April 27, 2016 - Seattle - prepping for departure Clipper Race 10

This will be race 10, the first of 2 races in Leg 7. Crew changeover day was April 24. The next day, I went sailing for the day, acting as crew and sailing coach for the guests of our corporate sponsor. It was a great way to re-familiarize myself with the Clipper 70.  There was a gentle breeze, so not too strenuous, and quite a lot of fun. It was hilarious to see 2 lightweight young ladies try to "sweat" the mainsail up the mast. 

That evening the Leg 7 crew got together for dinner. Already, we are gelling into a hard working and supportive team with lots of fun loving spirit. 

I spent the next day with new crew joiners packing dry bags with 2 days worth of food in each. All the labels came off the cans (they get soggy and gooey or fall off the cans which then become unidentifiable). We've written the contents onto the cans with Sharpie marker - sure hope it lasts. We packed 29 bags. More than we will need, I hope!!

John and Mike put the clean covers on the galley bench cushions.  

Today I helped situate the food bags under the floor boards of the boat. Each bag is numbered and we will use them in sequence. There is a 10- day meal plan rotation planned.

Craig working on the "lifelines".  

Many other tasks were completed as well, including rig check and maintenance, re-tying new safety lines, checking lifejackets, putting clean mattress covers on, preping sleeping bunks, sail  repairs...

Yes, I took a selfie in front of the original Starbucks.  

I also did a little bit of shopping. I bought a little personal fan with a USB plug. I understand it will be pretty hot as we approach the doldrums and go through the Panama canals and this is a recommended price of kit. We'll see how well it works. I have a low tech back up...

Low tech cooling device.  

My roommate and soon-to-be watch mate, Jill, and I enjoyed a steak dinner this evening, along with a lovely glass of wine - our last for a good while. Tomorrow we depart! 

April 24, 2016 - A lovely land-based travel interlude.

I have had a wonderful vacation with my mother. She is a tour manager (recently retired) and has visited the beautiful west coast of Canada many times. We took the opportunity of this time between my Clipper races to travel together there. Within 12 hours of arriving home in Toronto from Antigua, I was back on a plane heading to B.C. with Mom. She showed me some of her favourite spots and we explored nooks and crannies she'd never been to.  We gravitated to the water everywhere we went. In fact, upon arriving in Victoria after our mad dash out of Vancouver, it was less than one hour before I was back on a boat and we were taking a water tour of the harbour and gorge :-)

I treasure the time we've had together. She tolerated me in my zombie-like state and helped me re-energize in the first days of our time together like only a mother would. As we adventured together by car, and enjoyed lingering during meals and long walks together, we created new memories and reflected together on many old ones. 

Mom came to Seattle with me to see me settled in with my new crew. She saw the boat that will be my home for the better part of 2 months and met some of my crewmates.  

What a surprise when we got to the hotel to find that the balcony had a view of the Clipper Race boats!  I'm getting excited!! 

Go ClipperTelemed+! (a.k.a "LGB" for the "little green boat"... Will you be following us on the Race Viewer?)

April 17, 2016 Antigua - yachtmaster challenge

While my Clipper Race team met the huge challenge of the North Pacific crossing from Qingdao to Seattle, I took on a sailing challenge of a somewhat different nature.  

Them - Brrrrrrrr!

 https://www.facebook.com/lalinee09/videos/10208740870859677/

Me: note the calm waters and flat horizon :)

My challenge? Advance through a couple of levels of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) sailing training program from my previous status of Day Skipper to Coastal Yachmaster.  

In anticipation, several anxieties surfaced. Could I learn all I needed to know and gain the additional boat handling experience required in the allotted 3 weeks? Would my new knee brace work well on the boat?  Would the examiner be tough? 

As reassurance, and a source of constant joy, I thought of how lucky I am that my husband wants to do this with me!

It was a very intense 3 weeks. A wonderful way to spend time with hubby, Steve, learning together and advancing our yachting knowledge and skills.

We were wiped at the end of every day. The first
week was a steep learning curve for the theory course, with reading and homework most nights and/or early mornings. Our class was a group of 4, all of whom would be taking the 2-day practical Yachmaster exam 2 weeks hence.

We did manage 2 visits with our friends Sam and Nadia and their family that week. Partly because of that (missed doing some homework exercises those evenings!) and partly because I had to study for an additional practical exam for the following  Saturday (VHF radio operator license), I didn't quite pass my chart work paper for the theory course on the first try. Fortunately, the yachtmaster practical exam was delayed 2 days because of weather (no wind!). I say fortunately, because it meant I could study the chart paper theory in more depth and get more efficient with the complicated series of steps required for addressing tidal streams and heights.

My instructor, Pippa, kindly allowed me to re-write the test a couple of hours before the yachtmaster practical exam was to start on Saturday. Happily, the other 2 test papers, also allotted 2 hours each, were no problem (topics: weather and collision regulations, known as "ColRegs"). Though not a requirement to take the yachtmaster practical exam, I was pleased to obtain my Yachmaster theory course completion certificate. 

Steve laying the anchor and Rich, approving.  

In preparation for the exam we had 2 weeks (10 days) on the water. We (Steve and I, and 2 conspirators, Hugh and Neil) sort of turned the first week, with ace instructor Rich, into a yachting and fine dining tour of Antigua. Don't worry....We found lots of time to practice with close quarters boat handling, mooring, anchoring and MOB drills. 

The following week, Pippa was our on board instructor for the exam prep week. Despite the lovely constant warm breeze, it wasn't all sailing. We spent time drilling ColRegs, too, as the standard is 100% for quizzes and application during the practical exam for this critical topic area. 

Lynn, Steve, Dian, Neil, Pippa below deck with ColReg cue cards 

All of the 4 candidates had to adjust their travel plans because of the delay in the practical exam. Except that I couldn't, which meant I had to be assessed first so that I could get off the boat in time to catch my plane the next day. Quite nerve wracking to be the first one assessed, although the others also were given quizzes and chart assignments while my assessment was underway. When it came down to getting out on the water, though, they were my crew and I was the one in the spotlight mainly.

Thank you, Pippa, for the confidence-building instruction! 

Here's a rundown of my assigned tasks: 

Sat eve - Chart task - plot EP on my birthday date near Plymouth, consider tidal stream.
Grilled on the ColRegs - lights, day shapes and sound signals. Q&A re weather. Shown synoptic charts etc. to interpret.  Assigned night passage to prepare. Skipper for the night. Get the boat ready (direct the crew) and off the dock and execute night pilotage plan into St John's Harbour (where the cruise ships go). Organized crew to get dinner cooked - we ate while underway. Handed off return pilotage to Steve, who took us into Hermitage Bay and anchored.
Next morning (Sunday) I was skipper again. Planned a crazy route to SAIL off the anchor and SAIL through a TINY safe passage between a submerged rock and a very hard coastal rock cliff place. Continued sailing to try and find a small deep spot (seek 10 m depth contour) in the great big blue (about 2 nm offshore) - found it! None of this with electronic charts. Then motor sail to Jolly Harbour fairway buoy (very light winds). On the way, MOB exercise (the man over board was "Steve", a boat fender with a coiled line attached, so the real Steve couldn't help with the retrieval) - success! And then SAIL into the harbour (through a nearby anchorage) with short tacks through the narrowest part of the channel to the harbour. Stop at a mooring ball in the harbour under SAIL.  Then on into the harbour with engine on and then reverse around a hammer head dock and continue reversing down a lane between slots/berths on one side and a wall on the other.  Plant the boat on the wall tied on the port side. Carefully gauging wind speed effects and prop walk from the propeller, managed to gently kiss the dock with fenders as we came to a gentle stop on the wall. Fun! 
Fortunately for all this, we had rather benign weather conditions.

How did my examiner sum it up? "Exemplary performance!"  What relief!

A quick photo to mark the occasion before I dashed off to catch my plane...

Congrats to the others, Steve, Dian and Neil, who went on to achieve their Yachmaster Offshore certifications! 

Note: While good for long term cruising plans, none of this will be particularly helpful on the ocean yacht racing adventure that resumes in my near future. More to come on that front very soon!

March 10, 2016 - Toronto update - more sailing!

Well, they flew me home business class so I would have room to stretch out my injured leg. And I was wheeled through the airports in a wheelchair. Plus, I got to be pampered in the first class travel lounges in Vietnam and Seoul. Very comfortable travel and much appreciated. To top it off, hubby was at the airport to welcome me home!

It's been nice to be home these past 2 weeks. A bit of pampering the first few days helped me get over jet lag - actually, that took the better part of a week! Midnight snacks were more like lunch, with the 12 hour time difference. 

I've kept a low profile so far so I could adjust to being home and focus on my knee rehab, which has been keeping me busy, as well as coordinate things with insurance companies, etc. 

My amazing doctor lined up a consultation with the experts at Athlete's Care for the day after I arrived home. That doctor then referred me to a physiotherapist and a brace specialist. I diligently implemented all PT recommendations and have begun a rigorous home rehab program. I'm in the gym most days and have started Aquafit classes as well. Also, I saw an orthopaedic specialist at Mt. Sinai Hospital this week.

The outcome? Though the ACL (the anterior something-or-other ligament) is completely ruptured, I am strengthening the surrounding muscles and moving around quite well already. The specialist has agreed that I can return to the Clipper Race for Leg 7 as planned! I will be wearing a brace as a precaution. 

Hurray! 

So, spirits lifted and plans in motion, it was time to get out and have some fun. My yacht club runs sailboat races in the winter - in the indoor pool! To get my sailing fix, I grabbed our family's remote control sailboat and headed off to the club where I met up with Sharkie comrades Andrew and Daina - I sometimes race with them on their Shark in Toronto Harbour. Andrew showed me the ropes with the RC and he quite handily won the first heat before we lost control of the rudder and had to withdraw from the competition. Oh well. I got the hang of it during practice time and am determined to give racing it a try once we sort out the problem. I went to the hobby store today and bought a new servo, so repairs are underway. The agonies of boat ownership!

Have you been following the Race? The course from DaNang to Qingdao has been brutal. I can only imagine that the issues with equipment and the extreme weather challenges have left the crew battered and weary. I can't honestly say I wish I was there. I am with them in spirit though, and eagerly await news of their safe arrival in port. Thankfully, weather in these final days of the race has become more favourable and they should have a bit easier time of it. 

Thanks for following, and for your good wishes.  Stay tuned as the sailing adventure continues during my upcoming yachtmaster training in Antigua in April, then more ocean racing in Leg 7 of the Clipper Race (May-June).