An Ozzy Xmas

Morning all! I hope that everybody has had a fabulous christmas and not regreting that extra helping of pudding we all had! As part of our stay in Geraldton is was arranged that a few of the local families would adopted stray clipper crew on christmas day and treat them to a christmas 'ozzy-style'. Lindsey and I were adopted by David and Joanne Shea and we couldn't have had asked for a nicer or more welcoming family. On Christmas eve they took us and Jonny G to their daughter's house where family and friends had gathered to see their christmas lights. Every year there is a competition for the bst decorated house and this year Marika and Scott won first prize. Loads of cars drive past to see the lights which are all choreographed to different Chrsitmas songs, and the kids hand out 'lollies' to the drivers.

When David arranged to pick us up from the boat he said that we would know his car when we saw it as it was the only one of its kind. He wasn't wrong! The car is used to raise money for a children's charity called Variety which provides funds for children's needs.

On Christmas day the whole family was round at their (massive) house and everybody has presents to open - even me and Lindsey had a package to open. Christmas dinner was very traditional with meat and
veg but the crayfish and prawns were slightly less tradition but even more yummy! I can now peel and eat any part of a crayfish or prawn! Joanne loves christmas and the inside of the house is just covered in decorations, its hard to know which way to look because their are father christmases, snowmen, reindeer, bells, and all sorts of christmassy things hidden in every corner and every surface! Like a real Christmas grotto!

We stayed over on Christmas day and john joined us on boxing day morning after spending Christmas with his own adopted family. We then borrowed one of David and Joanne's cars and went down the coast towards Dongera to see a bit of the countryside, the highlight for John was when he over took a road train on its way to the docks at Geraldton! We borrowed the car again yesterday and went North this time towards Kalbarri and the nature reserve up there. On the way we stopped at Port Gregory where their is a lagoon on the beach and a pink lagoon/salt pan just inland. the colours are just incredible adn the pictures don't do them or the size any justice!

The Pink Lagoon

Kalbarri

Cliffs at Kalbarri National Park

Today is a lazy day recovering from Christmas and making sure the boat is nice and tidy - a tricky job as the engine is in pieces again!

G'day from down-under!

Hi Guys! Finally amanaged to get a chance to write an up-date for you all after arriving in Oz! After the initial partying was over on the first night - with free drinks and barbecue - its been hard work on the boat for the last few days! Jobs done include teh deep clean, deck services, safety checks, life jacket checks, repairs to the spinnaker, the boat being lifted for the scrub and anti-fowl and a million and one other little chores! The anti-fowl was the longest job for me as I helped to move the boat to the crane which is about a mile, then helped with the scrubbing and painting, and then helped move it back and again. The anti-foul is like a thick blue paint and when you're painting the underneath of the boat which is now above you its a messy job! 2 days and multiple showers later and I still slightly resemble a smurf! and not just because I'm little! Managed to get a quick look round Geraldton yesterday and everybody is really friendly. They recognise you of the boats and they all have something good to say whether its 'well done' or 'you must be mad'! I have to appologise for the lack of photos but unfortuanetely I can't send them back from the boat, but I see Dad has been doing a great job with the ones off the wedsite!I've atempted to up-load pics onto facebook but with out success so here are couple fo the best from SA and the Southern Ocean! Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year and lots of love you all! Can't wait to get home and share it all with you first hand! xxxxxxx

ElephantsZebras

Minstrels as we arrived in the V and A

  Leaving Cape Town

  Me and Lindsey all wrapped up!

  Replacing hanks on the head sails

  Sunset

  Helming!

 Gorgeous day!

 Shazza and me excited to be in Oz!

  JLB out of the water!

 Skip with his favourite two girls!

Team JLB at prize giving - 3rd PLace!!!Very proud of our pennent!! :D

Lily has landed!

Geraldton, Western Australia - The crowds turn out to welcome the boats in

The crew of CV2 Jamaica Lightning Bolt pose for a team photo as they dock in Geraldton

Dear Bloggers

Lily asked me to post a brief note on her blog to let everyone know that she and Jamaica Lightning Bolt crossed the finishing line off Geraldton, Western Australia this morning at 07:05hrs UTC (15:05hrs local time Australia). The really good news is that they got their podium place by finishing 3rd behind Team Finland and Spirit of Australia.

Lily says sorry she hasn't been able to write about the finish just yet but she's too busy drinking champagne at the barbie ashore which looks set to last for at least 24hrs. She will be posting blogs and pics soon though.

Regards to all from a very proud and jealous Daddy

Almost there!

Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2009 11:09 PM

Position:
33degs 06.90' S
104degs 38.55' E
Boat time: 03.30hrs

Three days to go and we're almost there! Less than 600 miles and counting. As we get nearer to the finish we are reminded that we are still racing and there is everything to go for with Edinburgh on our port beam (though rapidly dropping aft!) and Cape Breton just about visible on the starboard beam. With the light conditions and warm weather lulling us into a sleepy state of mind, having the other boats visible has woken us up and got us all back into race mode.

As we left the Roaring Forties a few days ago we were surrounded by fog. Almost as if the Southern Ocean was trying to stop us leaving. Some people were convinced that it was snowing but I'm not so sure! The difference in weather in just two days is amazing, just a few nights ago it was every layer possible plus hats, scarves and gloves and everyone huddled in the cockpit. Tonight theres not a fouly to be seen and we are all spread out in various comfy poistions along the leeward rail.

Progress is painfully slow at the moment with such a short distance to go and so little wind. The sound of the light-wieght kite collapsing as the wind does another weird little shift is all to familar. Keen as I am to get to Oz, I almost don't want this leg to end. The sailing has been amazing but I'm not looking forwad to the heat as we head up to Singapore!

Look out for pictures specials when I land in Oz.

Half way whales

Sent: 8/12/09

Boat time: 01:30hrs

Position:

40deg 09.14' S

81deg 38.75' E

Well over half way now and starting to get excited about reaching Australia. With only a week to go before we get there, it's a popular conversation topic. What's the first thing you'll do? Where are you staying? What are you doing whilst there? Answers are wide and varied from taking a shower to hiring a motorbike! One thing is agreed though, and that is the shorts and t-shitrs will be ready waiting!

Tonight I'm definitely looking forward to the shorts and t-shirts more than normal as sitting on deck as we struggle upwind with the yankee 3 and second reef is not warm work - especially as all we can do is ride it out! Despite a beautiful sunny and mild afternoon the nights are still cold and layers are on!

We saw whales again the other day but this time they decided to stay around for a while and kept pace with us off the starboard beam for about half an hour. Every few minutes there were blows and as both wales surfaced and we even saw quite a lot of their bodies. Our resident 'expert' Jonny G reckons they were over 30ft long.

I had my first proper shower for 13 days yesterday after my mother watch duties. Although it was cold and i washed my hair in salt water, it felt great! However a day spent in thermals and foulies soon gets you back to feeling 'normal' - a slightly grubby, slightly smelly state of being, but everybody is the same so no-one notices.

After speaking to Mum, Dad and Hannah on the satellite phone the other night I've been feeling a bit homesick, especially as tempers have been a little frayed recently, but a fabulous days sailing seems to have sorted eveybody out and we're back on track to reaching Oz as fast as possible!

Hopefully, I will get some photos sorted out for the Blog when we get to Oz.

Don't forget you can follow the race on: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

Lily :)

Be brave! Take the next wave

Sent: 03 December 2009

Boat time: 03:25hrs

Position:

40deg 09.178' S

63deg 11.422' E

Well what an exciting couple of days its been, if exciting is the right word! Just as we came on watch yesterday lunch time with a full mainsail, medium-weight kite and skipper on the helm, we were caught by a massive gust of wind which caused us to broach out! Luckily, it wasn't too bad and only the toe-rail and a bit of the deck were in the water, but the call for 'all hands ondeck' was made as we needed to drop the kite, and fast. Port watch abandoned their lunches and joined us just as another gust hit us, but no worse than the first one.

It was a fight to get the kite down. With everybody on deck and lots of people shouting it was hard to tell what happened, but the spinnaker pole ended up too far forwards and bent itself in half round the forestay putting the guy out of reach to free the spinnaker. With the halyards already coming down and the lazy guy through the letter box, the only thing to do was let all the ropes run and ditch the kite in the water. To do this we had to cut one of the halyards and the working guy was shredded in the process. With the kite in the water and the full crew on deck we were then able to recover it and send it down the the hatch. Unortunately, it is ripped right across its full width and possibly in othe rplaces too. Both the pole and the spinnaker will have to wait until Oz to be repaired!

Ironically, after this had happened we had one of the nicest afternoon's sailing so far on this leg. Clear skies and a decent breeze to keep us moving. Needless to say though, few people slept well last night! Luckily, the worst injury was Elaine's twisted ankle but she's fine this morning and crew morale has not suffered to badly. We're a bit disappointed as we are sure to pick up penalty for the damage! However, 12000 miles and this the first serious break is a good sign that crew and skipper are working well to stay safe. Although it was a sharp reminder that we are in the Southern Ocean and that it has its reputation for a reason.

Read more about the broach in Race News at: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

Whales and Albatrosses

                    The Albatross           

Sent: 30 Novemeber 2009

Boat time: 6:45pm

Position:
40degs 38'.753 S
48degs 45'.825 E

As we came on watch at lunch yesterday the cry of "Whales" was heard from Anna, to which everybody said "Yeah, right!" But then it showed again about 100m off the port side. We didn't see very much but there were two blowing through their air holes and showing a bit of their backs.

It made a nice change to air-borne wildlife. So far we have seen nothing in the sea, just millions of birds! Its quite amazing how many birds we actually see! Everyday there are loads of Cape Petrels, Giant Petrels and Albatross. I was under the impression that the Albatross was quite a rare bird and that sightings were very special, but at one point we had 4 following us and circling round the boat for hours, and you are almost guaranteed at least a few sightings every watch. They also get really close to the boat and one almost took out Johnny G the other day as he stood by the shrouds!

Poled-out Lily!

This morning's watch was a slow start with little wind. The other watch had prepared the medium-weight spinnaker for us. But as the wind dropped, it was put on hold and soon abandoned as, although the wind was building, the sea was too bouncy for it to keep its shape. So it was poled-out number 2, poled-out staysail and with a full main we were plodding along at a steady 10 knots. Forecast is for the wind to build and the sea (which is flatter than the English Channel just now!) with it so should be surfing tonight!

We're just about a 3rd of the way to Oz now and tomorrow we get to start our Advent calendars! A kind of surreal feeling on the boat, but its definitely cold enough to be getting ready for Christmas! We're chasing hard for the scoring gate (an imaginary line between two points on our route across the Southern Ocean that we have to cross to score extra points) and are desperate to get more points than Singapore who are only a couple of points behind us overall.

Almost teatime now and I am starving! Good news is, its Angel Delight for pudding. My favourite! Thanks to my Dad who is posting on the Blog for me while I'm at sea. I e-mail him by satellite from the boat and he goes on the Blog and sets it all up for me - who says you can't teach an old dog (especially salty ones) new tricks! x

Don't forget you can follow the race at: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

From sunshine to showers!

Jamaica leads the fleet out of Cape Town

Sent: 27/112009 14:03hrs                   Position: 41deg 19' S 38deg 00' E

It strikes me as ironic that whilst back from Rhos to Old Colwyn in full-on heavy soaking drizzle recently, one of the last things my sister, Kate, said to me was 'At least you won't get weather like this at sea!' For the last couple of days this is what we have had almost constantly! Meaning that full foul weather kit has been essential. The temperature has dropped rapidly and the night watches have become a contest to see who can last the longest before diving into the saloon for a warm-up and, oddly, more people are volunteering as night mothers!

During one of my sick moments early in the week I managed to be on deck long enough to get sun burnt on my face. This was really really sore and has just started to peel! From my scalp to lips, my face is coming off in man-sized flakes! Luckily, I won't be on the pull for a while!

Had my first taste of Mother Watch from Lunch time yesterday to lunchtime today. Christine and I, who I also share a bunk with, did the watch together. Tasks involve: cleaning up from lunch and preparing tea; cleaning the galley and saloon area; cleaning both heads; getting up early to have breakfast ready; more cleaning and; preparing lunch. Meal times can be a little hectic as the watches eat separately and you often have to do a quick wash of pots in between. Our watch was particularly succesful as I managed to make 2 banana cakes with the (not quite) mouldy bananas left from Cape Town. We had them with tea, just, and they were rather yummy - if I'm allowed to say so for myself!

Time for bed now. A quick 3 hours before back on watch at midnight - the COLD watch! My mid-layers got tested for the 1st time today and they are fably warm! Might need to re-think China though!

Follow the race at: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

T-shirts and shorts in the Southern Ocean!

Jamaica Lightning Bolt - wet & wild off Cape Town!

Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 9:31 PM:

Position:
24degs 26'E
40degs 05'S - The Roaring Forties!!! My Dad craves to sail down here!

Noon - boat time!

The start was very, very hectic with lots going on! Hull and Humber and Cork are both out of the race and still in Cape Town under going extensive repairs after a collision on the start line. Apparently, Hull & Humber were on starboard but trying to give Cork room anyway, but Cork got caught by a gust and were headed up into the side of Hull & Humber. Cork we're clearly overpowered and one of the few boats without a reef in the mainsail. It seems that repairs will take up to two weeks and the boats might have to meet us in Singapore - a massive dissapointment for their crews, and an uncertain outlook for the skippers.

Unfortunately, soon after the excitment on the start I was sent to bed by my watch leader Mike because the wallowing under the Cape Town 'shadow' was making me ill - probably with a mix of nerves and anxiety as well! During the night the winds picked up and it was almost impossible to sleep as every wave felt like the whole boat was lifting out of the water and then slamming back down into the next wave, after leaving you behind to be re-united with your bunk as the boat rose on the next wave! Not enjoyable! Needless to say I was out of the watch system during the night.

I made it back on deck for our next watch at noon yesterday but it was too soon and I was sent back to bed after lunch repeated again. I had the whole night in bed again last night but I'm feeling much more refreshed and looking forward to some lunch especially as the only things staying down since the start have been mini-chedders and choclate buttons!

As I write various members of the off watch keep appearing to shed layers as the sun keeps shining and the relatively calm weather continues - a bit of a rarity in the southern ocean, especially as we are now well into the Roaring Forties!

Congratulations to my big sister, Hannah, who has just had a baby boy, Maurice John! I'm so excited for you and can't wait to see him! I expect him to be walking, talking, and tap dancing by the time I get back!

Almost time for lunch now and then I'l be back on the watch system so going to get one last nap in before getting seriously down to business!

Look out for more posts and pics in the coming days! x

The last taste of dry land!

What am amazing week. Cape is a fantastic place and the culture is amazing! We arrived on Monday morning after a 10 and a half hour flight - pure hell! But managed to doze if not sleep through most it but suffered my first bit of travel sickness on landing! Much to Ron's distaste! Settled into our appartment and got our bearings around town with the Yacht Club and the V+A etc. Went in the cable car up table mountain, been in a million and twelve taxis and went an the most fab Safari ever! We saw Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, Buffalo, Elephant, Giraffes, Zebras, Springboks, Warthog, Hippos, Crocodiles and we're treated like Queen's! Sharon is now my adoptive mother and will be introducing me to my new Dad, brother and sister in Australia when they are there to meet us - as long as she hasn't married me off to a randomly chosen, unsupecting young male!

I can't get over how fab teh weather has been! We went on a refresher morning on Quindao and had the maost amazing view of table mountain ever. Generally we've clear blue skies and gentle breeze which pics up in the late afternnon to early evening.

The forecast for the start of the race looks like we will beating mainly for the first few days and not turning east until later in the week. With this in mind I've been out today to buy sea-sick pills - but NOT the dreaded Stugeron which I am convinced actuly made me sick!  We're aiming to stay between the Indian Ocean High and the Southern Ocean depressions so that we get the benefits of both constant, steady weather and burst of fast sailing. The most common sail plan is probably going to be a poled-out headsail most of the way as it will be to windy for even the heavy weight spinnaker!

The start tomorrow promises to be an busy time! The boat still looks like bomb-site with kit all over the place and day-packs waiting to be stowed, and still more kit to come aboard! Not completely got my head round the storage system but should be fine once we get organised!

Feeling very nevous at the moment and I'm hoping that a good nights sleep will sort me out! At crew breifing they showed us some footage of the Hull and Humber man-over-board which stirred up a few people, me included! Although we spend so much time training and preparing for situations like that you never really expect to have to do it, and in such simple circumstances as that.

Now its time for my last night in a stable bed wide enough to stretch as wide as I like! I'l try and write as soon as I can and let you know how big the waves are! Keep your fingers crossed! x x x

T-5 Days!! Yes 5 days!

How fast has that come around?! I can’t believe that its only 5 days until I fly out to Cape Town – better start getting organised! It was fantastic to see everybody on Saturday at the sailing club. Mum organised a fab party with everyone there, friends and family. Thank you to everybody who helped!

Kate and I packed my bag yesterday under the eye of Kerry’s Camera. We weighed in at 24 kilos, spot on for the boat’s weight limit. Phew! Kerry is the guy from North One Television who is making the documentary on the race and he spent yesterday afternoon filming Kate, Mum, Dad and myself around the house, watching us getting ready for the ‘big day’! His other camera-man, Wayne, did some filming with Jamaica on training and he’ll be on-board for all of Leg 3. We still don’t know when the programs will be shown but it will be after I get back so watch this space instead :)

With ‘the big pack’ done and dusted it’s now down to organising all my paper work and making sure I have all my documents in the right place. Most importantly, I bought my advent calendar today, as far as I’m concerned the most important bit of paperwork! It will only be a week out of Cape Town before we start the countdown to Christmas on the beach! Naturally its not a snowy chirstmas scene but its very sparkly and has fairies on it! What more could I want!

As I read more of the blogs coming back off the boat I realise how much I am jumping in at the deep end. Already, whilst still in the South Atlantic and somewhat protected by South America they are reporting the size of waves in whole building sizes, and seasickness is affecting the boat quite badly. Despite this, we are still moving up through the ranks and are only 6 miles off 3rd position.

It’s hard to describe how I’m feeling at the moment. As I said to Kerry yesterday, I’ve been preparing for this for so long that it’s almost become part of the background but now it’s being pushed to the front and I have to think about it. I keep going through cycles of excitement at the adventure, panic that I’ve forgotten something and shear terror at the 5-month rollercoaster ride ahead of me. It’s like climbing to the top of the Pepsi Max and waiting for it to drop, and you’re still not sure if you will like it or not! I’ve decided to take everything as it comes and focus on one thing at time.

So… Flying… uh oh!

Sessions and Lessons, Lessons and Sessions!

T-25 Days!!

As part of my fundrasing activities I've spent the last few weeks working with the younger students Queen's Park High and Blacon High. At Blacon, after doing an assembly to all of lower school (Years 7, 8 and 9), I have taught Year 7 Geography classes on Navigation and Charts, following on from their mapping lessons. We looked at GPS and positioning, as well as some of the symbols used. I was really impressed with how the kids got involved and with all the questions they had! I'm still not considering a careeer in teaching though.

With Queen's Park I organised two Sailing Taster Sessions for the year 7s and 8s. The first session began with a promise of rain but we were lucky it held off. There was plenty of wind on the river and with 5 boats on the water they were quickly racing each other around. All the instructors at the club who helped out were impressed with how quickly everybody picked it up! There was only one capsize and everybody came off the water smiling! The second session the following week was another great success with all 12 places filled and all the boats used! Some people came back for a second time and they sailed further up river and practised some more advanced techniques. The other group got to grips with the basics straight away and were quickly chasing each other across the river. It was really great to get the kids out on the water and see how much fun they had, but of course it wouldn't have been possible without the help and support of everyone at the Sailing Club and the Staff in School.

My bag is now mostly packed and HUGE! Not quite on the weight limmit but still got a few last minute essentials to get in! The good news is I can still lift it... just! x x x

Practice Makes Perfect

T-31 Days! One month and counting! The final count-down is on!

After spending Sunday and Monday sailing the coast of North Wales on yacht ‘My Tern’, a Bavaria 36, I have confirmed what I suspected on training. Surfing, rocking and rolling down a steep two-meter swell round Puffin Island and into the narrow channel to Conwy was an exciting experience! The occasional bit of erratic steering coming from the helmsman forcing the boat to imitate a corkscrew over particularly tricky waves only made things more interesting! Rough weather does not appear to be the problem. The following day there was still a bit of swell left over from the strong winds the day before but the wind had dropped to almost nothing. Some people find a gentle swell peaceful and relaxing. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. I fear I could be allergic to calm weather as it gives me a funny feeling similar to light-headedness, and if sustained for a long period of time it can cause sudden physical illness. The phrase ‘sea-sickness’ is often used to describe this reaction, but I prefer to call it an allergy - it sounds less ridiculous coming from a ‘hard-core’ sailor! Luckily, this time it was only a short outing!

A similar story can be told of training. We spent several days bashing round the Solent in averagely windy/wavy weather with no problems from my allergy, but as soon as we headed out into the channel and became becalmed I started to feel allergic. This time there was no engines on and home before the sill shut on the marina! Fingers crossed we steer clear of any Doldrums between Cape Town and San Fran!

‘My Tern’ is my Dad’s new toy. He has bought a quarter share of the boat and so gets a quarter of the use while it’s in the water. This week was our last proper chance to use it before it’s put into hibernation for the winter, so we spent the weekend exploring the Menai Straights and round the Great Orme, getting to know the boat. It’s a great boat to sail and seems to be quite fast, but not as fast as Jamaica!! Its best feature for me, though, which Jamaica doesn’t have, is a little wooden seat across the pulpit (the guardrails at the very front), the perfect size for a Lily-sized bum! A fab place to watch the waves go by from, and it weirdly makes my allergy feel better … honest!

WOOO!!

Just a very quick one to say a massive WOOOHOOOO!!!!

Jamaica has climbed up into 2nd place and seem to be gaining on Eero all the time! Looks like we could be pulling are bow strings for real!

FAB! x x x

www.clipperroundtheworld.com

www.clipperroundtheworld.com/jamaica

p.s. T-36 days!!!

Dubarries and Sponsors! It's a busy time!

T-39 days! What a hectic couple of weeks it’s been! I’ve spent more time in school than when I actually attended! Everything’s set for the 1^st taster session to run on Friday with the year 7s but still waiting to fill up the places on 2^nd session. The support from staff has been incredible and I can’t wait to get on the water!

I had to do one of the scariest things I have ever done last week. I stood on the stage of the main hall at Blacon High School and spoke to the whole of Key Stage 3. That’s 300 people aged 11-14 and all the staff to go with them - including the Head Teacher! Somehow I managed to stay up-right for all my presentation and some of the feedback I’ve had has been really super. Students and staff alike seem to be behind me and they are all showing their support.

Support and sponsorship comes from all directions, from friends and family to people we hardly know, all are unique and have different messages of support but all are wishing me the time of my life! It is quite a humbling experience to be on the receiving end of such kindness and I would like to thank everybody for their help, I really couldn’t do this without them.

I’ve been on a bit of a spree this week and have finally bought (with help from sponsors!) the last big bits of kit needed; waterproof camera to capture all those magical moments, warm mid-layer salopettes for when it snows in China, and, the most exciting bit of kit, my new Dubarry Boots to wear around Cowes with my mini-skirt! Oh, and to keep my feet warm and dry round the world, of course. So with only the bits and bobs left to sort out I finally feel like we’re making progress.

This feeling is made better by the fact that Jamaica has climbed from last place back into fourth place, a position that shows good tactics, perseverance and most of all team work pays off! Well done to the guys and keep up the good work! The on-going battle with Cape Breton is keeping the team on their toes but the challenging tactics are what we need to keep focussed, though at the moment the temperatures they are experiencing are more than distracting!

Don’t forget that you can follow the race at www.clipperroundtheworld.com and www.clipperroundtheworld.com/jamaica

Please, please, please feel free to leave comments to show your support for the whole team, and as always, keep reading! x x x

Preparations!

T- 49 days! Or exactly 7 weeks today! I can't belive how quickly time is passing, it feels like yesterday that it was Crew Allocation and there was still three and a half months until the start, and six months until I would be leaving! With the boats on their way to Rio and struggling with tricky downwind conditions, its frustrating being away from the team but Lindsey's updates up-dates on the crew website are encouraging and morale on-board doesn't seem to be suffering too much.

The race start in Hull was exciting (if not a little emotional!) and a great chance to see all the team before they left! The spectator boat hired by later-leggers and family was a fantastic place to see the action from and we were able to follow the boats for a short time as they sailed up and down the Humber. Apparently over 100,000 people came to watch the boats leave and the support from private boats anchored in the estuary was incredible.

As far as preparations are going I'm feeling a bit behind! I still have boots, mid layers and what feels like a thousand little bits and bobs left to get. However, slowly but surely but its all coming together. I've been busy working with Mr McIntyre at Queen's Park, my old school, and Pete Hadfield from Chester Sailing Club organising a couple of taster sessions for  year sevens to help raise some last minute funds. I've also been planning lessons for year sevens at Blacon High based on navigation at sea and can't wait to get stuck in! I've had my picture and story in the local papers this week which will hopefully attract a few more sponsers!

Had better sign-off now as its getting nearer to T- 48 days and tomorrow promises a fun-filled day of planning, preparing and organising! Keep reading!! x x x

Team 'Jamaica Lightning Bolt' onstage at the race start.