Archive for May, 2009
Yesterday, with much excitement, I drove to Portsmouth’s historic dockyard for the long awaited Crew Allocation Day - the day we find out which boat we’re on.
The vast majority of the people taking part in the race came along (those who live in Australia probably didn’t make it as it’s a bit of a commute for a day). And it was fab to see all the people that we’d gotten to know during part A and part B training.
It started out with individual crew pictures being taken, before being issued with our branded jackets (now I look a real pro) and then milling about in nervous anticipation while we waited for the presentations to start.
We had a number of the sponsors, organisers and partners talking to us, with the highlight being a talk by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. He reinforced why doing this race is such an incredible thing to do. (Do you know that more people have climbed Everest than have circumnavigated the globe?). He ended it by saying that there were two things he wanted to hear from us when we completed our trip: 1) “That was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life” and 2) “So far…”. I’m certain that I will be saying those things.
We then got to see all the places that the boats are going - including confirmation that we’ll be stopping in Rio, right at the heart of it and it looks amazing. Yay! Looking at all of the places the boats visit and the incredible welcomes you get at all the stopovers made me long to do the whole thing.
It was all just so inspiring and the combination of nerves and excitement just about had me peeing in my pants (partly due to having had too much coffee and no toilet break).
They finally got to the part we were all waiting for - crew allocation. Each of the skippers read out the names of their crew members. I had asked to be with Chris Stanmore-Major as he’d been my skipper on Part A & B. Mine was the last name he called out. I had almost passed out in anticipation by then. So it’s official - I’ll be sailing on the Qingdao boat. Hip hip hooray! You can see our official Qingdao website here. Click on the crew profiles and you’ll see my name listed. Soon it will also have our photographs and info about us. On the subject of websites, they confirmed that when the race is on, there will be live updates where you can track the boats and where they are. So if you’re interested, you can see how I’m doing. According to my 5 year old we have to win. So hopefully we’ll be the boat in the front.
After chatting as a group for a few hours, making plans about the months ahead, we got to go down to the pontoon at Gunwharf Quays and officially name our boat which had just been delivered with its gorgeous dragon painted on the side. Naming a Chinese boat involves painting a red dot on the front of the boat to ‘open the dragon’s eye’ which apparently helps the dragon see where it’s going and will get us there safely.
The Chinese dignitaries were there to share champagne with us and they were incredibly friendly and fun - despite the need for translators. They gave a good indication of how brilliant they’d be as hosts in Qingdao itself.
We felt like mini celebs with all the passers-by on the quay watching as we had countless pictures taken, all while drinking too much champagne in the sun.
After a massive group picture of all the crew (300-odd), we headed off to Tiger Tiger for a night of extensive wine drinking in the name of team bonding.
All in all, it was fab. Fab, fab, fab.
BUT… and there had to be a but…I now so desperately want to sail leg 4 - the one that goes from Australia, via Singapore to China - that I can think of little else.
I’m not even sure if there’s still a space left on the leg, but even if there is, I’d need to find another £4600 for the leg plus another £2500 for the nanny and I’d have to pay for two more flights and there’s the small issue of work. It all seems impossible. But then again, this whole race seemed impossible in January.
So why the need to do leg 4? The first part is terrific sailing up to Singapore around places like Bali and the Indonesian islands. How gorgeous would that be? The reception at Singapore is meant to be awesome with spectacular displays. Then it’s some very, very tough sailing up to China in what is described as the bumpiest seas on the race (this bit doesn’t fill me with massive excitement) but then we - the home boat - arrive in Qingdao (where the Beijing olympics sailing events were held).
The reception for all the boats in China is HUGE. But for the Qingdao boat it is even more incredible. They have 100s of thousands of people turning out to see the boats and the skippers and crew are treated like celebrities. The shows they put on look mind boggling and the hospitality second to none. And to sail into the city on a boat bearing that city’s name would I think be one of the most moving experiences of all.
I was so envious of the people doing this leg and in particular, the round the worlders. As a mother, I am used to having my freedom curtailed. I know that you don’t leave the house with just your keys - you’re always carrying several bags containing clothes changes, snacks and toys. You can’t just pop off to the pub when you fancy it or have a lie in on Sundays or enjoy the evening sunset because it clashes with bath and bedtime.
I’m used to all these restrictions on my freedom. But I’ve never felt my lack of freedom quite so acutely as I do now.
There are many people doing the whole race who can do it because they have no husbands, wives or children. They have no mortgage or can rent out their property. They’ve been granted sabbaticals from work, have been made redundant, are quitting or retired. They’ve got the money from friends, family, work, savings or redundancy pay outs. They are entirely free to hop on a boat and just live the experience.
I am trying to do this within the confines of my life. And while I wouldn’t for a moment not want to have my husband and children and life, the other sailors’ freedom to roam makes me want to weep.
I should simply be grateful that I’m getting to do part of it, but if there was a magic wand I could wave to allow me to do leg 4, I’d wave it. I think I might need to see if I can find a local Chinese company who’d like to sponsor me. Perhaps the local Chinese restaurant in Newbury? We buy enough crispy duck pancakes from them to justify it….
Tags: crew allocation, gunwharf quays, historic dockyard, portsmouth, Qingdao
May 31st, 2009
So I held the second fund raising sale on Saturday and it was FAR more successful than the first. It was a combination of a better location in a high traffic area, where there were more people likely to buy second hand things and all the ladies involved were absolute stars in helping me to promote it. (THANK YOU LADIES!!!)
We managed to sell loads of things (although I’ve still come back home with three tubs of baby gear - I fear a third sale might be on the cards) and the money seemed to be flowing in. I even managed to sell the very beds my children are currently sleeping in but this has meant I’ve had to buy them some new ones because it’s a bit mean to make them sleep on the floor. This sort of defeats the object of trying to raise funds, but they did need new beds as they really can’t fit into their tiny cot beds anymore.
Despite the flourishing sales, when I counted it up, divvied it up to the respective sellers and deducted my outgoings I made a total profit of £455 over two sales. That’s a nice amount of money to help pay for the extra sailing kit I need to buy - like boots and gloves and thermal underwear - but it hasn’t made a massive dent in the huge total I still need to pay off.
Other than doing a sponsored naked walk down Oxford Street in London (which wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone really) I’m not too sure how to raise the funds needed.
I’ve been asked to do a live interview on Talk Radio Europe next week so maybe a bit more publicity will unearth a mystery millionaire who wants nothing more than to send me sailing across the Atlantic (although I’m not holding my breath).
I still have my Ladies Tea Party coming up but again, am not sure it’s going to make a massive amount of money for the work involved. And I really need people to buy tickets for it (so if you’re reading this and plan on coming then click on the events button above and book your ticket!)
So money - or rather the lack of it - continues to be a problem. Every penny I earn is going towards this race which means that my wardrobe has now reached a dire state. I am so off the fashion trend that I’m almost coming back into fashion again. My clothes are threadbare to put it mildly. My hair is making me resemble a skunk as it’s been so long since I’ve had my roots done. My feet should not be put into flip flops due to their vile, unpedicured state. And everything around me is falling apart from old age (husband included) but is being held together with bits of string, blue tack and glue.
But on the bright side crew allocation day is coming up on Saturday. Of course we have to have a our official crew photographs taken on this day and given how I look, I’m not sure it’s how I want to be remembered. But I guess it’s an accurate reflection of what taking part in this race does to your general appearance. So while it won’t be pretty, it’ll be truthful.
I will report back after the weekend once I know which boat I’m on. I am so excited about it, I just wish it would come now. Only 3 more sleeps!
And in the meantime, if you happen to stumble over a bag of gold or have a brilliant idea on how to easily raise £8k, let me know.
Tags: crew allocation, fund-raising, Money, sale
May 26th, 2009
The list of skippers for the race has just been officially announced. You can see the list here not to mention the ultra cool photo of the skippers swaggering along.
I am soooo excited about crew allocation day which is coming up on 30 May. It’s the day we’ll find out which boat we’ve been assigned to. I have asked to be put on the boat skippered by the guy who ran both of my training sessions. If you look at the list, he’s the chap whose going to be sailing the Qingdao boat. He’s also the only one in the photo wearing sunglasses (because sunglasses make you even more cool - unwritten rule of sailing.)
So assuming I get my request, I’ll be on the Chinese boat. But they have so many factors they have to take into account when assigning people that it’s almost impossible to guess. From the feedback I’ve had from others, all the skippers are great though. It’s just so darn exciting!!!!
This morning I also gave a presentation to my son’s school all about the race. Their theme for the week was Around the World, so it tied in nicely. Talking about the race, where it’s going to go, all the fab places the boats will be visiting has made me feel like I’ve got ants in my pants and I just can’t concentrate on anything.
Right, back to work.
Tags: Chinese, Qingdao, sailing, skippers
May 19th, 2009
So apparently fund raising is hard work. Who knew? Well I suppose those good folk who stand outside shops shaking tins for needy causes knew.
My sale wasn’t an unmitigated disaster. We had a hall full of lovely stuff. We had a full staff complement of mums desperate to sell their loot. We had me live on local radio espousing the virtues of our wares. We just didn’t get any punters through the doors.
A hall full of stuff to be sold
Lots of lovely toys
That’s not strictly true. We had some. We made a bit of money. But only just enough for me to just cover my costs. It was soul destoying. Which is why it’s taken me all week to write this post. That and the fact that I’ve had so much work to do this week I wanted to weep.
But with mountains of beautifully ironed, sorted and labelled kids stuff, we are not going to sit idly by. No, we have already arranged SALE TAKE 2 for next Saturday (23 May in case you’re looking for a bargain). We’re holding it in a busier traffic area where there are likely to be far more people who might value the bargains to be had.
The lovely mummies helping me with the sale have been shiny stars and have all been helping out hugely with publicising this sale as I’ve simply not had the time to drive around sticking up posters again.
Some of the lovely mums helping me out
However, this weekend I will get to paint an enormous sheet which we can hang up out the sale to attract passers-by. Here’s hoping we have queues of people fighting over babygros because if not, I will resign myself to the fact that I shall have baby stuff forever and might even be forced to have a third child just to get my money’s worth. Or not. Almost definitely not.
This has meant that I’ve had to push my Ladies Tea Party fundraiser back by two weeks and am currently trying to figure out some complicated technology that will allow me to sell tickets automatically from this blog. But I fear this is a bridge to far for my overcrowded brain.
Meanwhile, almost daily there seem to be emails from the Clipper team advertising new and exciting courses I can take like sea survival (how to pray hard when your boat sinks and you’re forced into a life raft), first aid (how to create a leg split from a spinnaker pole and a piece of rope) and VHF communications (so that in future when I’m talking to someone on the phone I can sign off by saying things like Oscar Bravo Charlie Over).
I want to do these courses. I don’t know why. I don’t have the time to fit them in. And they cost more money. And I’m only doing one leg. Sure it might be the leg when someone suffers concussion, we all sink and must call for help before we do so. But I’m hoping not. It just feels that if I’m doing this, I might as well push the boat out (excuse the pun) and do it all. If I get all these certificates it goes a good way to allowing me to commandeer a cruiseliner and head for the Caribbean when I can spend the rest of my days drinking daiquiries. A new career so to speak.
Speaking of careers, I’d better get back to my current one. I will report back hopefully soon with tales of pockets full of gold.
Tags: baby stuff, courses, fund-raising, sale
May 15th, 2009
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In a rich man’s world.
That Abba track has been my theme tune for today. That’s because tomorrow I’ll be holding the first of my fund raising events to help me cobble together the pennies I need to pay my way in this mad sailing endeavour.
I’m holding a Baby Bargains sale. I’ve roped in several local mummies, who like me have a loft full of baby stuff we need to get rid of but can’t find the time to do it, to become sellers. I get commission off the stuff they sell and obviously I’ll be selling my own stuff too. Here’s hoping we all make millions….Or at least tens.
It’s been an exhausting process. Firstly trying to find the sellers and now, trying to rustle up the buyers. For the last few weeks I’ve spent my spare time (which as you may know I have heaps of) driving around putting posters up, handing out leaflets and getting the sale listed in what’s on directories. I’ve done as much as I could possibly do but I feel sure that I could have done more. I’m terrified that no-one will turn up and we will make no money and worse, have to go home again with all of our baby stuff just when we thought we’d finally made some room in the house.
So fingers crossed that people come in droves. Fingers crossed they buy all the stuff. Fingers crossed I don’t keel over and die of exhaustion by the end of the day.
Just to add to the already fairly astronomical stress levels of this week, my husband has been in the US since Monday and only returns at midday tomorrow. This has left me with a small dilemma. What exactly do I do with two small boys while I try to set up and run a sale? Tricky non?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get friends to watch them as most of the friends are already involved in helping out at the sale. So I’ve had to ask their childminder to have them (at vast expense - which is slightly counter-productive when you’re trying to raise money). I’d like to say that my husband owes me one, but I feel he might point out that I’m the one heading off sailing for 5 weeks so don’t really have a peg leg to stand on. sigh
So this afternoon, while a friend once again helped out with the boys, I rushed around buying safety pins, blue tack, card and a myriad of other strange things I feel might come in handy tomorrow. I also visited the bank with a wodge of cash and got them to turn it into a float. I am now the proud owner of bags of 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2 pieces. What a joy it was carrying that through the centre of Newbury.
I shall spend this evening labelling up the last few items, making pots to collect door donations in, making signs, making floats and seller lists and finding calculators…all accompanied with a large bottle of wine.
I shall however, interrupt the proceedings to watch the EuroMillions lottery draw because you never know, I might just be the one in 76 million chance person who wins the £110 million prize. And if I do, you can bet your bottoms that I’ll be handing out my baby stuff gratis tomorrow morning. I’ll then sign up to sail the full round the world race and will pay for my family to fly to every stopover. My husband will stop working, as will I. We’ll get to spend more than one day every two weeks together. The children will have a private tutor to help us get over the drama of getting child 1 off to school everyday. And all will be well.
Here’s hoping. Wish me luck.
Tags: baby bargains sale, fund-raising, Money, sailing
May 8th, 2009
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