Message From Ian Deas

i am writing this blog on the boats email system which does not have a spell-check so I aoplogise in advance for any spelling errors. I am also not able to post any photos so this will have to wait until we reach Salvador which is about 3,400 miles away. Check Clippers website under Durban crew as we posted a blog there that included a photo of me on deck whist we were surfing down some rather rough seas.

We had a rousing send off from Liverpool with thousands of people lining Albert Dock and the banks of the Mersey River. As predicted the winds picked up for our start and if anyone followed our web-ste you will notice that we were first across the start line. Unfortunately we were 5th across the finish line on the first mini-leg to La Rochelle. Actually were were very pleased with our finish as we had sailed conservatively through some high winds and rough seas in order to preserve our sails for the marathon ahead.
La Rochelle is a very pretty medieval town that is the sailing capital of France. We thoroughly enjoyed the French food and wine during our 3 day stop. We are now somewhere off Portugal with the wind at our backs and making some decent speed. The system has just informed me that I am restricted to the length of each message so expect my blog to be about this length.

Ian

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Liverpool Start

It is now Friday afternoon and we are almost ready for the start of the race. I have been enjoying my last few luxuries and decided to stay in a hotel in Albert Dock. This is a photo from my room of the boats tied up to the pontoon - Durban is very colorful with plenty of South African flags strung from the forestays.



Tonight is the "Legendary" Crew Party (I am intrigued to find out why they call it legendary) and then tomorrow is mostly an off day - I may find a quiet little pub somewhere in Liverpool.

On Sunday we start slipping our berths at 11am and then need to make our way through a series of locks to get to the Mersey River in time for the start at 3pm. We are expecting some fairly strong winds so it should be an exciting race to La Rochelle in France - expected to only take 3 to 4 days. We then leave La Rochelle on Sunday the 23rd for a much longer haul to Salvador in Brazil.

Clipper announced today that Santa Cruz is going to be the North American stopover with the fleet arriving around the 6th of April. This is only about 100 miles south of Walnut Creek so expect to be spending a good part of the 10 days sleeping in my own bed. Unfortunately our new house is expected to be finished at the end of March so as much as I tried to avoid the move I may be spending the 10 days moving furniture. [I intend to send a separate email to our Contractor that any delays are ok]

Hopefully I will be able to post another blog from La Rochelle.

Training is Complete

I am writing this blog from the comforts of my home in Walnut Creek - no don't worry I have not decided to quit but have come home for a few days whilst the boats are being delivered from Gosport to Liverpool. To say that the weather in the UK was bad during my final training is an understatement but one of the comforts I have taken away is that these boats are designed for really adverse conditions so I will be in safe hands on my journey around the world over the next 10 months.

Clipper arranged for a photo shoot in the second week of my training and when the conditions were right they sent a helicopter out to take photos of the fleet. They wanted to show that this is no race for wimps so it had to be windy, big seas and we were asked to be overpowered - that is too much sail up. This photo is the result and there were some equally good ones of the other boats. I am sitting on the rail to the right of the guy above the N.



This photo is the scene on Durban with the crew on the rails on windward side, the skipper on the helm and the leeward rails almost in the water. Very wet but exhilarating.



The following day the weather system moved off and we had time to relax and enjoy the sunshine. Those who wanted to went to the top of the mast (not me) and took photos of the rest of the crew making sure they did not come to any harm. It was also a time where we could practice other skills such as recovering someone who had fallen overboard - hopefully also not me.......



On the final evening of my training we anchored off the Isle of Wight and enjoyed a spectacular sunset.



Upon our return to Gosport we spent a frantic week preparing the boat for the race. Fortunately the weather held up and we had lots of warmth and sunshine to prepare our new sails and rigging, provision for Leg 1 and conduct the many repairs and modifications that would make our lives a little more comfortable during the race. I also attended a 2 day "Sail Repair Course" and learnt how to use the Singer Sewing Machine we were provided with and how to repair a ripped sail.



This was the bunk I slept in during the 3 weeks I spent on board and is similar to the others. I don't mind the upper bunks as fortunately being tall is not really a hindrance for me. All the bunks have their advantages and disadvantages so we have decided to adopt a democratic system at the beginning of each leg and drawn names out of a hat for bunk selection.



I intend to spend the next few days at home repairing my body, tying up final loose ends and saying goodbye to my family whom I won't see again until Christmas in Australia.