to read Adrian`s blog - Marina at Keppel Bay

Day 0 GMT -5 1800hrs | 23 May 2010 | Sunday
Entertaining pre-race briefing
Tomorrow is the day that I‟ve waited for for a full one year!
We just had our pre-race briefing done. It was absolutely hilarious!!!
Sometime back in Race 6, there was a “dare-challenge” between boats and it
was Uniquely Singapore and Jamaica‟s turn to take up to the challenge this
time around.
Cross-dressed as sexy swimmers for a synchronised swimming challenge,
Heston and Nick from Uniquely Singapore were totally game for it! It was so
funny from the moment they started to don on their wig, dress and make-up!
The whole 5-minute skit even involved our very own Skipper Jim Dobie as
part of the props where he was turned round and round by the synchronised
swimmers! They achieved a good score of 11 out of a possible 13!
The Uniquely-Jamaica Synchronised Swimming Team!
(L-R, Heston US, Andrew H&H, Nick US, Pete JLB)
That‟s me with Heston (Andrew Jones).
Day 1 GMT -5 0800hrs | 24 May 2010 | Monday
Preparing to leave Jamaica for New York
24 May has finally arrived. Everyone‟s up in high spirits and ready to WIN this
race to New York. This is expected to be a short 9-day sprint in relatively light
wind conditions till we reach the Bahamas.
I woke up and reached the marina early to contribute towards race
preparations. I scouted around the area and managed to find a delicate place
to put my embroidery skills to good use  Having been trained by my mum,
who was a seamstress in her younger days, needlework seems to work well
for me, except for the fact that this was done with not just needles and
thread but pliers, hammers and screwdrivers too. I guess it‟s kind of a fusion
of skills that I‟ve acquired – domestic skills at home, and my building work in
the office.
After the sail had been duly repaired, we were good to go.
That‟s what you would call a nice trim Stephanie, literally!
(Hairdresser – Ruth, Leg 6 & 7)
Waiting patiently at the starting line, we whizzed off to a cool start in 4th
position. That‟s a cool motivational moment to cherish. Even though a few
minutes may not matter much in a race spanning weeks on end, who knows..
It just might end up being the most important minutes of the race.
Let‟s put our hands together and pray hard we would be able to fly our
Singapore Flag up high! 3 Cheers to a great start!
Here‟s wishing all of us fair winds and great weather for an unforgettable
journey.
We “CAN–DO!!” it!!!!
Day 2 | 25 May 2010 | Tueday
En Route to New York
It‟s a day of planning for us today. As briefed by Skipper Jim Dobie, how
we‟re gonna get around the island would probably determine how we perform
in this race. We decided to go ahead with the basics… The shortest and most
direct route through the reefs…
And the competition begins…
At this moment, we can still see each other at the horizon, a peep of white
sail and a speck of light at night. The pressure is now on. It seems that the
critical factor appears to be the islands before the drag race up to New York.
First target of the race, Australia!
Australia and Finland have managed to pull away from the fleet and have
headed far ahead and disappeared into the horizon. It appears they are
heading towards the west of the islands, covering more distance, but have a
higher chance of stronger wind, with our course differing from theirs. Should
we follow suit or should we stick to the shortest route and pray hard for the
results? Are they making the right decision? Time will tell…
Day 3 | 26 May 2010 | Wednesday
Planning is the key to success
Our plans not to follow the race leaders towards the west of the islands paid
off. We did it! We emerged from the islands on par with Cape Breton as equal
firsts. That‟s quite an achievement!
Podium Win, here we come!!!
Whew…!!! We were crawling along at a mere 3-4 knots of speed and have no
idea how the others who headed the other way fared all along. Well, it
appears they did no better than us in speed, but because of the route they
chose, they‟re covering much more miles, hence pushing them back into the
middle positions. Guess the basics still works. Lesser distance = lesser risks.
That‟s me at the Helm, cruising at 8.3Kts!
Oh! By the way, we had a very interesting „argument‟ with a cruise ship called
the „Ocean Queen‟ or something like that today. We were heading towards a
collision course and we asked for them to give way to us. The conversation
was almost as per follows, „You give way‟.. And we replied, „No, you give
way‟. They came back with a „negative, you give way‟ and we state we‟re a
sailing vessel before they sounded pissed off and turned 2 degrees away to
let us pass behind them. Haha.. We joked this move must have probably cost
them £10,000 of fuel!
That‟s Bruce, our “Duracell Bunny” Yachtmaster onboard who fought for our
right of way! Mygosh this guy has an endless stream of energy packed in him!
Gosh… the memory of seasickness is coming back to me. After a good race
day on Day 1, I‟m down with seasickness, just like during the training days a
full year ago. But the good thing amongst all is how fast I can always recover
after every attack. All I need to do is vomit, and I‟ll be up and running almost
instantaneously.. For the next at least 3-4 hours before I turn green again.
Haha…
Day 4 | 27 May 2010 | Thursday
Naughty naughty naughty.
We‟re beginning to realise that while we see fellow boats on the horizon, we
can‟t seem to see them on the screen. I guess they have turned their AIS off,
so that nobody can track their speed and direction. That‟s a naughty move,
and very dangerous as well. It also means that ships which we see cruising
along once in a while will miss them on their screens as well. It is almost as
good as being in Stealth Mode. Well.. This is what happens when the rules
aren‟t set accurately.
Its spinnaker works downstream! Go! Singapore! Go!
I had a great chat with Nick yesterday and it turns out that he may be the
man I need to ask when I plan my honeymoon itinerary next year! Having
been living in London for the past few years, Nick knows the place inside out.
I‟m beginning to visualise the route we can possibly take from Singapore to
London, tracking down south to Paris, France and Switzerland, and perhaps
even Italy.
Guess this is one of the benefits of being part of an international crew team.
You get firsthand travel information on where to go, what to do, and what
not to be missed from the locals there. Cool! And he is a licensed sky-diver!
How cool is that!?! I love sky-diving! Once I get back on land, I‟m going to
plan for my next sky-diving trip soon! Gosh… I miss the adrenalin rush when
you jump off the plane!
Day 5 | 28 May 2010 | Friday
Drag Race, chasing Cape Breton down its tail.
I‟ve finally found my sea legs! Woo Hoo!!
After a good night‟s rest, I woke up feeling refreshed and thirsty, which is a
good sign for me. Soon, I‟ll be up and running with my camera again. Well,
that‟s kinda like an inside joke cos the guys who remembered me from
training, know I‟m always out and about with my camera, snapping loads of
pictures all day long.
No points for guessing correctly, but do you know what do sailors do when
they are bored out at sea?
This is Nick, our Tattoo Artist!
ARGHH!!! I‟m Laura, the Sailor Girl!
Ah.. Its the beginning of yet another watch. I suddenly realised how much I
miss my family and my fiancée. I wonder how they are doing right now. I‟m
pretty sure they will be tracking the race at every single opportunity for the
next 7 weeks to come. Gosh… It‟s been almost a week out at sea. Which
means.. I‟ve not bathed for a week too. Whew…. ! I know… I stink.. but so
does everyone else.. so, we‟re all equals yah! Haha..
We also had a very interesting encounter with an uninvited guest onboard the
boat. We were cruising along at a fast speed of approximately 9 knots with
Rachel at the helm, when suddenly we heard a scream “Get it off me!!
Arghhh!!!” We ha a great laugh when we realized that a flying fish rocketing
behind us at a minimum of 10 knots, had decided to pay us a visit from the
back of the boat and landed right smack at Rachel‟s ankle! Haha!!
Check out the length of its flying fins!!!
This was also the first time I had ever seen a flying fish and they really do
have massive wing-lookalike fins that appears to be as long as their body.
And my gosh… They really do stink!
Day 6 | 29 May 2010 | Saturday
After 5 days of racing spanning hundreds of miles…
It was a truly close fight and we crossed the scoring gate only 6 minutes
apart!
After 5 gruelling days of racing, during which everyone disappeared beyond
the horizons for days on end, leaving only CBI and US on the tracking screen,
it all boils down to a mere 600 metres apart at around 1400hrs.
That‟s Cape Breton just metres apart after 6 gruelling days of sailing at the
scoring gate!
CBI crossed the scoring gate only 600m, or less than a mere mile ahead of
us. Woah! That was real racing! It was true adrenalin rush in our blood and
with both boat‟s skippers on the helm at the last crossing hours to squeeze
out those extra knots.
It was supposed to be my turn to be on mother‟s watch today, but alas, I
woke up feeling cold and nauseous. The morning was terrible for me, feeling
seasick and suddenly facing rough seas as we approache NYC. Good thing
Hugh volunteered to swap mother‟s duties with me, allowing me to catch a
few hours‟ rest before the rush in the afternoon. This is indeed something I
wouldn‟t miss for the world. Hence deep down, thanks Hugh, you‟re a great
man!
My gosh.. He must be exhausted. Thank you Hugh, you‟re a great man!
Its approximately 23:24hrs now on 29 th May 2010, and we have over-taken
CBI by about 2 miles! Wow! That was really good news for us! Not being
complacent, we continued to tack CBI down to the details of their course,
speed and peculiarities to ensure we‟re ahead of them. 3 cheers to the team!
Day 7 | 30 May 2010 | Sunday
YES!!! WE’RE STILL NUMBER ONE on the leader board!
It‟s been a good week out at sea. It‟s Sunday! And we‟re basically drifting
somewhere out at sea, wishing for some wind god to perform its magic on
our boat. Well… the consolation is, CBI who is just in our vicinity isn‟t having
any miracle cure as well, cruising along at 5.1knots, which means we‟re pretty
much “in the same boat”. Haha..
We had a comical moment earlier in the morning at 0900hrs. Our good old
experienced RTWs were preparing a „hot‟ spinnaker hoist on deck, which
means we‟re not putting up the Yankee for a shade. When it was hoisted, we
were all shocked to see its head on its side. We had raised the spinnaker on
the wrong side. While all of us had a good light moment for a while, Skipper
Jim was obviously pissed off. But it was a great laugh. Cheers!
Our famous “Snake Pit” on the boat.
Oh my… it‟s still Sunday now… at 1600hrs… after 2 naps and 2 sets of duties.
Time seems to drag on when you‟re on the boat.
And… YES!!! WE’RE STILL NUMBER ONE on the leader board!
Its been a good 9 hours and we‟re still drifting. I have taken so many photos
and can‟t wait to upload them to share with friends and family once I reach
NYC! And Elizabeth… If you ever get to read this… Sorry dear… I lost your
email address, and to add to that, apparently, there isn‟t a boat email which I
can send the blogs from. I will sign up for an account when we‟re at NYC ok.
I promise you I will sort this out once I reach NYC. Cheers!
My gosh.. It was quite amazing how much you can achieve with not much
resources on hand! Check out this gorgeous chocolate cake baked by Rachel
below!
Can you believe this cake was baked onboard the Uniquely Singapore Boat?!
Our Baker and only medical trained personnel (Vet) onboard – Ruth (RTW)
“Would you like a piece of Hot Fudge chocolate cake, Sir?” – Simon (RTW)
1845hrs and we have just passed another gate, IN FIRST PLACE! If the race
were to end early, and we keep up this momentum, the race may well be
over in a mere 24 hours!!!
And the HEAT is ON!!!! GO FOR IT!!!
Day 8 | 31 May 2010 | Monday
We’re HUNGRY for the TOP SPOT!
It was an awesome night to begin with. I woke up at 2100hrs of 30th May
2010 to come on watch and the first sight I saw, was a shooting star flying
across the sky (well.. it‟s hugely exaggerated, but its still a little shooting star)
amongst the star-filled moonless sky!
By 2200hrs, the sights had changed and the orange moon had started to
ascend from the brim of the horizon. One word describes it all, Wow. It
immediately reminded me of the time I spent with my fiancée at New
Zealand‟s Star Observatory. Gosh.. I miss her so much.
0700hrs. We‟re now a mere 4.3 miles ahead of Cape Breton, after more than
a thousand miles away from the start line. Pretty amazing isn‟t it? How far we
have come and how close you are to the line dividing success and failure. In
my humble opinion, we are a very formidable team! We CAN-DO! it!
That‟s CV7 Cape Breton chasing us at our tail!
A few playful dolphins decided to swim alongside our boat at 0930hrs this
morning! My gosh… this is the first time I have seen any wild dolphins outside
the Singapore Zoo! And they do swim really fast. I whipped out my camera
and managed to capture a short video of them swimming by our boat and
blessing us with good luck for possibly the last 30 hours of the Race.
And.. A side note to Thomas, Karan and Bart, I owe Hugh 2 pints of beer
today!!! Why? Its for embarrassing reasons which you and I know which I
SHALL NOT EVER EVER MENTION AGAIN IN MY LIFE! HAHAHA!!! (You know
what it means when we talk about our big great Hugh!)
Its 1830hrs now, and Skipper Jim Dobie is definitely excited about this race.
We‟ve entered into the Helms Watch arena with only the star helmers on the
watch list. This is definitely the most critical 20 hours of the race with Cape
Breton breathing down our neck at a mere mile behind our tail! Good Lord!
After 8 days of racing, covering more than 1400miles across the vast sea,
they are only like 10 mins at our tail! Now, that is what you call ocean-racing!
We are going in for the kill! Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!
I woke up at 2000hrs, an hour ahead of my watch to find sound of Tussles
and Drags below deck. We‟re definitely going in for the kill! Approximately 14
hours before reaching the finishing line and we had decided to give it just
another slight push. I couldn‟t resist waking up early to help to shift ALL the
unused sails, ropes, ANYTHING that has weight, from the bow to the stern
zone.
All piled up and ready to Sprint!
The weather is getting colder, but the heat is now rated RED RED HOT!
Day 9 | 1 Jun 2010 | Tuesday
THE HEAT IS ON!!!!
0200hrs now and CBI is only slightly more than a mile away behind us. The
Star Helmers, Laura, Nick, Yachtmaster Bruce and Skipper Jim Dobie himself
are now on full helm watch to make sure the win is in the bag.
Finish Line!
It‟s a Sprint Race between CV7 Cape Breton and US all the way to the finish!!!
Its 1000hrs now and I THINK the win is in the bag! Cape Breton is now 4
miles behind us and we‟re cruising at an amazing speed of up to 15 knots!
1,426 miles, 7 days and 20 hours from the horn and we‟re only about 14
miles and slightly more than an hour to go!
GO! GO! GO! WE
CAN-DO! IT!!!
1128hrs (GMT -5) WE DID IT!!!
To everyone back home who have been following us on our journey, I am
glad to announce that
WE WON!!!!
Stay tuned for our NEXT VICTORY from New York to Cape Breton!!!
Cheerio!!!
1 Jun 2010 – 5 Jun 2010 | New York City Stopover
Leaving New York City
After a good 4 days in vibrant New York City, the day has finally arrived for us
to resume sailing once again! New York was an amazing stopover, living up to
its reputation as a city that never sleeps. Cars whizzed by and packed the
roads even in the dead of the night.
The Famous Bull at Wall Street, NYC.
The living standards here were pretty astonishing; leaving us to imagine just
how much do you need to earn to stay in a city like this. Simple hotels in
excess of US$200 a night, lunches and dinners at US$30-40 a meal, and a
triple tax system which we simply cannot comprehend.
Wall Street, the place to see and be seen!
With the help of fellow crewmember Ruth who has been staying in New York
for the past 6 years, I managed to learn to make my way in and around the
city using the well established subway system, which is very much akin to the
Singapore Mass Rapid Transit System back home.
Corporate Sailing – Youngest Captain in Clipper History
Yes, it‟s official; we have a young captain on board who will now officially
take the place as the youngest sailor and helmsman onboard the Uniquely
Singapore boat! John‟s little Captain Johnny! <Claps!!>
This is Captain Johnny at the Helm, assisted by Skipper Jim Dobie.
We had a successful corporate sail that went literally smooth sailing on 4 th
June 2010. Although the weather forecast showed it would be a stormy day,
there was only light wind and calm sea throughout the day. I finally managed
to meet up with John from Keppel and he was sharing with me that from the
moment we crossed the finish line, emails flew from halfway around the globe
and it was a moment of celebrations in the entire office.
Its time to Celebrate!!!
Following our successful run into NYC in first position [Claps!!!], we had an
amazing crew dinner right in the heart of New York City. It was a dinner not
to forget, with the live band playing the trademark song „We are the
Champion!‟ for us when we shared news of our win in Race 10! Yeah!!! We
did it!!!
It‟s time to celebrate!
Our Prize-giving ceremony was held at a ship called “The Frying Pan” at Pier
66, an astonishing historic ship which is docked at the pier and converted into
the best and most unique club I have ever seen in my life! The boat must
have been at least a century old and everything about it was rustic and felt
like antique to me! I love it so much!
That‟s what you call a Winning Team! Our first Yellow Pennant of Clipper 0910!!! Cheers!
We had our prize giving right at the bilge of the ship on the lowest deck on
board. I think the boat has 2 „basements‟ which B1 serves drink and B2 is a
now a dance hall. How cool is that!
Race Day 1 | 6 Jun 2010 | Sunday
Back to racing once again!
Its 0800hrs on a Sunday morning, the sky looks clear and we all looked set to
go! Everyone on board is enthusiastic about this sprint race from NYC to Cape
Breton Island and we do hope we CAN DO it once again!
It‟s Mother‟s Day for me today. Well, I hope all goes well for me. Starting the
first day as Mother, would inevitably means I will be severely down with seasickness due to the stuffiness and non-visual connection between what you
feel and what you see. Gosh..
That‟s me and Ben on Mother‟s watch today.
1500hrs and we‟re almost near the start line soon. I already had my first bout
of seasick attack even before we reach the line. Over the radio, we overheard
news about wind increasing from 15 knots which may increase to 30 knots
and to be on tornado watch! This is going to be such an exciting race!
The journey to the start line was almost like a scene from the perfect storm
with strong winds whipping onto our faces and big waves splashes onto the
deck, giving everything in its way a nice clean wash.
Race Day 2 | 7 Jun 2010 | Monday
Close fight once again!
After a good 24hours fight, we managed to pull out from the pack and
position ourselves into a favourable position, holding a perfect course on the
line towards Virtual Mark McNally which we will need to round before we
make our way straight towards Cape Breton Island.
We can basically see Race leader Australia at our bow, just over a mile away,
with California flanking our starboard side and Hull & Humber on our port
side, just a stone‟s throw away.
Boat Name
CV1 Edinburgh
CV2 Jamaica
CV3 Uniquely
Singapore
CV4 Cork
CV5 Finland
CV6 Qingdao
CV7 Cape Breton
CV8 Hull & Humber
CV9 Spirit of Aust
CV10 California
Current
Place
10
5
2
9
5
8
5
2
1
2
As can be seen above, other than Australia who is currently the Race Leader,
the 3 of us are fighting hard on the 2nd position, which at the 7 June 1200hrs
race schedule, showed all 3 of us on equal 2nds.
1800hrs and we have just rounded Virtual Mark McNally and will be on a
straight course to Cape Breton before a few turns into the finish line. We have
overtaken Finland and stay shy of California and emerged 3rd with Australia
pulling far away from the pack and Hull and Humber just behind the race
leader. We are only about a mile away from them. Based on speed, we are a
tiny notch faster than them and we should be able to make back the distance
over the next few hours.
Let‟s keep our fingers crossed for now…
We CAN DO it!!! Let the Black Horse Shine!
2200hrs, temperature has plummeted significantly. Ice cold wind starts
blowing at our faces as we kept a tight watch on the AIS and monitor every
single boat‟s Course and Speed. Optimistic that we can perform the same
magic again, our bodies are cold but the race is hot.
The temperatures have plumetted from a nice cool 28‟C in New York to a
biting 5‟C as we make our way to Cape Breton.
We have just over taken Australia and watched their light slowly changing
from white to red or green as we emerged as the leader of the pack!
Race Day 3 | 8 Jun 2010 | Tuesday
“So near, yet so far…”
The night began with us as the race leader. We worked hard to come this far,
but lady luck decided to take a glance away from our boat for now. As we
tried ways and means to wriggle our way out of the wind hole we are caught
in, barely 100 metres away, we could literally see a strip of wind to our port
side, carrying with it Cape Breton, Finland and a few other boats on a
conveyor belt and whizzed past us at a dazzling speed of 7 knots above us.
That‟s Jim giving words of encouragement and reminders for us to stay
focused on Speed, Course and Trim after our massive drop from the
leaderboard.
No matter how hard we tried to wriggle, the cruel sea just would not let us
drift into the little strip. In a matter of hours, they are more than 6 miles
ahead of us. What a huge change.
Well, I guess that‟s the reality of ocean racing. Like it‟s always said, it‟s not
over until it is over. Lady luck may not shine on us this time, but who knows
we might jump on the next bandwagon and hitch a ride past the race leaders
in the next wave! Meanwhile, we‟ll keep our fingers crossed.
Time for reflections on ourselves
A good timing for some reflections for us... As Jim puts in short and precise
words during the daily briefing, we have to remember what our winning
formula was. It is not about checking on other people and panicking
whenever they are faster, but about us. So its back to basics to all of us,
turning our heads away from the AIS system and not be influenced nor
distracted by our competitors in any ways.
Personally, I do have some of my own time to do some self reflections as
well. It is what I would love to bring back from the race to my everyday life
back home at the end of the race.
“If you spot a hole, mend it well and mend it quick.”
Just like a tiny little hole in the spinnaker, it may not look significant at first
glance, but it is still a hole. If the spinnaker is about your life, this is a flaw
which needs immediate fixing. If you chose to ignore it, you never know
when will the next gust of wind come along and shred it to irreparable pieces.
In life, we should never ever under-estimate the potential damage of a small
little hole in our life. I have started making a small list of „holes‟ which I will
fix once I return back home.
“Never give up! Time will tell.”
I learn that if you want to win, you REALLY HAVE TO WANT TO WIN! The
moment you tell yourself you can‟t do it, everything will just go downhill. If
you believe that you still stand a chance to turn the table around once more,
you will sub-consciously do things which will make it happen. Simply said, you
must BELIEVE you can do it, before you can even come close to the taste of
succeeding in doing it.
Success does not come in the form of a sudden twist of fate and takes time to
manifest itself. No matter what you do, how much effort you put into doing
something, stay focused and focused and focused. Always believe in your
own judgement and give it some time to show results. If you pit in an
enormous amount of effort and expect instantaneous results, it will never
materialize. Even a great sail trim will result in an initial drop in boat speed
before picking up and stabilizing at a higher bar. Once you give it up at the
slightest show of a drop, the upturn will never come.
Even though we have dropped from Race leader right to the back of the fleet
for now, I‟m sure we can catch up again. We did it before, catching 5 miles to
Australia just a day ago and we will do it again! We can do it!!
Race Day 4 | 9 Jun 2010 | Wednesday
Have you ever sat in front of the clock and watch the hour hand go
tick… tick… tick…?
0200hrs. Slowly but surely, we are making progress up the board once again.
We have managed to pull ourselves together and will return with a
vengeance. Although the gains were now immediately noticeable, we can feel
the gains we have made over the last 24 hours and are confident of making
in the next 48 hours or so.
„Luck is when preparation meets opportunity‟. We have done all the necessary
preparation and now just need to wait for the opportunity to come by, which
we are actively seeking it to come by our side once again.
1000hrs. Overnight, we managed to catch up with the race leaders in the run
for the finish line. Finland, Australia and Cape Breton are in sight and we are
not going to let them have it their way easily. Hull & Humber has the lucky
touch of god and somehow, managed to place themself 15 miles ahead of the
pack!
Everyone on board is optimistic about Race 11. It is going to be a tough fight
with the big boys now. But we will show them just how shiny our black
horse‟s armour is.
If we are looking at the clock now, we would be akin to watching the date
hand on a clock and very slowly but surely making good progress and inching
our way up to the top again. Well, it‟s not over till it‟s over. Team Singapore,
Go! Go! Go!
2200hrs. My gosh… its getting so cold that we have started to split our time
within the watch itself to rotate half an hour on-deck and half an hour offdeck. Temperatures have plummeted to a very „optimistic‟ low. Why so?
Haha… it means WE ARE CLOSING IN ON THE FINISH LINE SOON!!! Yeah!!!
My guess is the temperature should be somewhere between 5‟C to 10‟C with
the wind chill now. Brrrrrrrr…….
I learnt a new word today called „Fluorescent‟ which I am going to look up
once I reach Cape Breton. As the boat glides across the water, you can
literally see a trail of light behind us, caused by glowing planktons in the
water. When they are being stirred by the waves of our pave, they will emit a
bright green glow in the water akin to the movie Avatar which everything
glows in the dark when it is being touched. It‟s such an indescribable sight!
Can you imagine a trail of these lights following us behind our track? It‟s
simply gorgeous!
Race Day 5 | 10 Jun 2010 | Thursday
Pondering time! Question of the day: “When was the last time you
did something for the first time?”
I have just completed a half-hour speed call and half-hour on the helm and
am literally frozen right down to the bone with wind of 5‟C beating on my
face. I‟m off-deck for the next half an hour to de-frost and thaw before
heading up to the freezer again. Ha ha..
We have made some grounds on Cape Breton and California is now some
distance behind us. We are in 5th position, but I think we stand a good chance
to still catch up with them and beat them to the finish crossing. We did it
before, and will do it again!
So meanwhile, while I thawing, its time to think through my favourite
question which I always challenge myself whenever I have time to myself.
Well… it‟s not quit a fair question given it‟s my first trip to Jamaica, first trip to
New York and first trip to Cape Breton, Cork, Ireland, Netherland etc. Let‟s
see how it works if I tweak it a little.
If I were to ask myself “When would be the next time and what would I like
to do something for the first time?” Hmmm….
I would… like to bring my fiancée and experience a real snowfall together. We
have seen snow, but never a snow fall before. Yup! I would like to go
somewhere where we can experience a real natural snowfall for the first time.
And Skiing! We backed out of skiing the last time we were in Australia and
New Zealand. The next time we have the chance, I would like to know how it
feels to jump off the snow cliff and glides down the slope. Yup! That‟s what I
would do for the first time!
What else would I do when I return back home? Hmmm... we have never
been to Scuba Diving before, and this item has been on my wish list for
years! Once I return to Singapore, I would love to start planning for a diving
trip, or at least a snorkeling for a start.
Alright… it‟s time to head back into the freezer now. Brrrrr… I miss Sunny
Singapore so much!
0700hrs. It‟s Mother‟s Day for me yet again. What a coincidence! I get to do
the worst and best slots for mother‟s duties on this race. First day means
seasick for the day and last day, means there is probably no need to prepare
dinner for the crews! That is good!
1600hrs. Lady Luck, you have got to shine on us right now! We need ALL the
luck we can muster for the final closing. Only 10 more miles to the finish line
and we have 5 other boats no more than 1 mile from each other right now!
Hull & Humber have lost their 15 miles lead overnight with a massive
windhole and Australia is sapping every last drop of pride from them right
now.
After 5 days of racing, we still have Cape Breton just metres from our
Starboard side. The race is getting more and more intense with this windhole.
I think we still stand a chance on the podium and pray to beat Cape Breton to
the finish line.
That‟s us closing in on the finish line in the last few miles. Looks like it is
going to be yet another tough fight.
It‟s the final 2 hours of our 6 days journey and it‟s now up to the 6 of us to
fight it out and beat each other to yet another exciting and spectacular finish.
Every minute counts now! (And we are blasting “The Final Countdown” on our
deck speakers as I write this below deck.)
It‟s rare to see the usually calm and composed Jim looking so stressed and
thinking hard on any possible race strategies to beat the boats just in front of
us.
4 hours later.... my gosh... this is like the longest 10 miles we have ever seen!
The wind is all in the wrong direction and we are progressing at an angle
which gains us 0.6 Miles per hour! Nick took much pain and time to explain to
me how does „VMG‟ (Velocity made good) works... in a nutshell, it is how
much horizontal distance we gain towards the finish line and not how far we
go. And our VMG was at times negative which means we are going further
away from the finish line!
YES!!! WE HAVE FINALLY CROSSED THE LINE and came in a very respectable
4th position with Cape Breton, Australia and Hull & Humber just ahead of us.
Given how much we have fallen behind at one stage of time, the team did
really good. We are still standing proud! Cheers!!!
Looking forward to explore Cape Breton Island, Land of the Eagles.
11 Jun 2010 – 19 Jun 2010 | Cape Breton Island Stopover
Cape Breton Island, Truly a Nova Scotia’s Masterpiece
It was an amazing experience in Cape Breton. Everyone was blown away by
the hospitality the islanders bestowed upon all the crews. We were well taken
care of throughout the entire duration and were treated like celebrities
wherever we went.
Apparently, the Clipper Race is THE BIG THING in this small little town called
Sydney and everyone were excited to see the boats coming in, even if it was
only for a short visit.
From the moment we set foot onto the island, food and drinks were served to
all Clipper crews at the Marina. Free shuttle services were at the crews‘
disposal during the entire span of the stopover to anywhere they wanted to
explore in Sydney Town. I overheard fellow crew members saying that even
at times when we had to take the local taxis to move the victualling items
back to the boats, the taxis even had a small argument over who would be
taking the crews and who would be taking the food. Apparently, they were
just vying to be involved in part of the action regardless of how small the role.
Everywhere we went, we were invited to join the locals‘ tables just so we
could share our experience with them. For the whole 10 days in Cape Breton,
we were treated like royalty.
We managed to slot in a little time for a road trip around the world-famous
Cabot Trail from 13tJune to 15 June. It was a fabulous scenic drive out of
Sydney Town —a refreshing change of surroundings.
During this trip, we even managed to do a re-make of the skipper‘s photo
which was absolutely hilarious! The boys and girls posed in imitation of the
skipper‘s official photograph, except we were holding onto tree branches and
debris found on the beach instead. It was absolutely funny!
On 16 June, all the crew members were invited on a tour fully sponsored by
the organising committees to Louisburg Fortress,during which we were each
given a huge complimentary lobster dinner at the end of the day.
On 18 June, it was the day of the Clipper Event and a carnival was set up at
Sydney Harbour where the boats were moored. Staff were dressed up in
traditional costumes and even Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the
Caribbean turned up to join in the fun.
Come nightfall of our last night in Cape Breton, we were all treated to an
elaborate massive fireworks display which lasted for a full 20 mins! The
organising committees had done an awesome job in making all Clipper crews
feel welcome and right at home.
Race Day 1 | 19 Jun 2010 | Saturday
Back to racing once again!
It‘s 0800hrs on a Saturday morning. The sky is clear, there is no fog and it
was basically a beautiful sailing day. I headed down to the Marina to deal
with boat preparations and we had a huge crowd of people who came all the
way to the Marina for the send-off.
Huge crowds of people came to send the Clipper boats off
The world-renowned ‗Sky Hawks‘ parachute team are displaying their skills in
the air for an elaborated send-off and Louisburg Fortress, in it‘s history only
for the 2nd time, moved an 18th Century cannon to the marina to initiate the
starting line.
Edging forward and with all other 8 boats around us, we advanced into a
comfortable 5th position at the front of the fleet. Well done everyone!
1800hrs. We have raced into a good 2nd position as the schedule comes into
the mail. Cheerio! If this momentum builds up, we should arrive in Cork
within the next 10 days or less!
Race Day 2 | 20 June 2010 | Sunday
Reality sets in.. we lost the much-treasured medium kite.
1330hrs, barely 24 hours into the race and I woke up to the sound of the
ringing bell. But this time something didn‘t seem right at all. The ring sounded
somewhat urgent and there were fierce echoes of ―All hands on deck! Double
quick time!‖ Sensing something was amiss, I immediately donned on my
foulies and ran up on deck. What I saw right in front of my eyes shocked me
–
The main sail was on deck, with our mediumweight spinnakertrailing the boat
in the water, and worst of all, it appeared to be in pieces. After a few
seconds, I realised what I saw in front of me wasn‘t a dream – we blew our
mediumweight spinnaker.
The head of the spinnaker was still attached, but was caught under the body
of the boat. We had to come to a complete standstill to recover the pieces
and retrieve all the lines before flying the heavyweight spinnaker up again.
The medium weight spinnaker was shredded into pieces
By the time this was over, the damage was done. Not only had we lost the
precious mediumweight spinnaker, we had lost about 5 miles in the half hour
taken to recover the spinnaker and dropped from 2nd place to last. In the
midst of the action, we witnessed 7 boats whizzing right by us.
A quick assessment was done to ascertain the damage. The cause of the
wreckage was due to a knot which someone had made in the spinnaker sheet
line. While the team was trying to drop the mediumweight kite, it somehow
got caught in the water and was accumulating tonnes of water. Commands
were given to blow the lines to allow the release for the pent-up pressure on
the spinnaker but the release of the line was stopped by a little knot in the
sheet., The result? Pressure built up and we had to use a knife to cut the
lines.
It was an awful sight to behold and to lose all of the gains we had made in
the last 24 hours to move from 5th to 2nd only to plunge to 10th was a heavy
blow to us.
Fortunately, only 5 miles were lost and we could still catch up on the teams in
front of us. All was not lost. We had done it before and we will do it again!
11 Jun 2010 – 19 Jun 2010 | Cape Breton Island Stopover
Cape Breton Island, Truly a Nova Scotia’s Masterpiece
It was an amazing experience in Cape Breton. Everyone was blown away by
the hospitality the islanders bestowed upon all the crews. We were well taken
care of throughout the entire duration and were treated like celebrities
wherever we went.
Apparently, the Clipper Race is THE BIG THING in this small little town called
Sydney and everyone were excited to see the boats coming in, even if it was
only for a short visit.
From the moment we set foot onto the island, food and drinks were served to
all Clipper crews at the Marina. Free shuttle services were at the crews‘
disposal during the entire span of the stopover to anywhere they wanted to
explore in Sydney Town. I overheard fellow crew members saying that even
at times when we had to take the local taxis to move the victualling items
back to the boats, the taxis even had a small argument over who would be
taking the crews and who would be taking the food. Apparently, they were
just vying to be involved in part of the action regardless of how small the role.
Everywhere we went, we were invited to join the locals‘ tables just so we
could share our experience with them. For the whole 10 days in Cape Breton,
we were treated like royalty.
We managed to slot in a little time for a road trip around the world-famous
Cabot Trail from 13tJune to 15 June. It was a fabulous scenic drive out of
Sydney Town —a refreshing change of surroundings.
During this trip, we even managed to do a re-make of the skipper‘s photo
which was absolutely hilarious! The boys and girls posed in imitation of the
skipper‘s official photograph, except we were holding onto tree branches and
debris found on the beach instead. It was absolutely funny!
On 16 June, all the crew members were invited on a tour fully sponsored by
the organising committees to Louisburg Fortress,during which we were each
given a huge complimentary lobster dinner at the end of the day.
On 18 June, it was the day of the Clipper Event and a carnival was set up at
Sydney Harbour where the boats were moored. Staff were dressed up in
traditional costumes and even Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the
Caribbean turned up to join in the fun.
Come nightfall of our last night in Cape Breton, we were all treated to an
elaborate massive fireworks display which lasted for a full 20 mins! The
organising committees had done an awesome job in making all Clipper crews
feel welcome and right at home.
Race Day 1 | 19 Jun 2010 | Saturday
Back to racing once again!
It‘s 0800hrs on a Saturday morning. The sky is clear, there is no fog and it
was basically a beautiful sailing day. I headed down to the Marina to deal
with boat preparations and we had a huge crowd of people who came all the
way to the Marina for the send-off.
Huge crowds of people came to send the Clipper boats off
The world-renowned ‗Sky Hawks‘ parachute team are displaying their skills in
the air for an elaborated send-off and Louisburg Fortress, in it‘s history only
for the 2nd time, moved an 18th Century cannon to the marina to initiate the
starting line.
Edging forward and with all other 8 boats around us, we advanced into a
comfortable 5th position at the front of the fleet. Well done everyone!
1800hrs. We have raced into a good 2nd position as the schedule comes into
the mail. Cheerio! If this momentum builds up, we should arrive in Cork
within the next 10 days or less!
Race Day 2 | 20 June 2010 | Sunday
Reality sets in.. we lost the much-treasured medium kite.
1330hrs, barely 24 hours into the race and I woke up to the sound of the
ringing bell. But this time something didn‘t seem right at all. The ring sounded
somewhat urgent and there were fierce echoes of ―All hands on deck! Double
quick time!‖ Sensing something was amiss, I immediately donned on my
foulies and ran up on deck. What I saw right in front of my eyes shocked me
–
The main sail was on deck, with our mediumweight spinnakertrailing the boat
in the water, and worst of all, it appeared to be in pieces. After a few
seconds, I realised what I saw in front of me wasn‘t a dream – we blew our
mediumweight spinnaker.
The head of the spinnaker was still attached, but was caught under the body
of the boat. We had to come to a complete standstill to recover the pieces
and retrieve all the lines before flying the heavyweight spinnaker up again.
The medium weight spinnaker was shredded into pieces
By the time this was over, the damage was done. Not only had we lost the
precious mediumweight spinnaker, we had lost about 5 miles in the half hour
taken to recover the spinnaker and dropped from 2nd place to last. In the
midst of the action, we witnessed 7 boats whizzing right by us.
A quick assessment was done to ascertain the damage. The cause of the
wreckage was due to a knot which someone had made in the spinnaker sheet
line. While the team was trying to drop the mediumweight kite, it somehow
got caught in the water and was accumulating tonnes of water. Commands
were given to blow the lines to allow the release for the pent-up pressure on
the spinnaker but the release of the line was stopped by a little knot in the
sheet., The result? Pressure built up and we had to use a knife to cut the
lines.
It was an awful sight to behold and to lose all of the gains we had made in
the last 24 hours to move from 5th to 2nd only to plunge to 10th was a heavy
blow to us.
Fortunately, only 5 miles were lost and we could still catch up on the teams in
front of us. All was not lost. We had done it before and we will do it again!
Our first target was Qingdao who wass now only a mile ahead of us. We had
caught up with Hull & Humber who had in a point in time, led ahead by 15
miles in the last race and this time, it shall be no exception!
Race Day 3 | 21 June 2010 | Monday
An overwhelming feeling of déjà vu…
0805hrs, barely 5 minutes into our watch and we are once again reminded of
the strength of nature. Nature 2 : Boat 0. I was on deck settling in the bitter
coldness as I heard a shout from Laura who was at the helm. Looking up in
the direction she was heading, I saw, to my dismay, the lightweight kite split
into 2 pieces with the head hanging on the halyard. I watched helplessly as
the bottom half fell into the water at the front of the bow.
I sprung to the bow and managed to grab a piece of the bottom half as it too
split into another halves, one half on the starboard side and my half, drifted
at the port side. It was an emotional moment for me as water fills up the
stranded piece and the pressure build up in a matter of seconds. I felt my
grip loosening as the spinnaker slips away from my hand. Fellow crews
rushed in to grab the slip away piece, but we suddenly heard a ripping sound
and it was gone.
It was a terrible feeling. It felt as if I was holding onto someone who had
fallen off a building and was calling out for help.
The spinnaker ropes stained of the anti-corrosion paint from the underhaul of the boat as we
retrieved the light weight spinnaker
Well, grumbling aside, it was time to make a quick rebound. As we packed
away the two pieces of lightweight spinnaker, the heavyweight come on deck.
It was time to bring out the big guns.
Our first target was Qingdao who wass now only a mile ahead of us. We had
caught up with Hull & Humber who had in a point in time, led ahead by 15
miles in the last race and this time, it shall be no exception!
Race Day 3 | 21 June 2010 | Monday
An overwhelming feeling of déjà vu…
0805hrs, barely 5 minutes into our watch and we are once again reminded of
the strength of nature. Nature 2 : Boat 0. I was on deck settling in the bitter
coldness as I heard a shout from Laura who was at the helm. Looking up in
the direction she was heading, I saw, to my dismay, the lightweight kite split
into 2 pieces with the head hanging on the halyard. I watched helplessly as
the bottom half fell into the water at the front of the bow.
I sprung to the bow and managed to grab a piece of the bottom half as it too
split into another halves, one half on the starboard side and my half, drifted
at the port side. It was an emotional moment for me as water fills up the
stranded piece and the pressure build up in a matter of seconds. I felt my
grip loosening as the spinnaker slips away from my hand. Fellow crews
rushed in to grab the slip away piece, but we suddenly heard a ripping sound
and it was gone.
It was a terrible feeling. It felt as if I was holding onto someone who had
fallen off a building and was calling out for help.
The spinnaker ropes stained of the anti-corrosion paint from the underhaul of the boat as we
retrieved the light weight spinnaker
Well, grumbling aside, it was time to make a quick rebound. As we packed
away the two pieces of lightweight spinnaker, the heavyweight come on deck.
It was time to bring out the big guns.
It had been an extremely eventful 48 hours from the race start. Day 1 – We
lost our mediumweight spinnaker. Day 2 – We lost out lightweight spinnaker
to the sea. Day 3 - …. (What comes next?)
2230hrs.. Temperatures have plummeted to an all-time low now. As we make
our way into the Grand Banks, heavy fogs of zero visibility became a common
sight. We are constantly tracking our way with total reliance of navigational
tools onboard the vessel. The environmental temperature has gone down
drastically as well.
My last count : 1 long sleeve dri-fit, 2 thermal wear, 1 cotton T-Shirt, 1 Mid-layer, 1 Fleece
jacket beneath the Foilies you see. (7 layers)
Race Day 3 | 22 June 2010 | Tuesday
Radical Situations call for Radical Solutions
Having lost the mediumweight spinnaker and lightweight spinnaker in the first
2 days in succession has prompted the need to call for an out-of-the-norm
race strategy.
Without the hardware required to compete in a straight drag race, Skipper
Jim Dobie decided on a route different from the rest of the fleet. While most
of the boats were chasing the low pressure of the North, we decided to head
South to chase the stronger high pressure. Cork had strategically gone into
stealth mode at the critical moment of making the choices for all the boats, a
good move indeed to prevent themselves from being used as a reference for
the boats behind them.
With this radical approach, we are optimistic that we should be able to keep
up with the rest of the fleet in a couple of days time. What‘s important now is
to keep positive and believe that we CAN-DO! it!
The Highs of yesterday have become the Lows of today…
Such is the rule of improvement.. Whilst 10 knots of speed were the Woahs
and Wows of yesterday, it has became the much dreaded Lows of today.
Passing through the Flemish Cap, a renowned area for rough sea and storm
peacefully, we are cruising at a speed of 11-12 knots on average. Slowly but
surely, we are hunting the fleet down.
No doubt we are in 10th position right now, but stats have shown that we‘re
catching up with the rest as we cleared the Ice Gates. Once again, we are
chasing the hour hand of the big clock.
A thought suddenly came into my mind. This situation has amplified the need
to continuously innovate and improve ourselves. Knowing your own limits and
resources does affect the choices you make and the outcome in life.
1300hrs. I remembered going to bed feeling cold and wet and was literally
freezing! But when I woke up at 1300hrs, I found myself feeling warm, cosy
and nice as if it was a dream… how can it be warm and nice in this weather
where vapours comes out of your mouth with every breath I take? As I wake
up, I slowly realize it was a reality! I was covered with a thick, warm and cosy
sleeping bag! I sat there wondering who the kind soul was...
1800hrs. Ah! After asking around during the breaks, I managed to find out
that the little angel is Laura!! Ain‘t she the sweetest thing! Apparently she
saw me lying in bed, looking like I was about to freeze to death in my sleep
and so she went to dig out her spare sleeping bag and covered it over me!
She is such a dear!
Race Day 4 | 23 June 2010 | Wednesday
Human adaptability is such an amazing skill.
I woke up in the morning at 0700 and started to put on my wet socks, wet
boots, don on the wet foilies and placed a damp beanie over my head before
slotting my hands into a pair of wet gloves… and it suddenly dawned upon
me that all these comes naturally and subconsciously without a second
though!
Gone were the days (not too long ago) when I had dry and nicely pressed
clothes, shoes and socks. Apparently, I am sort of getting used to my new life
on the boat. My expectations have altered to simple contentment which falls
back to basic human needs. No longer do I need fresh meat and vegetables
or warm clothing. This is a new life, a new beginning. Cheerio!
Race Day 5 | 24 June 2010 | Thursday
Flying Food & Flying Crews… literally.
With wind at times as high as 40+ knots, we‘re flying across the Atlantic at an
amazing breakneck speed averaging 11 knots! But meal times have become
increasingly challenging and interesting as well.
During today‘s lunch, I witnessed a wave of people being swept across the
galley onto the opposite side. Hugh slammed onto the cushion with his bowl
emptied onto the seat; Poor Laura sat there helplessly as she saw Ruth and
Rachel coming at her with their food at her face level; Nick slammed himself
against the wall and whammed his knees onto the rail. Being at the end of
the line, I somehow managed to save myself with my foot in the wall just
behind Nick. If he were one second quicker, my foot would have been in his
stomach! What an eventful lunch!
Thinking back, the human reflexes and seem somewhat wrong. You can see
people flying across, one hand holding their plate and the other hand
preparing for a landing.. somewhere. NO ONE actually let go of their food and
tried to grab a railing! Haha.. it seems our human instinct is to save our food
more than saving ourselves!
Race Day 6 | 25 June 2010 | Friday
It’s Mother’s Day.
With Helm watch in place, Nick was excused from performing mother‘s duties
today and being next on the line, I moved forward to perform mother‘s duties
today with Heston.
Well, coldness, rockiness and being below deck is not a good combination for
me at all! Within 1 hour of duty, I was struck with sea sickness again! Poor
Heston.. this is the 2nd time he did mother‘s duties with me and each time, he
had to help to cover some of my duties while I just lie down or head to the
toilet to purge my system.
Each time Heston is on mother‘s watch, everyone will look forward to his
famous curry! Watching him cook is such an entertainment, somewhat
resembling watching Celebrity Chef. I think he will do well if he opens a
Heston‘s Curry Kitchen Restaurant.
By evening, the weather had calmed down a bit, the rain which had been
going on for ages, had simmered down as well. It‘s no longer as cold as it
was when we crossed the Labrador Current, but still feels kind of cold when
you don‘t move for a short time.
If all persisted well, we may be at Cork before the early schedule of 1st July. I
reckon that we may be able to reach Cork by 29th or 30th of June. Well… let‘s
keep our fingers crossed for now.
Race Day 7 | 26 June 2010 | Saturday
Smooth Sailing forward.. we are in Stealth Mode!
An obvious sign for me that the high pressure system is now behind us… I am
down to only 4 layers of top now. The damp fleece jacket is now comfortably
packed away in the side cabin of my bunk and will remain there till we reach
Cork.
We are in Stealth mode today. Well... not that there would be much tactical
changes or any major changes that can be done anyway, but it still feels good
to know we are making progress under the radar screen and not being
monitored by anyone for a while.
2200hrs. Wow! The moon shines on the boat like a spotlight! It almost felt
like a scene taken from Jim Carrey‘s Truman Show. For a moment when the
full moon cleared itself from the clouds across the horizon, the whole boat
suddenly lit up like a luminous pearl. It caught the attention of everyone on
deck and all eyes went to the moon. It felt like we are in the middle of a huge
Hollywood studio and at any moment, we might hit the wall and reach the
‗end‘ of the ocean!
It dawned upon me that for the past 7 nights of racing, we have been sailing
under thick fog, light rain or under the cover of the imminent rain clouds! It‘s
kind if weird to think that we have almost forgotten the existence of the
Moon. Ha ha..
Race Day 8 | 27 June 2010 | Sunday
Another Fine Sunny Sunday! Finally we see more daylight!
0700hrs. If nothing goes wrong and all conditions hold constant, we might be
able to make a glorious entrance into Cork by tomorrow evening! Even
though we might not be the first pack to make our way into the marina, but it
was still a great sailing experience across the Atlantic. We are still proud to
have made our way a day or two ahead of schedule.
From this crossing, you know for sure that Skipper Jim Dobie is one man who
cares about his crew as much as about the race. Not that the other boats
place priority on racing over the crews, but safety is definitely in his mind.
There is a thin line between safety and winning at all cost. We can always fly
the heavy weight spinnaker and make a few more knots of speed in the dead
of the night and make good gains, but it would take a tremendous amount of
concentration at all times and safety would be the compromise.
Glad to see that Uniquely Singapore not only races with pride, but race in
tandem with one of Keppel‘s core values, Safety First.
1000hrs. Gosh… the heat is building up. I‘m down to only 3 layers and feel a
bit warm now. The sun seems like it‘s ready to be up for good.
Now… why would anyone describe crossing the Atlantic Ocean as ‗Crossing
the Big Pond‘? What kind of pond would have huge waves, thick fog, freezing
water, bitter cold winds and cold and miserable living condition anyway?
I am looking forward to a nice hot shower, wash my hair, get a nice clean
shave and don on a set of fresh clean clothes when we reach Cork. Simple
fresh meat and vegetables is definitely on my first menu when we touch land.
The mere thought of it brings on lots of motivation to make the boat sail a
notch faster in any possible way. Cheerio!
Race Day 9 | 28 June 2010 | Monday
Everyone is a WINNER!
We finally crossed the finish line into Cork just shy of 1200hrs local time,
making the Atlantic crossing of the entire Clipper Fleet in just 8¾ Days! My
Gosh, this is some record time! The last race took 11 days and Leg 1 crossing
took some weeks! Even though we came in the last position, the fleet was
very compact throughout the race, with only a few hours between us and the
first boat. This is one race which will be etched into my memories for a very
long time.
However, what made us exceptionally proud of this crossing is how the team
had pulled itself together despite being severely handicapped throughout the
whole race. On the first day of the race, we shredded the lightweight
spinnaker. On the 2nd day of the race, the mediumweight spinnaker blew like
a balloon right in our faces. From then, it was intense competition with the
fleet with whatever‘s left in our bag. And we did very well.
This is what you can really call the Keppel CAN-DO! spirit!
Race Day - | 29 June 2010 | Tuesday
Damage Assessment
Call it the Big Pond – this is definitely not a pond with still water. Crossing the
Atlantic in record time has taken its due toll on our sail as we see teams
occupying different areas of bare grounds to spread out their spinnaker for
damage assessment and sail repair.
Spreading the kites on bare ground felt exactly like piecing together a jigsaw
puzzle on a massive scale! The lightweight spinnaker came out of the bag in
Parts A and B, with a massive piece of Part C lost to the sea. The
mediumweight probably had Parts A, B, C, D, E, F… well… it was a muchtreasured beautiful kite which had served us well and helped us secured a win
on Race 10 before. I guess it was feeling tired and decided to make a run for
early retirement.
Well, not all was lost.. with the two spinnakers on the ground and overlapping
each other, a decision was made. The lightweight spinnaker would be reborn!
Meet ―Frank-naker‖, the fusion between the medium and lightweight
spinnaker. We will return, better, faster and tougher than ever before! Race
13, here we come!
With this radical approach, we are optimistic that we should be able to keep
up with the rest of the fleet in a couple of days time. What‘s important now is
to keep positive and believe that we CAN-DO! it!
The Highs of yesterday have become the Lows of today…
Such is the rule of improvement.. Whilst 10 knots of speed were the Woahs
and Wows of yesterday, it has became the much dreaded Lows of today.
Passing through the Flemish Cap, a renowned area for rough sea and storm
peacefully, we are cruising at a speed of 11-12 knots on average. Slowly but
surely, we are hunting the fleet down.
No doubt we are in 10th position right now, but stats have shown that we‘re
catching up with the rest as we cleared the Ice Gates. Once again, we are
chasing the hour hand of the big clock.
A thought suddenly came into my mind. This situation has amplified the need
to continuously innovate and improve ourselves. Knowing your own limits and
resources does affect the choices you make and the outcome in life.
1300hrs. I remembered going to bed feeling cold and wet and was literally
freezing! But when I woke up at 1300hrs, I found myself feeling warm, cosy
and nice as if it was a dream… how can it be warm and nice in this weather
where vapours comes out of your mouth with every breath I take? As I wake
up, I slowly realize it was a reality! I was covered with a thick, warm and cosy
sleeping bag! I sat there wondering who the kind soul was...
1800hrs. Ah! After asking around during the breaks, I managed to find out
that the little angel is Laura!! Ain‘t she the sweetest thing! Apparently she
saw me lying in bed, looking like I was about to freeze to death in my sleep
and so she went to dig out her spare sleeping bag and covered it over me!
She is such a dear!
Race Day 4 | 23 June 2010 | Wednesday
Human adaptability is such an amazing skill.
I woke up in the morning at 0700 and started to put on my wet socks, wet
boots, don on the wet foilies and placed a damp beanie over my head before
slotting my hands into a pair of wet gloves… and it suddenly dawned upon
me that all these comes naturally and subconsciously without a second
though!
Gone were the days (not too long ago) when I had dry and nicely pressed
clothes, shoes and socks. Apparently, I am sort of getting used to my new life
on the boat. My expectations have altered to simple contentment which falls
back to basic human needs. No longer do I need fresh meat and vegetables
or warm clothing. This is a new life, a new beginning. Cheerio!
Race Day 5 | 24 June 2010 | Thursday
Flying Food & Flying Crews… literally.
With wind at times as high as 40+ knots, we‘re flying across the Atlantic at an
amazing breakneck speed averaging 11 knots! But meal times have become
increasingly challenging and interesting as well.
During today‘s lunch, I witnessed a wave of people being swept across the
galley onto the opposite side. Hugh slammed onto the cushion with his bowl
emptied onto the seat; Poor Laura sat there helplessly as she saw Ruth and
Rachel coming at her with their food at her face level; Nick slammed himself
against the wall and whammed his knees onto the rail. Being at the end of
the line, I somehow managed to save myself with my foot in the wall just
behind Nick. If he were one second quicker, my foot would have been in his
stomach! What an eventful lunch!
Thinking back, the human reflexes and seem somewhat wrong. You can see
people flying across, one hand holding their plate and the other hand
preparing for a landing.. somewhere. NO ONE actually let go of their food and
tried to grab a railing! Haha.. it seems our human instinct is to save our food
more than saving ourselves!
Race Day 6 | 25 June 2010 | Friday
It’s Mother’s Day.
With Helm watch in place, Nick was excused from performing mother‘s duties
today and being next on the line, I moved forward to perform mother‘s duties
today with Heston.
Well, coldness, rockiness and being below deck is not a good combination for
me at all! Within 1 hour of duty, I was struck with sea sickness again! Poor
Heston.. this is the 2nd time he did mother‘s duties with me and each time, he
had to help to cover some of my duties while I just lie down or head to the
toilet to purge my system.
Each time Heston is on mother‘s watch, everyone will look forward to his
famous curry! Watching him cook is such an entertainment, somewhat
resembling watching Celebrity Chef. I think he will do well if he opens a
Heston‘s Curry Kitchen Restaurant.
By evening, the weather had calmed down a bit, the rain which had been
going on for ages, had simmered down as well. It‘s no longer as cold as it
was when we crossed the Labrador Current, but still feels kind of cold when
you don‘t move for a short time.
If all persisted well, we may be at Cork before the early schedule of 1st July. I
reckon that we may be able to reach Cork by 29th or 30th of June. Well… let‘s
keep our fingers crossed for now.
Race Day 7 | 26 June 2010 | Saturday
Smooth Sailing forward.. we are in Stealth Mode!
An obvious sign for me that the high pressure system is now behind us… I am
down to only 4 layers of top now. The damp fleece jacket is now comfortably
packed away in the side cabin of my bunk and will remain there till we reach
Cork.
We are in Stealth mode today. Well... not that there would be much tactical
changes or any major changes that can be done anyway, but it still feels good
to know we are making progress under the radar screen and not being
monitored by anyone for a while.
2200hrs. Wow! The moon shines on the boat like a spotlight! It almost felt
like a scene taken from Jim Carrey‘s Truman Show. For a moment when the
full moon cleared itself from the clouds across the horizon, the whole boat
suddenly lit up like a luminous pearl. It caught the attention of everyone on
deck and all eyes went to the moon. It felt like we are in the middle of a huge
Hollywood studio and at any moment, we might hit the wall and reach the
‗end‘ of the ocean!
It dawned upon me that for the past 7 nights of racing, we have been sailing
under thick fog, light rain or under the cover of the imminent rain clouds! It‘s
kind if weird to think that we have almost forgotten the existence of the
Moon. Ha ha..
Race Day 8 | 27 June 2010 | Sunday
Another Fine Sunny Sunday! Finally we see more daylight!
0700hrs. If nothing goes wrong and all conditions hold constant, we might be
able to make a glorious entrance into Cork by tomorrow evening! Even
though we might not be the first pack to make our way into the marina, but it
was still a great sailing experience across the Atlantic. We are still proud to
have made our way a day or two ahead of schedule.
From this crossing, you know for sure that Skipper Jim Dobie is one man who
cares about his crew as much as about the race. Not that the other boats
place priority on racing over the crews, but safety is definitely in his mind.
There is a thin line between safety and winning at all cost. We can always fly
the heavy weight spinnaker and make a few more knots of speed in the dead
of the night and make good gains, but it would take a tremendous amount of
concentration at all times and safety would be the compromise.
Glad to see that Uniquely Singapore not only races with pride, but race in
tandem with one of Keppel‘s core values, Safety First.
1000hrs. Gosh… the heat is building up. I‘m down to only 3 layers and feel a
bit warm now. The sun seems like it‘s ready to be up for good.
Now… why would anyone describe crossing the Atlantic Ocean as ‗Crossing
the Big Pond‘? What kind of pond would have huge waves, thick fog, freezing
water, bitter cold winds and cold and miserable living condition anyway?
I am looking forward to a nice hot shower, wash my hair, get a nice clean
shave and don on a set of fresh clean clothes when we reach Cork. Simple
fresh meat and vegetables is definitely on my first menu when we touch land.
The mere thought of it brings on lots of motivation to make the boat sail a
notch faster in any possible way. Cheerio!
Race Day 9 | 28 June 2010 | Monday
Everyone is a WINNER!
We finally crossed the finish line into Cork just shy of 1200hrs local time,
making the Atlantic crossing of the entire Clipper Fleet in just 8¾ Days! My
Gosh, this is some record time! The last race took 11 days and Leg 1 crossing
took some weeks! Even though we came in the last position, the fleet was
very compact throughout the race, with only a few hours between us and the
first boat. This is one race which will be etched into my memories for a very
long time.
However, what made us exceptionally proud of this crossing is how the team
had pulled itself together despite being severely handicapped throughout the
whole race. On the first day of the race, we shredded the lightweight
spinnaker. On the 2nd day of the race, the mediumweight spinnaker blew like
a balloon right in our faces. From then, it was intense competition with the
fleet with whatever‘s left in our bag. And we did very well.
This is what you can really call the Keppel CAN-DO! spirit!
Race Day - | 29 June 2010 | Tuesday
Damage Assessment
Call it the Big Pond – this is definitely not a pond with still water. Crossing the
Atlantic in record time has taken its due toll on our sail as we see teams
occupying different areas of bare grounds to spread out their spinnaker for
damage assessment and sail repair.
Spreading the kites on bare ground felt exactly like piecing together a jigsaw
puzzle on a massive scale! The lightweight spinnaker came out of the bag in
Parts A and B, with a massive piece of Part C lost to the sea. The
mediumweight probably had Parts A, B, C, D, E, F… well… it was a muchtreasured beautiful kite which had served us well and helped us secured a win
on Race 10 before. I guess it was feeling tired and decided to make a run for
early retirement.
Well, not all was lost.. with the two spinnakers on the ground and overlapping
each other, a decision was made. The lightweight spinnaker would be reborn!
Meet ―Frank-naker‖, the fusion between the medium and lightweight
spinnaker. We will return, better, faster and tougher than ever before! Race
13, here we come!