My home for the 3 weeks

The navigation station on the Clipper yacht Singapore - my home for the next three weeks. Skipper Ben has asked me to take the lead on the navigation. We have 2 PCs onboard - one dedicated to navigation & routing, the other used for media & comms. Our route will take us south from Geraldton, past Perth to a virtual mark 10nm off Cape Leeuwin. Winds are likely to vary throughout the day as the sea breeze blows onshore in afternoon and land breeze offshore at night. Then it's left as we aim to follow a great circle route to the south of NZ South Island. En Route we have an optional scoring gate in the Great Australian Bight, a mandatory non-scoring gate south of Tasmania and an Ocean sprint between Tas & NZ. Then up the East coast of NZ, around the tip and into Tauranga on the North Coast, taking care to avoid submerged containers from the ship beached at Tauranga.
Total distance 3,800nm.

The fleet in Geraldton

As the sun sets on Geraldton, all yachts are now in port. Prize giving is a brief distraction as tomorrow crews return to the task of preparing for the next race which start on Sunday.

Sightseeing in Geraldton

Home for the past few days has been the supermarket in Geraldton. With the weather pattern holding up Singapore those of us ashore have been busy filling trolleys and checking prices.

Bananas at £5 per kilo with the harvest affected by the Queensland floods may be an extreme example but the exchange rate makes everything seem expensive. Especially a pint of lager at $10 AUD, almost £7!

Calm before the storm?

Ten berths lie vacant in the harbour at Geraldton. But somewhere over the horizon beyond the setting sun, the fleet close in, due to arrive over the next 2 or 3 days. Once in port, I'm sure there will be frenzy of activity. Victuals to restock, sails to repair.....
For now I'll just sit back and enjoy a cool quiet beer in the sunset.

Assegai steaks

Stocking up on my red meat - 400g steaks served on a skewer, garlic or piri piri butter dripping onto the chips. Delicious. A lovely night out in Perth with my Nephews.

The flights with Singapore airlines all went smoothly. The A380 is a huge plane - seems strange looking down at the 747s! Even the loo was more spacious than the bathroom of my first studio flat.

Clipper voyage begins at home

Bags packed and ready for an adventure.  The culmination of months of planning, preparation and training.  The anticipation reaching its climax.  The sadness of leaving loved ones behind.  Feelings of excitement jostling with apprehension.  I fly in the morning half way around the globe to take on the Southern Ocean with new friends onboard the Clipper race yacht "Singapore".  On 6th November the fleet leave Geraldton WA bound for Tauranga, New Zealand over 3,000nm away.

"Don't dream it! Be it"

Safe in Plymouth

Pleased to report that we are safely moored in Plymouth.

Still not sure of the root cause, but essentially the battery reserved exclusively for starting the engine was flat. So no way to recharge the main battery either.

Jeremy and I have thought over all the "if only's". But we take comfort in the knowledge that we had performed well in the often difficult first stage of the race and were positioned in the leading pack. And that lessons learnt include an upgrade to alternative sources of energy.

Bring on August 2013 - unfinished business.......