Just some excerpts from the diaries...................
Boy Meng (the most courageous man onboard)
If you have been a loyal fan of the Uniquely Singapore diary, you would know that most of our conversations of late have revolved around each others' plans for "after the race". No longer. The hot new topic aboard is..."HEADS". No, not Zidane butting Materazzi with his head, but how the port heads are choked up, and how the starboard head's handle was ripped off shortly afterwards.
Having had to resort to the good old bucket method, yours truly decided to stick my head in and attempt to service the port heads.
Troubleshooting the blockage took only a mere 15 minutes. The outlet hose connecting the toilet bowl out to sea was choked with what looked like solidified concrete. Vincent (who was on mother watch) kindly volunteered to assist in unblocking the pipe. However, when we did a test run, (after ostensibly having cleared all blockages), I was blessed with a jet of remnant excrement, now fluid, via a leaking gasket. Horror of horrors, the "red plastic pieces" I had seen earlier turned out to be undigested chilly flakes! GROSS!
Five hours later, skunk-like, I started working on the port's heads (What did I have to lose? How much more could I reek?). This time lady luck, in the form of Rachel, kindly lent a hand, and all repairs were completed. You can imagine the relief (in more ways than one) when we received Richard's seal of approval after a "sea trial".
Return of morale was short-lived - our one and only working head was soon obstructed again - and we soon went back to passing out buckets of waste products and dumping them overboard. Picture this - guys clinging on for dear life, with one hand on the back stay trying to do their small business over the push pit, ignoring the bright yellow triangular warning on the Sat C antenna - DANGER MICROWAVE RADIATION MIN. Distance of 0.61 metres. Imagine also the looks of revulsion on the faces of our crew, faces red from embarrassment and blue from hypoxia (from not being able to breathe), whilst the more fortunate crew members sit back, commenting on the dietary and health status of those attempting to discreetly dispose of their cargo. All this whilst the more "experienced" crew direct operations, giving first-hand tips on our new heads system.
Girl Meng (the most romantic story that could happen... hahah)
As the Clipper fleet crosses the North Atlantic on the final leg of this Round The World, the thoughts of the crew and conversations on deck began to revolve around post race plans – what will you go back to? Alongside with it, came the anxieties of how we might have changed, how relationships would be affected and how the outside worlds have moved on – after all it has been a good nine months since we left Liverpool on 18 September 2005.
We all joined the Clipper race for different reasons – I have always given the reason that it was a ‘bloody good excuse to leave my job’ (pardon the language) – a stable, rewarding and interesting job at a non-profit organisation, The Singapore International Foundation – where I was feeling that I was becoming too comfortable and losing my edge. So I decided to make sailing around the world a personal odyssey. What did I find?
It has been an over 35,000 mile race, across wide oceans and big seas, landing on six continents and arriving in more than 12 cities. I met with people from diverse backgrounds and different walks of life and listened with humility about their life experiences and shared dreams that I would not imagined before. It has definitely allowed me to explore different worlds - and not just the maritime world; there is the inner world of the self and a close encounter with the globalized world of food. It has not been just plain sailing.
The boats themselves is another story for another time, the tales of high sea and close quartered living with 15 other people on a 68 feet yacht will remain as highlights of an epic adventure with its fair share of highs and lows. But I have enjoyed it enough to want to complete a yacht master training programme with a group of other Clipper sailors in Australia under the instruction of my skipper Richard Falks later in the year.
I fell in love. His name is Stephen Remiens, a kiwi who is sailing on the Durban Clipper. The romance began early in the race - Leg 2 stopover in Salvador, Brazil and it was laced with the usual notes, cards, emails, bouquets of flowers and chocolates. The exception being that the notes and chocolates was always neatly laid out on my bunk by an anonymous crew conspirator while we are out at sea. The emails flowed via seawave.net, a satellite based Internet system. The bouquet of carnations I received in Jamaica were ordered via internet and flown in from Colombia. The chocolates from goodie parcels received from home in New Zealand.
The relationship was strengthened with the long periods of absence at sea when we are racing and short days together exploring new places when we are on shore. It was an extraordinary time for both of us and so I was initially hesitant about our relationship. But at the finish of the race 8 from Victoria to Panama and whilst we were motor sailing after the race to the next port, Stephen jumped ship and proposed at the bow of Singapore Clipper at sunrise along the coast of Mexico. So we are now headed for new destinations after the race.
For me, it will be almost a year to date when the race finishes in Liverpool on 29 July 2006. I left Singapore on 10 August 2005 to join the Uniquely Singapore Clipper at Cardiff for my part C training and subsequently, the start of the race.
David Beevers
Life on board is perhaps a little different than previous legs. The daily routine is the same with the two watches going on and coming off watch. Short periods of sleep and then back to the deck for a further few hours etc,etc. However, this time around, the conversations seem different... the most common topic of discussion is… “What are we going to do once the race is over?”
For the round-the-worlders who have made the Yacht Uniquely Singapore their home for the past year, perhaps the question of what next is perhaps a little difficult to answer.
Certainly taking part in Clipper Round the World Yacht Race aboard Uniquely Singapore has been a fantastic adventure. It is difficult to put in words but for this past year , this race has become 'our life '. Not only for us personally, but also for our families at home who have been out of touch and only know where are and how we are by following the race website. It gets into your heart and soul and is difficult to put down. I have promised my mum and dad, and girlfriend that my next adventure will be somewhat more conventional and safer and will not take me away from home for so long. My love to you all for putting up with me!
James Lim aka Chef
A misfortune befell us yesterday early morning. At about 2am, one hour before watch change, we had an all-hands-on-deck call, because we ripped our 1.5oz spinnaker (a big sail used for downwind sailing usually) into two pieces. It was ripped along the old 'injury' line which was torn in Leg 5.
Within ten minutes, the bigger main portion that was dragging in the water was recovered, and the Yankee 1 (foresail which is similar in size to the main sail) was hoisted.
While we were reorganising the ropes, "Boy Meng" (one of the watch leaders) was sent up the 25m high mast to recover the smaller portion consisting the head of the spinnaker which was still stuck up there. It was no mean feat! The boat was travelling at 10 knots and heeling at about 10 to 15 degrees to one side which was common with foresail.
Furthermore, it was dark and windy - wind speed at about 22 knots. So everyone was very glad that he managed to bring the remaining sail down safely, and praised him for a job well done.
With the halyards free, we could then hoist the 2.5oz heavy weight spinnaker and brought the Yankee 1 down, all in just 8 minutes. As expected, the boat speed was not as good as before. Thus, the next job on hand would be to repair the torn kite.
Round the clock in the salon, the repair team consisting girl Meng and three other crew, started cleaning the torn edges with alcohol. Then the edges were trimmed and joined together using the sail repair tape. Last but not least, sewing machine was used to reinforce the repaired portion. To me the workmanship was comparable to the sail repair professionals. That was why everyone from the skipper, watch leaders to the crew said it was a job well done.
To win a race, other than good tactics, team work, sea state and boat condition (well maintained equipment) play a part too. However, the most important factor is the weather. It is the element that makes a boat move.
Susan Tai aka Dentist
It was during the North Pacific Leg when my fingers and toes were practically numb most of the time due to the extreme temperature of about -25 degrees Celsius with wind chill factor.
That was an unforgettably tough leg. Firstly, we were short of crew. Instead of 18, we had only 12. In addition, half the crew were down either because of broken ribs, broken vertebrae, torn ligaments and other injuries or sick or other excuses. Some just refused to go on deck for watches as they were exhausted or afraid of the conditions on deck.
The bad weather and the coldness didn't help. We had splashes and waves coming onto the boat almost all the time. Everything was wet, we were drenched on deck and below deck damp due to leakages and condensation. Even my little hiding place, my bunk, which was supposed to be the coziest place on board to me, was wet and uncomfortable.
I resorted to my sleeping bag, fully zipped, liked a larva in a cocoon. The moment it was unzipped, cold gusts of wind set in and you would have to brace yourself to face the cold, cold world outside. So it was no wonder that the wake up call for watch change was the most dreaded moment that leg. To me, it was a matter of mind over body. One really had to be mentally strong to be able to push oneself to go on watch, or would end up hiding in the bunk most of the time like some did.
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