A couple of photos from the prize giving evening, with Durban collecting their second yellow pennant have now been added to Flickr.
It's all been very quiet down at the marina as the crews have spent Christmas away resting and relaxing in various parts of Australia. It's Crew Changeover day today so more people will be arriving and we all go out on a training sail on the 29th.
I do have some pictures - just need to remember to bring the camera cable to the internet cafe and get them uploaded :)
We've been asking each member of the crew who completes their part of the race to tell us about their experience. The latest salty sea dog to get in touch was Anne:
Who was on your watch, and who was watchleader?
My first watchleader (Liverpool to Brazil) was Neil. On watch with John Grey, Dave Joyce & Joe.
My second watch leader (Brazil to Durban) was Claire. On watch with Shaz, Johan and Dave.
My third watch leader (Durban to Fremantle) was.....me! On watch with Claire, Steve, John A & Tore
What were the highs and lows of your time on the boat?
I only ever had highs - too numerous to mention!
What was the funniest thing that happened on the boat?
Funny things happened every day. There was never a day that went by that I did not laugh.
What was the most amazing thing that you did/saw?
Whales. On the last leg in to Fremantle, we had mother and calf close enough to reach out and touch. Albatross. Beautiful to watch but I always thought they looked sad as well.
What were the highlights/lowlights of your mother watch?
No lowlights. The highlights were when you were producing meals in the toughest conditions that were fit for a king.
What were you most looking forward to at the end of your race?
Collecting the yellow pennant and having a steak salad dinner.
What were your first impressions of the stopover/destination port/s?
La Rochelle: Beautiful town but lots of walking!
Salvador de Bahia: Beautiful town but poverty was obvious. Friendly and welcoming - especially the Irish bar.
Durban: Too many rumours about muggings and murders of which I experienced none - obviously! Crew safari that took us up country was a highlight.
Fremantle: Very pretty town. Friendly people. Weather just like a British summer...Hopefully it will improve for Christmas and the new year start day.
Having left the boat, what will you miss most? Is there anything that you won’t miss?
Miss most? The crew. Won't miss? Pumping the heads.
What was the most useful thing that you packed? Was there anything that you wish you’d brought?
Most useful: Oceanwear sleeping bag with waterproof outer and big bear cosy inner lining. Wished I'd bought?: Warm thermal gloves for the freezing night shifts.
What was the most useless item you packed?
Car keys
Having taken part in the Clipper race, what is your next challenge?
Surviving on dry land!
Durban is now back in the water and it looks like most of the maintenance jobs are done - obviously this is of great disappointment to those of us joining! This morning she was given a good cleaning in preparation for the corporate guests this afternoon - it's quite oily around the marina which then gets on the boat so the deck needed a good scrub to get it all sparkingly and new!
With the boat all clean and shiny those doing the corporate sailing joined the guests for lunch and they'll be heading out on the water at around 1.30pm for some match racing with WA. So fingers crossed it's another win for Durban. Wijbrand & I have taken the chance to bit of exploring around Freo - so far as you can see we've found the internet cafe. It's a very reasonable 10c a minute so hopefully we should be able to keep everyone back home updated every couple of days.
Well it's almost time for lunch so time to head off and check out one of the many nice looking cafes and restaurants along Cappucino Strip.
Janet
For those of you who were unable to get to Liverpool for the start of the race, hopefully the video will give you a flavour of the atmosphere.
Here's an update from Ian on what the crew are doing in Fremantle:
"Durban Clipper was the first boat to be taken around to the hoist and lifted out of the water. She now sits in a cradle as the crew begin the anti fouling process. And I bet that dressed head to toe in protective white overalls (looking like extras in a Sci Fi movie) on a day when the hot weather has returned, is JUST what they want!
The task is being completed via a number of very long rollers, platforms and ladders and the first task was to use a roll of masking tape to ensure a crisp clean water line. While they do that, Justin and the Clipper maintainance team are checking the hull for problems and are currently making some small repairs to the trailing edge of the rudder.
All being well, Durban will go back in to the water tomorrow. First in to port, first out of the water, first back in......do you detect a theme here?!
On the 21st, she will be one of two boats taking part in a corporate sail and the rivalry between Western Australia 2011.com Clipper will resume. Not much news there and the guests will be members of the Fremantle Sailing Club. However, when you set it up as an Americas Cup style match race and add local sailing legends John Longley and Skip Lissiman acting as the tactician on each boat, then its pretty exciting. Check them out on Google - both part of the winning team when the Americas Cup race was won here.
The prize giving starts at 1800 on the 22nd and in addition to the race pennants, the winning teams will be presented with an specially struck gold, silver or bronze commemorative coin from the Perth Mint.
The other boat task today was to go on a victualling fact finding trip and check out the likely cash and carry.
I did some research across all the boats today as to the number of families coming out. Singapore won, with 32 friends and family. Durban has 11, Jamaica the same, Novia Scotia 12, Qingdao 23, Glasgow 25, Hull & Humber 17 and Liverpool 14. As such, the population of Freo has grown by 270+ and the impact on local businesses is significant
Latest on New York Clipper is an arrival time of between 0400 and 0700 tomorrow morning local time."
Here are some pictures of our winning crew arriving in to Freo harbour. This is the Official Clipper image:
And from our Clipper insider, Ian Dickens (Anne's husband):
"As Christmas presents go, that was a pretty decent one from Anne and the crew as they claimed their second win and another coveted yellow pennant."
At 10.32 UTC, 19.32 local time, Durban 2010 & Beyond crossed the finish line as winners of Race 4 from Durban to Fremantle, Australia.
The latest update on the expected finish time is 17.30 local (it's currently 15:10 in Perth) - so close they must be able to smell those stubbys!
As the mighty Durbs approaches the finish line in Freo, it's time to think about the best way to celebrate another fantastic podium place.
As far as the Aussies (and the crew) are concerned, there is probably only one way. Get a stubby (bottle) or a tinny (can) or two of your favourite lager. Chill it right down, stick a glass in the freezer and when everything is as cold as you can get it, drink and enjoy!!
For a really authentic celebration, you could also fire up the barbie (that's a brai for all our SA crewmates!) and celebrate in full Aussie style. I'll be giving the barbie a miss as the temperature is hovering around zero degrees here ;-)
I'm sure you'll join me in congratulating Ricky and the guys on the boat - it's been a fantastic race and we're incredibly proud of you all.
Steph
