work, work, work – that pretty much summarises the last few days. tons of jobs to do on the boat (whipping and slicing, winch cheek) – all for the final preparation for our race. Team Switzerland seems to be ready, or almost.
The last days were spent to get the boat fixed, get the final safety checks in place and organize our watches (the shifts we are operating on..). I even got my official roles for the first race: I will be media assistant (ie helping to film videos on board) as well as social secretary – responsible for the entertainment of the crew (organize birthdays, partys, as well as fun& games) – thought I will start a regular “on deck – pilates”session 🙂
Tomorrows the big day – the morning will see the official crew presentation followed by the docks leaving out of St Katherines Docks (four boats will be squeezed into the tiny docks at the same time) – thereafter there will be a parade down the Thames – the Tower Bridge will open at around 13.00 to host our parade. Thereafter its down the river, past O2, Thames Barrier and QE2 Bridge towards Southend.
The official start of Race 1 of Clipper 13-14 will be at 9.30 on Monday 2 September at the pier on Southend on Sea. From their it will be 380nm race to Brest. It will cross the Dover Strait – the most busy shipping strait in the world (the big ship traffic zone need to be avoided as that would mean a six point penalty). Finish will be in the navy harbour of Brest- hopefully we can be there by Wednesday – only mild westerly winds are forecasted
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