Beautiful Batam!

On arrival in any port there is always loads of work to do on the boat. We start with the deep clean where everything is moved, cleaned and repacked, all the floorboards come out, all the cushions and mattresses are cleaned, all the sails are put on deck and the bilges are washed out too. This normally takes the full crew a full days work, and the next day we are all needed again for maintenance. This time I got the lucky job of being ‘maintenance mother’ and spent the day making teas, coffees and juice instead of playing with tools and bits of boat. Luckily I managed to keep myself entertained by making Lindsey’s birthday cake (with eggs begged from the omlette-chef at brekky!) and using up the last of the porridge oats, raisins and syrup to make flap-jack! My new best friends are now Jay and Greg the maintenance guys who work for clipper and help us with the bigger jobs! Apparently they got into trouble though for staying on Jamaica longer than they needed!

Chef at Tapanyaki restuarant for crew meal

After all the work is finished our time is our own and there are lots of things to do in Batam. The marina is part of a resorts which has two hotels on sites next to each other and both have beautiful pools and facilities. After a couple of days just relaxing by the pool, greeting the other boats as they came in, hearing the stories about Cork and getting back to normal, we decided to do some of the activities organised by the hotels. On my birthday we did a ‘cultural tour’ into the main town/city. It was about a 40 minute drive into the town where we abandoned by our driver, who spoke no English except to say he would be back in half an hour, next to a strange looking mini arena with a decorated dragon and some white elephants. This place was completely empty except for a small child who looked completely non-plussed by the site of us and continued to play with her kinder-egg toy. As we were wondering around and wondering what to do a couple of men dressed in khaki appeared and began to put on some kind of traditional costume and vaguely gestured for us to take a seat of the benches surrounding the arena. There then appeared a couple more people who started playing the drums and the men in costume began their traditional dancing. When this was done they disappeared behind the dragon and came back with some props – a tray of flaming coals, a large wine glass, and a burning ring. They then took it in turns to leap through the ring – which I doubt would have fitted round my middle – eat the wine glass and eat the burning coals. After finishing their meal the declared they had finished and gestured back to out bus where our driver was waiting for us. A very strange experience!

Dragon at the 'cultural experience'

cultural dancers

We were then taken to a shopping mall which looked the same as any other European shopping centre so we asked if he could take us to the town centre. He seemed to understand and dropped us off outside a large hotel. We wandered around for a few minutes and found some streets that looked quite busy. On further inspection I think we might have stumbled across the red light district but the boys were keeping very quiet if we had! Our driver was waiting for us when we got back to the bus and we simply said home and off we went – minus Johnny G, Pav and Dave who decided they might quite like a better look around! When we got to the hotel it was time for my birthday pool party with the crew of Jamaica and anybody else who wanted to join in! I took the celebrating slightly easy as I had accidently found myself in the bar at midnight the night before after trying to skype home, and some friends of Cape Breton, realising it was after midnight and therefore the 20th of January, started buying me double malibu and cokes! Luckily they were already quite tired and I ‘escaped’ fairly quickly!



The one thing about Batam that I can’t wait grasp is the number of scooters on the roads! Its worse than anywhere I’ve heard about in France or Italy, there are literally hundreds of them. At every set or traffic lights at least 30 or 40 of them line up in front of you. Some times you see whole families piled onto them with a weeks worth of food shopping as well, and people as young as 14 are allowed to drive to them!



The following day we (Chris, Charles, Pav, Dave and I) had booked ourselves onto a jungle trek and kayak. We were picked up from the hotel with our guide, Ilman, at Turi Beach and driven about 5 minutes out the resort. We then trekked through the jungle for about an hour and a half, going up rock scrambles, through swamps, across mini canyons on a plank bridge, down steep paths with ropes to help us and eventually we came to a little jetty where we rested and drank lots and lots of water. Its amazing how much more humid the jungle is from the beach, and the sounds and smells are different to anything I’ve experienced. There is a small bug that lives there which is similar to a cicada but the noise it makes is like a very loud dentist’s drill! If you happen to upset a lot of them at once the noise becomes almost unbearable. It seems like the perfect defence from predators – just be as annoying as you can! When we got to Australia we started to smell bush fires before we came within sight of land, and going through the Sundra straights its smelt of forest, wood smoke and nutmeg. I now recognise this as the smell of the jungle.

Dave and Pav crossing the swamp

going down a steep bit!

charles scrambling up the rocks!

our kayaks arriving at the jetty

the kayaking expedition

charles, me, chris, dave, pav

Ilman

At the jetty we waited for a speed boat to bring our kayaks and enjoyed the peace and quiet. The boat brought two single kayaks and two doubles. Chris and Dave took the singles, Pav and Ilman took one double and Charles and I took the other. We kayaked up the river through the mangroves and on a couple of occasions got up close and personal with them! It is deffinatly the twistiest river I’ve ever seen and seemed to take forever to get anywhere. Gradually it got wider until eventually we reached the ferry terminal visible from the resort. We had a rest here on a sand bank and then continued out to sea and round the coast back to Turi Beach. It got quite exciting as we went over the shoals at the entrance to the marina as we trying to go side-on to the waves, luckily for Charles I was taking the worst of the splashes at the front of the kayak!



Back at the beach we were given a lunch of traditional dishes – the only one I recognised was the rice and prawn crackers, but it all tasted lovely! The rest of the group then went off on ‘Mangrove Experience’ while I went on the climbing wall with Ilman. There are two different courses and both are 4 or 5 stories high up the side of the hotel. After 5 climbs, hours of kayaking and trekking, and lots of late nights (or early mornings) that was me done for the day! I wandered back to Nongsa Point and collapsed by the pool for the rest of the afternoon with fellow lazy Jamaicans!

on the climbing wall

jamaica pool games!

As a fair well from the resort, both hotels did a complimentary buffet party for us, and at the Turi Beach one there was a rather embarrassing round of karaoki. It started with Luke of Cape Breton (one of the culprits for my dunking and birthday celebrating) standing up to go the bar at just the wrong moment! Luckily the rest of his team felt sorry for him and joined him on stage. There were then several challengers, the best of which was deffinatly the Jamaican rendition of Dancing Queen done by Bel, Elaine, Lindsey and me (unfortunately minus the moves carefully coreographed for Amy’s birthday!) The Nongsa point party was slightly less lively as most people were sensible enough to realise that as were slipping lines at 5 the next morning an early night was in order. Some, however, still didn’t manage to avoid a final dunking from her lovely friends of CBI and Edinburgh! Great!

the Tuir Beach party

nongsa marina

Keep reading for updates from Singapore! x

Tributes to Neptune and Arriving in Batam

Position: 000degs 00’.000 105degsE 20’.74




Crossing the equator for any sailor is supposed to be a be a big issue as paying tribute to Neptune is supposed to ensure safe sailing where ever you go. However, most of the Jamaica crew took the crossing with a little less enthusiasm than I expected. Apparently this is because when they crossed it in the Atlantic they celebrated a little too much and lost 10 miles in one sched! Despite this, the equator novices were determined to do things properly. Dave Harper was the most prepared and brought a hula costume all the way from England for the occasion, and finished it off with my stripey bikini top and a boat rasta hat– very fetching! Dave’s sacrifice to the sea was his home made red hot chilli oil which he applies in serious amounts to all his meals, even breakfast! Matt sacrificed his last chocolate bar and I (having run out of chocolate days ago!) had to improvise and made some oragami Lilies and offered those to the sea. Most of them managed to land upside and didn’t quite achieve the effect I was going for!

Dave and me on the equator

on the equator

dave in his hula dress

Having crossed the equator with a very quick celebration and a very quick, very out of tune rendition of ‘One Love’ (our boat song) it was back to mother watch for me. At first it was thought that Chris and I would only have a short mother watch and would get away with having to make lunch or even breakfast on the last day. This dream became less and less likely as we painstakingly slowly drew closer to the finish. Dinner was served late because of the equator and hot, bumpy conditions, lunch was served as we crossed the finish line, and we were volunteered to carry on mother until we reached port as there was ‘no point in the new mothers starting now’. So the mother of all mother watches ended up lasting for around 30 hours, and ended in arriving in Batam. In terms of the race finish there was little excitement as we knew that we would be third over the line and that all the boats behind us were motor sailing. However, when we got to Batam, to Nongsa Point Marina Resort, the welcome was fantastic. People were waiting for us on the pontoon as we got off and presented us with garlands, there was then a reception up at the hotel with a stage where we had our pictures taken and the traditional bottle of champers for Skip to shake all over us, and a complimentary hot dog! Just what we needed!



Cape Breton Island were the first to arrive and quickly set-up camp with their boom banner draped across the island in the swimming pool. Apparently when we arrived, however, the bar looked more inviting than the island and they unwittingly left the banner unattended. Not surprising, it didn’t stay there very long as the mischeivious crew from Jamaica decided it would look better on the boom of Australia, the 2nd boat to arrive! Unfortunately it was discovered quite quickly as it wasn’t quite dark and they weren’t quite as drunk as we thought. They discovered the person who did the actual retrieving of the banner and I got firemans-lifted by ‘Big Phil’ (who is roughly twice my height!) straight into the deep end! After 30 hours on mother watch, the galley being like a sauna and very little sleep the night before, the dip was a welcome refreshment, no matter how much I might have protested!

Team jamaica in Batam

The Sunda Straits and the Java Sea or, 'From Krakatoa to Cork!'

Saturday 16th January 2010

Position: 000degs 50'252S   106degs 59'000E

Boat time: 04:50hrs

What an eventful few days we've been having! I suppose the best place to start would be the beginning! I never thought I would love and hate cloud so much at the same time! Apart from a clear night tonight it has been cloudy since the final approaches to the Sunda Straits. And with the cloud has come the wind, a welcome relief from the heat but squalls and gusts can be worrying. As we approached the Straits we were heeled over, close-hauled and screaming along with 3 reefs in the mainsail and yankee 2 (foresail) bashing into the waves. Sitting on the high side or on station in the snake pit. we were getting soaked by wave after wave! Luckily, the water felt about the temperature of a nice bath so I didn't mind too much being stuck in my foulie bottoms and t-shirt! As we got really close and tucked into the land before bearing away into the Straits, some of the gusts were incredible and there was someone stationed on all the sheets (ropes) .......'In case we get knocked-down', the Skipper casually mentioned!........ One wave, while I waited by the staysail sheet, managed to completely fill the snake pit (the working point for most of the ropes) and I was washed forwards but found myself still on my feet although I was up to my waste in water! Luckily, I don't think I could have been and wetter anyway! It's a miracle my lifejacket didn't inflate!

We passed Krakatoa in the dark that night and all we saw was a dark lump a little way off on the horizon. I had asked the Skip if he could arrange passing it by day but he said night time would be better because we'd see it all lit up. Ha! it was just another lump of rock on the horizon - very disappointed! Bearing away (turning down wind) into the Straits calmed the waves down and we had a fairly peaceful off-watch and managed to get ourselves dry if not our clothes!

One sight I will never forget is seeing the southern tip of Sumatra outlined against the dusk with a line of eerie glows like giant fireflies waiting to pop up over the horizon. In reality, they were a line a squid fishing boats which use super bright lights to attract the squiddies, but the lights make the boats visible before they are over the horizon. We have seen loads of these in the last few nights as well as lots of other shipping traffic - from little rowing boats to a mini junk to tugs with 1000m long tows! We had a close call with a towing tug last night. The tug was lit up and we went to pass behind it leaving plenty of room only to discover, in the nick of time, that there was an unlit barge attached to the back of it on a long tow and with no warning! A quick 'bear-away' by the helm, though, meant all was ok!

Night watch has been particularly nerve racking too. At night the only way we can see a squall is on the radar and, only then, if there is rain in it which there often isn't. On watch the other night, moments after the all clear was given on the radar, a massive gust hit with no warning at all. Little Pete was on the helm and fought the wheel to bear away but the boat had other ideas and almost laid itself down flat on the water. We can't count it as a real knock down as the mast didn't get wet but we must have been heeled over at about 80degs! The other watch were rudely woken up to find themselves being acquainted with either their side locker (personal storage pocket in the hull down the length of your berth) or their lee cloths (a piece of material stretched across the outside of your bunk to stop you rolling out)! Yesterday morning was another bad watch for the others and they had a bad squall too. Unfortunately, they got rain as well! They were headed up but managed to recover in time to prevent a knock-down although the gust did blow 3 of the mainsail sliders out of the track on the mast. So all the sails had to be dropped while these were repaired. If anybody was watching us on the race veiwer, that was what the crazy figure of eight we did was all about! We spent about 2 hours with no sails up and then a typical 'calm after the storm' lasted most of the morning.

Jamaica Lightning Bolt hove to in the Java Sea carrying out Mainsail repairs

Since entering the Straits we have been treated to fantastic displays of lightning every night. Usually in the distance, but last night was a spectacular show with sheets of lightning lighting up the sky all around us at very regular intervals! I hasten to add that the boats are fully earthed but we have not even been close to being struck!

Less than 24hours to go before we cross the finish line and everybody is getting very excited! It's been very close between us, Cape Breton and Spirit of Australia. We have passed very close to both of them on a few occasions. The closest was with the Australian boat when we were only about 50 metres away - close enough to give our fanous 'lightning bolt' signs and call 'Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy!' and for Belinda to wave to her beloved Mike on the Austalia boat!

Unfortunately, not all the boats are enjoying the racing as much as we are. There are two messages you don't want to hear on the radio from a boat at sea. They are 'Mayday', which means a life-threatening emergency, and 'Pan Pan', which means emergency but with no immediate threat to life. When the 'Pan Pan' message from the Cork boat was heard over the radio, we all went very quiet because we knew instantly there was something seriously wrong. Cork had gone aground and was stuck fast on a reef close to a small island we had to pass on our route to Singapore. The closest boat, Team Finland, immediately went to the scene to give assistance followed by some of the other boats as they came up to the island. Our offer to assist was stood down as we were too far away and other boats were already there. The island is unlit and the depths around it on the chart are a bit vague so the race organisers set a mandatory way-point to ensure boats kept clear of it. We gave it a very wide berth but Cork must have cut it fine and hit an uncharted rock. Eventually, the crew had to abandon to the life rafts as the boat was heeled over too far to be safe and they were picked up by Team Finland and California. We were so relieved to hear that everyone was safe and, as far as we know, no-one was injured. Many of us on a rather subdued Jamaica, I'm sure, were thinking 'It could have been any one of us!' As racing resumes, it is being assesed whether Cork can be salvaged or not. One thing is certain, if it can, it will not ready in time for the next leg of the race.

Cork lying aground and abandoned

Plans for the equator are slowly coming together and I'm sure that Jamaica will be celebrating with style - even if half the crew are a bit blase about it, having done it already! I will be on Mother watch and plan to make a special 'Equator-cake!'

Keep watching the race as it is still very close between us, Cape Breton and Australia. The other two are certainly keeping us on our toes and it is still anyone's race!

Night Watches and Tropical Heat

Tuesday 12th January 2010
Position: 07degs 37'700S 105degs 01'277E          Boat time: 05:35hrs

Having left the steady predictable waters of Western Australia behind, we are now in what is known as the 'Monsoon Trench'. Its a deep sea trench just outside the Sunda Straits where squalls and heavy down pours are a regular occurence. This makes the sail plans very difficult to manage as the weather information we recieve is often made unreliable by localised weather systems. On watch yesterday, due to squalls and wind shifts, we ended up hoisting and dropping 3 kites in 6 hours! this alone would not be a problem but after every drop the kite has to be packed. This takes the whole watch working in pairs to role it up, tie it with wool and then store it in its bag. Simple enough but with the heat below decks it's almost unbearable!

At night we are now keeping regular radar watches to try and see if any squalls are imminent (as rain shows up on the radar) and if there is any shipping to worry about. So far, we have only seen a couple of ships on the horizon which have crossed our bows at high speed. However, we have seen loads of squid fishing vessels which normally present themselves as a glow on the horizon. One did come quite close. They're easy to spot at night as they shine bright lights on the water to attract the squid and are, therefore, all lit up like a Christmas tree! At the moment there are about 5 'glows' around us at various points just over the horizom so a keen look out is being kept. As we approach the Sunda Straits, we're expecting to sea a lot more traffic as they are the 2nd busiest shipping lanes in the world - after our English Channel, that is!

Night watches are very eventful at the moment not only with evolutions (sail changes) and shipping, but also lightning is a regular occurance. At first, we thought it was the spinnaker illuminated by the steaming light playing tricks on the water. But then the biggest flash ever came from directly behind us! Luckily, none of the lightning so far has been close to us and it only seems to occur at night when we can see where it is. Other than the lightning, the nights at the moment are almost pitch black and it is impossible to see anything! On watch last night, at about half 2, there was a sudden thud just behind where April and I were sitting. I could see a large dark shape on the deck. I assumed it was another flying fish and put my hand on it to throw it back overboard. But I quickly removed my hand and squealed maybe a bit too loudly as it was not what I expected! Instead of feeling wet but fairly solid and scaly, it was slimy, squishy, very slippery and definitely not a flying fish! A torch was shone on the spot and there was a big sea bird lying stunned on the deck, one wing folded in. After a quick discussion it was decided that it would probably float the right way up and, anyway, it was only slowing us down! So April bravely did the honours, picked the poor thing up and threw it overboard into the darkness. we can only hope we right about it floating!

Although busy and with lots of things to do, the last couple of days have been particularly hard for me. The heat on deck has been just about bearable but any kind of activity drains you and everybody's tempers are wearing thin. Sleep is also difficult with the fans going in the bunks and the other watch doing noisy sail changes. Trying to escape the stifling heat below decks is almost impossible. Mother watch the other day was particularly difficult due to the heat and the interferaece of spinnaker packers. After waking up to go on watch at 8 last night (after being woken 3 times by conversations - not even a real excuse like sail changes!), I was completely shattered and feeling very tired and testy. Luckily, Michelle was on Mother and fed me rehydration sachets and fruit mintoes! A real life saver!

Hopefully it should be a bit quieter on deck now with a more constant breeze and I'll be able to catch up on some much needed sleep! That said, the racing is still exciting and we're up at the front of the fleet! Come on Jamaica!

Look out for the next exciting installment! Lily x

Indian Ocean cruising

Thursday
7th January 2010

Position:

17degs 05'469S
105degs 54'815E

Boat Time:
19:15hrs

The last couple of days have been pretty perfect from a cruising point of veiw - its been hot, sunny, and we've been carrying the medium weight kite constantly for the last 48 hours at least! I've been on the helm a couple of times and it surprised me to realise that in all my years of sailing millions of types of dinghies etc. that this is the first symetrical spinnaker boat I have helmed! However in light conditions with gentle swells the switch from little and asymetric to huge and symmetrical hasn't been to hard!

The only downer at the moment is that we're slowly losing ground and places on the other boats as wehead more westwards following the wind and its looks like we won't be making it to the scoring gate in time for any points. But not to worry as I'm m sure the 'Come-back Kids' will have something up their sleeves for tactics on the next part of the race! Skipper Pete has a cunning plan!

On night watch last-night we had a whole load of Dolphins with us for about 15 minutes. They were chasing the boat and playing in the bow waves. When you see them coming towards you through the water they look

like silver torpedoes and probably move twice as fast! They love jumping out the water, it seems, just so they can have a look at who's onboard and if there's anything interesting going on! We've also seen loads of flying fish, in the water during the day and on deck at night! During the day its not uncommon to see shoals of up to 50 fish take to the air at once, skimming over the waves.

This leg is a definite change from the Southern Ocean! The water is a different colour and feels different when it happens to go down your neck! - although that is much less common on this leg! Sitting on deck at 4 o'clock in the morning in t-shirt and shorts and moon-bathing is a pretty surreal experience. The nights have been stunning so far, although not very clear, only a few stars here and there, but when the moon rises and pops out from behind a cloud the whole sea becomes a great silver surface, and we can see almost as clearly as day light!

Skipper Pete has fitted and wired bunk fans up front which is a life saver at the moment! Altough the heat is bearable on deck with the constant breeze, downstairs has a definite sauna feel to it and its only going to get hotter as we head towards the Sundra Straits, Krakatoa, the Java Sea and the Equator!

Hope everybody at home is enjoying the snow! I must admit I'm quite a lot jealous that the one winter I spend away from home, it snows properly for the first time in forever! That said, I'd still rather be here! Wrap up warm and keep reading! Lily x

Here we go again!

Tuesday 5th January 2010

Position: 109degs 08'329 S   23degs 31'377 E

Boat time: 09:51hrs

Well here we are back on the water, back where we belong! It was a close start and most boats stayed in sight of each other until last night. It's still a very close race though with only a few miles between all the boats. We're currently flying the mid-weight kite to try and make up some miles lost through the night. Morale on-board is high as we finally start to settle into the watch system. So far so good and no seasickness from any of the crew - even me!

As part of our thanks to Geraldton for hosting us, all the boats had to sail through a manadatory gate laid over HMAS Sydney where it was wrecked in the 2nd World War and where all 645 members of its crew died. At Gerealdton there is a memorial dedicated to the Sydney and one of us off each boat took a wreath up to the sight, and then we laid them in the water as we the sailed over the wreck. The gesture was greatly appreciated by the locals and many people on board. A touching moment when we went up to the memorial was when Paul of Edinburgh read out a letter on behalf of an Ozzy crew member whose Uncle died in the wreck and whose name is remembered on the wall of reflection.

As we head up North and West towards the next scoring gate the fleet is starting to spread out as different tactics come into play. The weather has been windy but mild and overcast and everybody has been enjoying a turn on the helm. Yesterday, I surfed my first wave with a poled-out Yankee 2 foresail, staysail and full main reaching 15.2 knots on the speed instruments and 16.6 knots on the GPS! Everybody says that the instuments are more accurate but I'm inclined to believe the GPS! Either way its my new PB and the speed record, so far, for the leg! Bring it on for making it faster!

Our last night in Geraldton was celebrated with live music on the foreshore and a firework display! Our stay there has been a truly memorable one and, in some ways, I'm sad to leave. However it feels great to be back at sea and I can't wait for the sun to come out! Also, we're all set to be in Batam Island (a holding point just before we parade into Singapore) in plenty of time for my birthday!

Happy New Year to everybody and don't forget to you can follow the race on: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

PS. I put loads of photos on my Facebook page before I left Australia. If you can get on Facebook, look me up and go to my photo page. You can also find the photos through my Dad's Facebook (Alan Whitehead) or my sister Kate's (Kate Whitehead)