazing to firstly hear their blow holes, but then to watch the dolphins swim around right below us.

We've had beautiful sea birds fly around the boat because fish get stirred up by the vessel and provide a welcome easy catch. A couple of exhausted and lost swallows landed on the boat but we found the one dead on the deck the next morning, and the other almost got trampled on while we were scurrying around in a squall.

Flying fish are probably the most curious creatures we've seen so far. They fly over the waves for almost 50 meters sometimes, and many have landed on the deck or even through a port hole on the skipper's bed! These evolutionary curiosities provide good entertainment for us rail side sitters.

We've even had a couple of butterflies in the middle of the ocean that probably got swept along with winds from the coast.

Apart from the wildlife highlights there are many others to share, like the beautiful fresh bread every day!!! More about this and other daily trivia of life on the boat when I chat again.

Please follow our race and the skipper and crew blogs through our website. I will be in more regular contact soon.

Love you all and miss you heaps!

Hugs and a big sailor's kiss

Ursula xx

Message in a Bottle

So much has happened – I don’t know where to start, and I have so much to talk about and share. I think I’ve probably taken living in the moment to the extreme. I’ve had no connection to anyone in any way, except for the 20 people with whom I live, as if they are my family. I’ve been trying not to think about my past too much, and have not for a moment thought about a life after the race, even though I’ve missed Calca, Jess, my friends, and my house more than I can explain. I’ve just thoroughly focused on what needs to be done right now, and getting through the next watch. This has been a strange experience in terms of a time concept and most days I have had no idea of the date or day of the week. Hours have started consisting of watch systems and the time to your next feed and sleep. And so, watch systems have flowed into days, and days into weeks. I can’t believe I have been at sea for over three weeks since this race start in Brest in France!

The start of this race for PSP Logistics and Team Excellence has been good (we were in the top three), but we slipped into 10th position when we went through the doldrums. It was part of our plan though – not necessarily slipping so far down the rankings, but we had a strategy for our course, and we stuck to it. It took determination and perseverance to push through, and now that we have a good chance of a podium position, we are very excited. The tension and anticipation is palpable. We have three or four days to go before we reach Rio, probably about 4 days ahead of the last boats. That is a huge lead. They even changed the next race start date because the last boats are so far behind. I am stoked to be part of such a great crew and to be a leading boat. Please cross fingers for us – we so want to win this race and we stand a good chance,  as you might have seen if you followed our progress on the race tracker!!!

Despite all the  challenges I am incredibly happy and enjoying every moment! What else could I do if I am one of only three women on a boat with18 lovely men!!!!

I plan on getting my own email systems sorted in Rio and will then send you updates on all the various aspects of my life on this boat.


Note: This post has been written by Ursula onboard the PSP Logistics clipper in the Atlantic and sent to me,Trevor Kemper, via another crew member's email access to me for posting. Ursula has not had the funds to pay for the expensive internet access (this might be a good time to click on the 'donate' button on this page) for more regular and detailed posts from Ursula. I am happy to take any questions and forward on brief messages, just comment below.

From Slimy Pollywog to Shellback - Race 2 of leg 1 started September 9

The ceremony of Crossing the Line is an initiation rite in various Navies to commemorate a sailor's first crossing of the equator. Seasoned sailors (Shellbacks) would use the initiation ceremony to test and roughen up their new shipmates (Slimy Pollywogs) to withstand the long harsh times at sea.

September 9, 2013 we start Race 2 from Brest, France to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - crossing the Atlantic ocean and the equator, with three weeks in total at sea covering 4812 sea miles. Wild weather to start with - they warned us already to take our sea sickness tablets :-(   and then we will catch the trade winds toward the warm weather and the equator. I don't look forward to the heat and the doldrums, but they say that when a squall hits we can grab our shampoo, head up on deck to have a shower - yeah! Of course, us Slimy Pollywogs will also experience the line crossing ceremony when King Neptune will perform the initiation rite and cover us in slop so that we can become proud Shellbacks.

It's going to be hard, it's going to be fun - it's going to be an experience!!!!!

Click here for a live view of our current position!

(Estimated arrival in Rio is October 1)

PSP Logistics crew upon arrival in Brest.

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!

Back on board - updates on our training, sailing schedule and how to track our progress on the race to follow

I apologise for not updating my blog for a while now - we have been busy with training and I have only returned back to 'reality' a week ago. Since I left Australia I have been on three training courses, over a four week period,  and gaining a lifetime of experiences. I am now in London working my last few weeks for IBM (what an amazing company that puts so much trust in their employees and allows so much flexibility), and then I am helping take our boat from Gosport to London two weeks before race start on the 1st of September.

In the next couple of weeks I will update you on various aspects of the training and what living on a boat will be like whilst on the race - bunking/sleeping, eating, working as a crew, watch schedule, heads (the toilets), cooking for 22 while the boat is keeled over at a 45degree angle, etc. Watch this space.

At the moment I am staying in Greenwich while I am waiting for the time to fly - such an interesting little place with a very rich maritime history. It's also famous for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian (0 degrees longitude) and the Greenwich Mean Time.

I walked around town and was in awe of Cutty Sark - a British Clipper tea trade ship built in 1869  (where our Clipper race name comes from) that is permanently dry docked at Greenwich and on public display.

Because speed was so important for merchant boats the tea clippers raced against each other - this race became a popular betting event. Cutty Sark was one of the fastest tea clippers and also one of the last as the sail boat era came to an end to make way for steam ships.

She had a great reputation as holding the record time for taking wool from Australia to Britain for ten years. Improvements in steam technology however meant that sailing ships were sold off and Cutty Sark was taken over by a Portuguese company. A retired sea captain then bought her to use as a training boat.

Those sailors must've been amazing to figure out all those sheets and halyards - I get confused on the 70 foot yachts we sail. Cutty Sark was 212 feet and 5 inches! While being on watch in the pitch dark and early hours of the morning I was thinking how incredibly brave and adventurous they must've been to have sailed with so little 'technology' to their advantage.

The Cutty Sark when she was under full sail

The Cutty Sark figurehead is a carving of Nannie Dee, the nickname of the witch in one of Robert Burns' poems, who chases Tam O'Shanter (a drunk farmer) and grabs at his horse's tail. The stark white carving of Nannie Dee, bare-breasted and holding the grey tale of the horse captivated me. The poem describes her as wearing a Scottish linen sark, which refers to a short (cutty) undergarment that she had as a child and was thus even shorter. While on training level 2 and 3 I was referred to as the bow lady or figurehead because I loved being on the bow and foredeck. I didn't let any opportunity go by to work on the pulpit or sit on the bow sprit. I think my position on the deck has been established. Whether I will be so brave and keen when powerful waves wash over the deck and icy winds blow right through me, is still to be seen.