Singapore Slings and Calm Seas

Lily on radar watch

Sent: 3rd February 2010

Boat time: 22:10hrs

Position:

001degs 54' 71N (Yes, back in the Northern hemisphere heading for winter!)

106degs 49' 81E

So here we are back on the water. How time flies when we're having fun! Can't believe we were in port for almost as long as we were in Oz. 15 days in total. Singapore is an interesting place with lots going on. I wasn't a fan of the main commercial areas such as Orchard Road and Clarke Quay. Orchard Road must have at least 5 Armani shops, 7 Gucci and 12 Prada! as well as all the normal Topshop, River Island etc! There are shops on ground, above ground, behind ground, below ground, to the side of ground...... everywhere! Some people might like it but none of the shops seemed useful! I did eventually find what I was looking for (a mid-layer jacket) in one the malls nearer the marina.

If you are prepared to look around a bit, there are lots of other parts to Singapore which are fabulous! China Town is one of my favourite places ever! At night there is a street market with a whole road dedicated to food, which is the cheapest and yummiest place to eat ever! We ate there twice and and never spent more than 10 dollars - about £4 or £5! - and it's so much nicer than the big restaurants, too. The next best place to eat was Little India. When you step out of the tube station, the smell of spices hits you straight away! The market there is smaller but much more colourful. But my favourite part of Singapore, though, was definitely the Botanic Gardens. They're massive and each section is stunning. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to go into the national orchid gardens but they are supposed to be the best display of orchids in the world.

Of course, whilst in Singapore, we went to Raffles. As a belated birthday treat, my very lovely crew treated me to a Singapore Sling in the long bar and afternoon tea in the tea room. The afternoon tea was definitely nicer than the Singapore Sling. Not really sure I'm a fan of the cherry liqueur they put in it!

Leaving 'Singers' was a great show. Cleared customs at 6am then a complimentary brekky buffet put on by the marina - choccy muffins, noodles, dragon fuit (my favourite!) and all sorts of other bits! We then met the ex-Prime Minister and walked down the pontoon as a team back to the boat as our boat songs played. When we slipped our berth, we headed out of the marina and had to cross the TSS (shipping lanes) before we could start. There was no wind at the planned start location so we moved further towards Nogsapura (where we stayed in Batam) and started there. It was hard on the wind for the start but, with so little of it, no-one moved very quickly over the line! We tacked all the way out of the Singapore Straits and into open water where we are still tacking as we try and make against the wind towards our next stop, Qingdao.

It should be upwind all the way to China but whether it is a welcome change is doubtful matter! At the moment we are enjoying nice gentle weather and flat seas. But, as we learnt on the last race, it can all change very quickly! The further north we go the weather will change from hot and steamy summer to cold and icy winter by the time we reach Qingdao. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, as we head up the China Sea, we will sail into stronger head winds from the north east and this, coupled with currents in the opposite direction, all makes for rough seas and a rough passsage! Hopefully, though, we won't see too much snow until we're on final approach for Qingdao. The last couple of days, maybe! Quingdao is about 2,500NM and it should take us about 3 weeks to get there.

In case you didn't know, Clipper have told us that Cork (who had to abandon their boat in the Java Sea during the race up to Singapore) are getting a replacement boat but it won't be available until May in Panama. So, until then, Cork crew have all been taken in by the other boats. The Cork thing was scary but one of the really nice things about this race is that, although we are competing against each other, actually, we are all one big family and we all look out for one another be it at sea or ashore! I first learnt the value of this ethic when I was at junior school in Dodleston. Education accepted, we were always encouraged to look out for and help the other children in the school. It's been with me ever since.

For now, it's night watch. The stars are out, the sails are nicely filled and I've got my shorts and t-shirt on! The last 3-hourly report in to the race office showed that, after a poor start, we had climbed into 5th place and eveybody is happy! COME ON, JAMAICA! xxx

PS. If you are reading my Blog, I'd love it if you posted a comment for me. I feel rather lonely when nobody puts any comments on. Love, Lily x

And, don't forget, you can follow the race in detail at: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/