What did I like and dislike about the whole sailing adventure?... frankly I can't really answer the likes when I was onboard. There was so much misery when I was onboard... at least for the first week. I really hope a helicopter will come and rescue me at that moment.
Nevertheless, here's a quick way to introduce sailing to all my non-sailing friends. Whether you like or dislike it at the end of reading my blog... I leave it to you.
Top 5 LIKES!
1. The Crew - the best selection of people I could have. The local and international mix had been good....at least for my leg. We didn't really have nasty and mad crew like the other boats. I've enjoyed every moment onboard with them. Some of the local guys are now my brothers - they cared for me and were worried that I might survive through the 22 days trip. Well in the end, I did. I'm now their little sister and am always the target of teases and jokes.
2. Noodles cooked in all styles - my team mate who is the 'zi-cha' man cooks very delicious noodles. In fact, all the noodles that we ate were cooked when we were doing the graveyard shifts (11pm to 3am or 3am to 7am). The nights were so cold that we were always hungry. A bowl of warm noodles does miracles in your stomach and keep us awake for the rest of the watch that we were in.
3. The sea/sunrise/sunsets - An immensely beautiful place with a constant changing scenery. The sea can be fierce, calm, dark, light, forgiving, relentless, and unpredictable. One of the last true wildernesses on earth. Every sunrise and sunset is different. Simply magnificient!!
4. The first cold beer once you reach land.... just shiok!!
5. Spinnakers (sails with big belly for downwinds) - I know this appears on my dislikes list below but the speed and adrenaline rush when you surf off a wave is very special. This sail is much needed for faster boat speed depening on the wind direction. Definitely a love - hate relationship!
Top 5 DISLIKES
1. Spinnakers - it's probably the same kind of worry as a parent and their children. I worry about it during the hoist, whilst it flies, when we drop it and even when we pack it. When it's flying I wake up fearing that we might have torn the sail, blown a halyard, broached - the list is endless.
2. Visiting the toilet whils at an angle - never easy! Try it - One hand holding onto a bar and the other taking off whatever you need to remove and putting them on thereafter. Flushing as soon as the stuff comes out so that they don't flow out when a wave hits the boat - you never know.
3. Cooking whilst on an angle - just as you think you are balanced and have everything in position, wham a wave hits, everything moves and if you are lucky everything is still on the work surface (somewhere!). And getting bruises on your pelvic bones as you need to lean forward to work on the surface.
4. Being woken up to go on watch just as yo uhit deep sleep
5. The food - simply I hate CANNED foods now. Everything anything that is canned - I will not eat them in the next 6 months - at least. Three items I HATE most - SMASH instant mash, baked beans and sausages... they are disgusting. The saddest meal I ever had was spaghetti with ketchup sauce only.
Having listed my dislikes however I must say that this experience wouldn't be the same without them, so really they could just be at the lower end of my 'likes' list and I am missing them now that I returned to civilisation. Although a note to anyone who I may live with in future - I don't need to be woken up at 3am just to 're-live' the experience - thank you very much!
That's pretty much my sailing adventure. Being on land was much needed after all that 'suffering' on the ocean, hence holidays in Perth this time were very memorable. From the moment I arrived land at Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour, I was drinking every single day of my stay in Australia.
What made the whole adventure memorable and bearable?? It's the people. Without the team and all other crew, I would not have such unforgettable memories.
Cheers to Uniquely Singapore team.... and crew from other cities whom I know.
As I write this, I know you are preparing the boat for the leg from Singapore to Qingdao. I'm sorry I will be missing all the adventures but I can't wait to hear all the stories again! Same words... sail safely!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Conjunctivities
It's miserable enough to be constantly taking on medication for my cough and phlegm and NOW I have conjunctivities.... and worst still stuck in office working on the event flow and emcee script.
I seriously hope that it's the end of my bad luck for the year of Rooster.... it was simply a year full of illnesses. I spent half of 2005, coughing away. Going for the sailing adventure should have done some good... though I think the fresh air helped my cough. But coming back to Singapore at the end of trip seem to bring on more ailments.... a cough that never recovered, phlegm that just stays in my lungs and now I have conjunctivities.... can I blame it on the Singapore air or the office work environment? is dreading to work and stress making me frail? I wonder?
DARN!!! Pls pray that I recover by tonight cos I want to send the guys off tomorrow.... the boats will leave Singapore at 10.30am.
................ and I don't want to do house visiting with bloody-red eyes....
I seriously hope that it's the end of my bad luck for the year of Rooster.... it was simply a year full of illnesses. I spent half of 2005, coughing away. Going for the sailing adventure should have done some good... though I think the fresh air helped my cough. But coming back to Singapore at the end of trip seem to bring on more ailments.... a cough that never recovered, phlegm that just stays in my lungs and now I have conjunctivities.... can I blame it on the Singapore air or the office work environment? is dreading to work and stress making me frail? I wonder?
DARN!!! Pls pray that I recover by tonight cos I want to send the guys off tomorrow.... the boats will leave Singapore at 10.30am.
................ and I don't want to do house visiting with bloody-red eyes....
Handphone misery
arghhh.... it's been more than a week and I am still whining about the lost of all my handphone data.
Thanks to 'bloody' - pardon the language (no offence) aussies for dunking me into the water... i am so upset over the lost of my data in the handphone. The photos that I took in Durban and Fremantle are all wept out...
I sent my phone to Nokia Service Centre last Wednesday hoping that they could salvage the memories in the phone. But only to receive a call on Monday to say that " Sorry Ms Loh, you handphone is beyond repair. Pls come and collect your phone at your convenience...." Darn... imagine my disappointment.... I had too many good memories of my adventures stored in that phone.... boo hoo hoo.
Oh well, it seem like I didnt have very good luck this year... or I should say a combination of good and bad.
I am now using my sister's Samsung phone which I have problems getting used to... I'm too faithful to Nokia and never used any other models besides Nokia - Nokia should reward having such an avid client...hahaha.
I am looking at another model... any suggestions? It took me so long to finally change my nokia 6610 to Nokia 6101 .... and now I have to fuss over another model that I fancy.....
Thanks to 'bloody' - pardon the language (no offence) aussies for dunking me into the water... i am so upset over the lost of my data in the handphone. The photos that I took in Durban and Fremantle are all wept out...
I sent my phone to Nokia Service Centre last Wednesday hoping that they could salvage the memories in the phone. But only to receive a call on Monday to say that " Sorry Ms Loh, you handphone is beyond repair. Pls come and collect your phone at your convenience...." Darn... imagine my disappointment.... I had too many good memories of my adventures stored in that phone.... boo hoo hoo.
Oh well, it seem like I didnt have very good luck this year... or I should say a combination of good and bad.
I am now using my sister's Samsung phone which I have problems getting used to... I'm too faithful to Nokia and never used any other models besides Nokia - Nokia should reward having such an avid client...hahaha.
I am looking at another model... any suggestions? It took me so long to finally change my nokia 6610 to Nokia 6101 .... and now I have to fuss over another model that I fancy.....
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Juicy bits - Starting from Durban
The whole 'Clipper' experience is not just about sailing. It includes the joining and signing off ports, the parties and functions that took place at these ports and personal holidays.
Well since I joined the boat in Durban, let's start with Durban... what did I do and what did I see? Guess pictures will be the best way to show.
Where we went...?
I went to a little town off Durban city called Umdloti (pronounced as Um-shlod-tee) with my team mate. It was about 30 minutes drive from the Durban city centre where the boats are berthed.
I stayed at Dolphin View Bed & Breakfast place. It only cost me 220 Rands (aprrox S$66.00) per night. For 2 persons, we paid 440 Rands per night for a 2-bedroom cottage with living room and kitchen and continental breakfast. That was a very good deal. Visit the web for more information. http://www.dolphinview.net/
This is the view of the pool from the little courtyard where we had our breakfast every morning. The best entertainment for breakfast was daily visit by the dolphins - the B & B places delivers the name of its place - Dolphin View.
Indeed! I saw dolphins jumping out of the water every now and then and performing stunts - seems like they knew that there had to cheer a sick person.
The weather
Lovely weather. We had lovely sunshine in the day and temperature is probably about 20 deg cel. According to the locals,the summer had not really been their usual summer. At night it was chilly, temperatures dip to about 12-15 deg cel. I like such weather.
Our favourite restaurant cum bar - Bush Tavern.
We went there for lunch and dinner for 3 days. By the end of our trip I believe we tried every main course that were available on their menu.
The waitress who served us was a very pretty dark Indian with a very white set of teeth. She is a very small petite woman who is 7 months pregnant - very sexily pregnant... if I were to describe my impression of her. I can't quite recall her name but she definitely made us feel very welcomed to this little town. She served us every time we were there for our meals and gave me tips on what to take for my cough.
The long beach walks...
Oooo.... it's simply amazing walking on the coastline of South Africa.
The Indian Ocean waves pounding onto the shores. Numerous kite-surfers surfing on the ocean.
On different days, different wind direction and speeds brought different view.
I liked all the long walks that I had with my team mate and another aussie crew whom we met while having lunch at the cafes. The walks probably helped me to tone up my calf muscles - 3 hours of walk in one day on sand is no kidding!
Coolest vehicle - Beach Buggy
Nigel drove the most "coolest" car and I sat at the back where there weren't any 'proper' seats at all. He used torn settees over the metal frame of the car.
He was the cool guy... he brought me to the Natal Shark Board for a tour. There was live demostration of cutting a dead shark and ooohhh... the pungent smell of ammonia from the stomach is disgusting.
Braai - BBQ in Africaans
We were invited by two local white South Africans to their sky-diving range for braai - the local version of bbq. How we were invited? Well, guess must be my charms...hahahha so not shy!! My team-mate and I were having dinner at Bush Tavern on the second night of our stay in Umdloti. 2 locals sitting in the next table walked up to us after staring for a good hour. They asked if we were from Singapore. Well, no prizes for guessing right... but we had been the odd tourists in this little town. We stood out. In fact, our walks on the streets were met with long stares.... we definitely looked like some aliens to the young children.
Any how, the two guys were - Dale and Ralph. They joined us for after dinner drinks and we chatted till almost midnight.... and before the night ended, they extended invitation to us to join them and their friends for braai at their sky-diving range which is about 5km away from the town.
Looking back - we had been really brave to go for the braai with people that we barely know. The place where we had the braai was so so desserted. It didn't have proper roads, it was total darkness in the grasslands... we absolutely have no idea where we were and no means of getting ourselves out of that range. Luckily for us, we met a crew from the Western Australia boat in the day and asked him along. So it was 2 guys and me... not that by having more of us means less danger.
Well, we were treated with local delights of barbecued meat & sausages - Ooooo...actually there was nothing for me to eat cos the meat were all beef. There was nothing I could drink as well - cos only beer was served. Being sick with cough and allergic to beef, I basically went on diet that night. What a braai indeed!!!
My Next Adventure - Tandem Jump
Despite hearing the recent Singaporean skydiver who died when the reserve parachute fail to open, I think I might still give tandem jump a try... at least once.
Sending off....
here's me onboard US leaving the Point Yacht club... was a spectacular send off. There were thousands of people at the harbour front and hundreds of boats as send off party.
Well since I joined the boat in Durban, let's start with Durban... what did I do and what did I see? Guess pictures will be the best way to show.
Where we went...?
I went to a little town off Durban city called Umdloti (pronounced as Um-shlod-tee) with my team mate. It was about 30 minutes drive from the Durban city centre where the boats are berthed.
I stayed at Dolphin View Bed & Breakfast place. It only cost me 220 Rands (aprrox S$66.00) per night. For 2 persons, we paid 440 Rands per night for a 2-bedroom cottage with living room and kitchen and continental breakfast. That was a very good deal. Visit the web for more information. http://www.dolphinview.net/
This is the view of the pool from the little courtyard where we had our breakfast every morning. The best entertainment for breakfast was daily visit by the dolphins - the B & B places delivers the name of its place - Dolphin View.Indeed! I saw dolphins jumping out of the water every now and then and performing stunts - seems like they knew that there had to cheer a sick person.
The weather
Lovely weather. We had lovely sunshine in the day and temperature is probably about 20 deg cel. According to the locals,the summer had not really been their usual summer. At night it was chilly, temperatures dip to about 12-15 deg cel. I like such weather.
Our favourite restaurant cum bar - Bush Tavern.
We went there for lunch and dinner for 3 days. By the end of our trip I believe we tried every main course that were available on their menu.
The waitress who served us was a very pretty dark Indian with a very white set of teeth. She is a very small petite woman who is 7 months pregnant - very sexily pregnant... if I were to describe my impression of her. I can't quite recall her name but she definitely made us feel very welcomed to this little town. She served us every time we were there for our meals and gave me tips on what to take for my cough.
The long beach walks...
Oooo.... it's simply amazing walking on the coastline of South Africa.
The Indian Ocean waves pounding onto the shores. Numerous kite-surfers surfing on the ocean.On different days, different wind direction and speeds brought different view.
I liked all the long walks that I had with my team mate and another aussie crew whom we met while having lunch at the cafes. The walks probably helped me to tone up my calf muscles - 3 hours of walk in one day on sand is no kidding!
Coolest vehicle - Beach Buggy
Nigel drove the most "coolest" car and I sat at the back where there weren't any 'proper' seats at all. He used torn settees over the metal frame of the car.
He was the cool guy... he brought me to the Natal Shark Board for a tour. There was live demostration of cutting a dead shark and ooohhh... the pungent smell of ammonia from the stomach is disgusting.
Braai - BBQ in Africaans
We were invited by two local white South Africans to their sky-diving range for braai - the local version of bbq. How we were invited? Well, guess must be my charms...hahahha so not shy!! My team-mate and I were having dinner at Bush Tavern on the second night of our stay in Umdloti. 2 locals sitting in the next table walked up to us after staring for a good hour. They asked if we were from Singapore. Well, no prizes for guessing right... but we had been the odd tourists in this little town. We stood out. In fact, our walks on the streets were met with long stares.... we definitely looked like some aliens to the young children.
Any how, the two guys were - Dale and Ralph. They joined us for after dinner drinks and we chatted till almost midnight.... and before the night ended, they extended invitation to us to join them and their friends for braai at their sky-diving range which is about 5km away from the town.
Looking back - we had been really brave to go for the braai with people that we barely know. The place where we had the braai was so so desserted. It didn't have proper roads, it was total darkness in the grasslands... we absolutely have no idea where we were and no means of getting ourselves out of that range. Luckily for us, we met a crew from the Western Australia boat in the day and asked him along. So it was 2 guys and me... not that by having more of us means less danger.
Well, we were treated with local delights of barbecued meat & sausages - Ooooo...actually there was nothing for me to eat cos the meat were all beef. There was nothing I could drink as well - cos only beer was served. Being sick with cough and allergic to beef, I basically went on diet that night. What a braai indeed!!!
My Next Adventure - Tandem Jump
Despite hearing the recent Singaporean skydiver who died when the reserve parachute fail to open, I think I might still give tandem jump a try... at least once.
Sending off....
here's me onboard US leaving the Point Yacht club... was a spectacular send off. There were thousands of people at the harbour front and hundreds of boats as send off party.
is it achievement?
Frankly this blog had been sitting on my draft folder for a long time... I had been thinking how to write my whole adventure. There are simply too much to tell and I do not have any idea how to even start penning.
Personally the finish at Fremantle brought a different set of emotions as it saw the completion of my 'Clipper' experience. I originally did not expect myself to cry when the boat come into the harbour as crowds cheer us on. I predicted that the hardest aspect of the race would be watching the boats leave Fremantle without me on January 1st. But I was not spot on at all.
When I first saw one of my team mate, Sally tearing away when we arrived at the harbour, my eyes turned red. In my heart I truly felt her sense of achievement and I saw my own achievement too. She is a 62 year old retired nurse who did legs 1, 2 and 3. I really admired her courage and perserverance that lasted 3 legs and across the Atlantic Ocean twice and across Indian Ocean and sailed on Southern Oceans. These oceans are well-known for their big waves and strong winds.
My tears just rolled when the other lady (my watch has 7 of us and 2 girls including me) in my watch, Girl Meng (we decided to call the two Mengs this way - the other is Boy Meng) hugged me real tight and said 'Well done, you made it!' Her words struck me hard and I cried uncontrollably. The hardest moments were during the days that I was very sick. So surviving the pneumonia, the subsequent many cold nights' sail, endless numbers of vomiting, the hard work on deck (even on days that I had no food and water and was weak I still manage to work on the sails and ropes), the occasions of horrible food (not able to eat beef limits my choices) made me realise my personal sense of achievement too. The very first day when we set sail, I developed fever in the late afternoon (few hours after we left Durban) which means my pneumonia could have worsen or medication taking its effects. Even with fever, I was not bedridden (which was a good thing). Unfortunately the antibiotics had side effects - it is said to cause nausea and tiredness. The biggest question I had was whether my vomiting was caused by the medication or from seasickness. I know I have seasickness but never such a serious one that last for 7-8 days. In the days under medication, I was also taking seasickness pills (non-drowsy-type) which never worked and I was sedated most of the time. My guess was that the antibiotics for my pneumonia is causing most of my vomiting cos by the 4th day I stopped taking them (not intentionally but purely because I could not stomach any thing into my system) and I actually felt better on day 6 onwards. I remember clearly cos I attempted to do mother (mothers are in-charge of cooking and cleaning of the common areas such as sitting area, toilets and kitchen) on day 7 - which was my turn and Girl Meng did ask me to change if I really feel that I cannot do it. I was feeling better so I pushed myself to make meals for the team. Girl Meng had been the only one who took care of me and ensure that I took my medicine and she took whatever I needed for me. She passed water and food when I needed them and even plastic bags when I needed to throw up when in the bunks area.
Oh.... one of the shots of me sleeping at saloon... I didn't make it to my bunk area!!
In one sentence - the hardest aspect of my misery is to manage the feelings of others onboard.
Oh.... one of the shots of me sleeping at saloon... I didn't make it to my bunk area!!
In one sentence - the hardest aspect of my misery is to manage the feelings of others onboard.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
3 days into 2006... and after race 5 starts
HAPPY 2006 to all... Finally home after being away from home for 7 weeks... though I returned earlier than planned. Here's just a welcome note back... and I will be writing my adventures in my next blog.
It's only 3 days after sending the team off and I am constantly thinking of what goes onboard...just because I've been through a leg and I can envisage the things that could be happening onboard. And I also miss everyone terribly.
Go US... I hope you guys do well in coming into home port
It's only 3 days after sending the team off and I am constantly thinking of what goes onboard...just because I've been through a leg and I can envisage the things that could be happening onboard. And I also miss everyone terribly.
Go US... I hope you guys do well in coming into home port
Saturday, November 12, 2005
all happening too soon
This shall be my last entry for the year 2005. There will always be lots of thoughts from me especially when the year is ending.
Looking at my last blog was 25 Oct.. which was quite some time ago. I completely forgot about my webblog. There had been too much activities going around since I last blog and too busy to think of anything. And the reason why I can blog this is because I came back to office on a Saturday afternoon to tie up lots of loose ends.
Just to pen some note before I fly off to Durban to join the Uniquely Singapore boat... All's happening too soon and I still can't believe that I will be sailing across the Indian Ocean now. Just a note to friends who follow my blog and my developments in my life. I didn't have a chance to meet up with a lot friends in the last couple of months and I hope to do so when I return in January 2006. I'm sure by then, I will fill you with my adventures and stories of the Indian Ocean.
Till then folks...
take care and have a wonderful Christmas and Happy 2006!!!
Looking at my last blog was 25 Oct.. which was quite some time ago. I completely forgot about my webblog. There had been too much activities going around since I last blog and too busy to think of anything. And the reason why I can blog this is because I came back to office on a Saturday afternoon to tie up lots of loose ends.
Just to pen some note before I fly off to Durban to join the Uniquely Singapore boat... All's happening too soon and I still can't believe that I will be sailing across the Indian Ocean now. Just a note to friends who follow my blog and my developments in my life. I didn't have a chance to meet up with a lot friends in the last couple of months and I hope to do so when I return in January 2006. I'm sure by then, I will fill you with my adventures and stories of the Indian Ocean.
Till then folks...
take care and have a wonderful Christmas and Happy 2006!!!
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