Message From GARYJESSOP

30/10/07 24 26.7 S 23 07.2 W
A beautiful day which started with a Neil Diamond mornng at dawn,we are now on the night shift sailing from 8pm-midnight and then 4am-8am and have from miday to 4pm.
Its a little frustrating as you can see we are in the lead,however with the wind dropping as is our speed,it is a little stressful.How ever it gives us time to take in the beautiful back drop of nature with its ruby coloured skies and the ever changing colours of the ocean.We had acouple of birds take a rest on their annual holiday to S.A with a nights rest on our radar.As for the flying fish they seem to be flying else where at present.So I have made a call that tomorrow my watch 'Trick' will dress up for halloween night,you will have to keep an eye on the web sight for the photo.The watch is going well , bread making is good, infact the simplistic life of the boat is good.With a little help from Neptune we may just keep our lead. One quick question for everyone ..who was the god/goddess of wind ??

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Message From GARYJESSOP

On our way to Durban , just a thought u may help me out.thought I coud get hold of a couple S.A's I know with your help. I m looking forJohn Lane (known asJohn Lane fast bowler) and Joe Verkaul( not sure of the spelling) both were members of Benoni Northerns.. And If some one can check bloomberg for me ..check Ian Skinner also S.A last I knew he was working at Tulletts in London,hemay have moved back. He will know all .And also a Paul Craig.The Boss at Tulletts Jo'burg may know( if its Ruddy)
If anyone gets hold of any off them tell them what i m upto that I m on my way to Durban and would love to catch up for a cold one.
I know it is a Long Shot but woth a try.

The Lady is well balanced at present and the moon lit sky cries out for a poet.
23 12 .9 S 028 21.7 W
gj

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Message From GARYJESSOP

S.A here We come.We leave colourful Salvador with it's hawkers selling T-shirts,hats,classA and other bits and bobs for Durban.We lost a few crew and picked up Dave Brown which is great as we have his nonstop jokes for this journey.
Marus asked Chris and I to be watch leaders again just for this leg and it is an honour and another challenge.So with this accepted Marcus changed the teams -so we changed the names of the watch's to Trick and Treat(Daisy's great call-we will have a new one for the next leg,so any great ideas hit the clipperwebsite)
TheTeams:Trick :Gary,Klaus,David,Ant,Daisy,Linda
Treat:Chris,Christian,Oscar,Carlo,Vee,Nicole
We now have a few calls to make on how south we go,time to gamble for all boats. With these watch's I m sure we can do well and get the Lady to Durban swiftly as I have said before she is well balanced.
Well done to the Boks,Any Rhinos in Durban,Beer ?

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Brazil

As I sip a cold beer in the wonderful Convento Do Carmo hotel which is the best in Salvador Ba Brasil,I take a little time to reflect how the journey went,we cant always tell of the stories when sailing in case it gives the other boats an edge , but all I can say is that day 2 in the Bay of Biscay the boat hit a squall and the Spinnaker Pole and Jockey Pole both broke in half .. yes we were in a brooch but the Lady Qing as ever looked after us and  we came out of it in one piece, we then had to sail the rest of the race with one spinnaker pole and  a make shift jockey pole which Ant and Carlo strapped up .. as for the sails they were fine ... infact coming into port we found how well we had done looking after the Lady , other boats seem to have had a harder time and lets remember this is a long race .. so with just a few mends to make ,, pole and a winch that sheared its bolts in the last 3 days we are ready to go again .. so it gives me joy to meet the locals ,have some cocktails and enjoy the culture , Salvador is a colourful town with a fantastic vibe , if you ever want to come here for a break I recommend the Hotel Convento do Carmo , an old convent placed in the middle of the old town which is up on the hill.It gives one time to enjoy the surroundings and yet feel safe in a peaceful hide away. Plus a quick ride away is the beaches on the islands of Itaparcia  nice and peaceful and not harmed by the human hand , great for sipping the local juice.
So Tomorrow we prepare the boat for the trip to Durban I feel positive that we can do well. We have a great team , a great vibe and the Lady does well , so with Neptune on our side I look forward to the next adventure.
Enjoy the journey with us , and just remember when we hit land after 3-4 weeks we are all a bit weird for some reason .. I have to say it took a little time talking to the welcoming party .. we will grow stronger with every nautical mile.
Thanks for all your support keep the comments coming and if you want to contact me on board please email my mum and dad and they will get it through to me
johnjessop@onetel.com

As for the charity update , thank you  all .....  justgiving.com/garyjesop
So as the sun says ´`have a good night for another day ``.. I sip my cold beer
Enjoy your day and make someone laugh.
garyj-qindao.blogspot.com
gj
 

Message From GARYJESSOP

As we hoist the Brazilian flag ,we have 99 nm to go till that beer.
It gives me time to reflect on our journey and the team that I have done it with.It was a honour to be watch leader on the first leg,Marcus plan is to switch it around.He is a good skipper never swears,never loses the plot (and if so keeps a lid on it) one can learna lot from the man...full respect.
As for my team, the SLAM WATCH.. We have Ant with trimmng skills no one else has,Carey who has become Daisy as our names sound alike always bouncing about with her smile and energy,Bridget who's smile comes with the calm of the ocean,Carlo the jackal who knows most things and mender of poles,Christian non stop singer and entertainer,Olive who reads moby dick and talks non stop, all interesting stuff and a joy to listen to, and Linda who came on for the last week-the smiler.
I was blessed to have such a great watch,no one argued, everyone did their part to help me and when we needed to extend our watch to help the others they did without moaning.It will be tough to repeat such a watch,the stories the laughs ,the moments of silence,the respect....yes when I look at the Brazilian flag I see the course of our journey,the blue of the ocean, the gold of the sun, the stars that guide us here and the green that beckons us to the Land..In the middle is written 'Ordem e Progresso'..yes
We will toast u All

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Message From GARYJESSOP

Just one more ditty.. Ifyou wantto send me anything Flags,Clothes,Money, what ever ..please send it to theclipper address in gosport andthey should ge t o mewhen in port.
also a quick hello tothe ladies in the pump house in gosport. missing your chocolate cake and rock cakes.
and a big thankyou to Thatchers barbers in haywards heath for their15 votes..cheers russell.
and just remember when i do my next blog for the clipper website and ask for a vote make sure u get your friends to hit the email button ..if we can not read them here,we may aswell have fun hitting their in box with our questions/votes and usingu their inbox space ..hehehe
Kev enjoy Paris you know I will be with you in spirit.. and If anyone wants to know howthis1st leg went ask kev the little soldier !!!!!!!!
enjoy your pimms, cidrers and tonics.. chat soon gj

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Message From GARYJESSOP

Today 17/10/07 08 41.0 S 34 57.9 W
A tough 24 hours as we see land but can not touch ,a little like being in a strip bar as kev would put it I thinks.we have about 300nm togo and it's tough.
So I would like to say a few thankyou, to the Manchester Boys Rob Bennett of Bennett furnishings-you can get a great shag pile carpet at a great price,shrek,ted striker the nautical one-thanks for the sailingcards..we saw about 2 ships on the crossing,Russ bennett-all foor seeing me off from liverpool
All the GFI management for putting money to my charity- justgiving.com/garyjessop
and all the gfi staff for their donations
just a headsup-on board I do not have access to a pc so ican not see how the charity is doing-my targeis to raise GBP 7,000
As I do not have pc access on board ican not see anymessages youguys have sent,a shame-it would be great but I guess this is a glich in this supersystem..and the key board i have to pay to write-i apologise now as it is a shockerandihave to pay per letterandspace .
I have tried to send some emails toGfi staff Tomomiand jack in Toky..wishing you all the best,Russ Mcy and Jurgen and lesley-but I guess the websense doesntlet them come thru.And toSgr and Dev-but no repspone.
just an Idea if anyone wants to contact me-email me mum/dad at johnjessop@onetel.com and I will get back to you-I have t mail u 1st from the boat.
smile gj

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Message From GARYJESSOP

14/10/07 12.48 UTC time 00 00.0 N 031 28.368
We cross the Equator..with Engand beating the Fench it was a double celebration.After days in the doldrums it was relief to have a good run in the last 24 hrs.
Having slipped a few places we now have the Lady Qing balanced nicely and letting her take us to land, the white fluffy clouds , the blue sea and the swell send us on our way.Hopefuly we can do 220miles in the next 24hrs and if so Brazil isnt that far.Itgives us time to wash the gunck that neptuned covered us in over the crossing .. the moustache gone ,feeling good.
Regards to Cedric and Fx maybe next time .......Come on England.

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Message From GARYJESSOP

07 16 . 2N 027 49 .7 W 10/10/07
A frustrating night with Lighting and squalls.The eve started of ok, then the squalls came, with the lack of wind our boat speed dropped to 0.00 and then gusted us to 12 kts.It was all eyes peeled as we saw some traffic out there but never came close to identifying it.
In between the clouds the stars lit up the stage and one star we have named The Slam Star,now the 'Slamster' helps guide us to our destination.I will have a look in the star book tonight and seef I can find the real name.
So a little unlucky with the weather and acouple of strops we find ourselves slipping back. We deserve some luck.
I am also looking forward to gettng to 0 00.0 N to shave this moustache off. Lesley I will try and get a photo for you,it is a wrongern.
Bring on the Equator.

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Message From GARYJESSOP

10 54 .5N 026 02.6W 8/10/07
Another beautiful day,blue skies, flying fish,dolphins and the Lady Qing slips through the rich blue ocean with ease.Like us she is wanting more wind to play with.We were in 5th but now seem to have slipped a little but as we have always said it will ge interesting once through the doldrums.
Onboard we are keeping ourselves entertained,if youwant to join us please do.Here is what we are listening to:
Olivia reads to us nightly Moby Dick... try it.
Music Top 3:
1) I like Chinese by Monty Python...I recommend,we usually play just before dinner,always brings a smile to all
2)Basket Case Green day..for when surfing (an old tune from when i useto drive to London with Dog)
3)Jack Johnson for afterthe surf.
Have to go nowasis tart of my night watch . my teamarealldoinwelland we are learning loads all the time ... the hardest part is just getting use to time to think about things you never normally do.
regards to everyone in Tokyo ,Hong Kong and Sing

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

Message From GARYJESSOP

3 oct 9.15 am 25 10.6 N 016 49.7 W
I am totaly pumped I have just been on the helm for the past 2hrs and have just taken the Lady Qing past W.A clipper.After no wind in the Canaries we are making our way to CapeVerde.In light winds I found myself on the helm and somehow managed to sail upto W.A go around her ,take her wind and get a miles distance ahead.This so far is mybest piece of Helming giving me more confidence in light winds ..which are difficult to sail in.
The Slam team helped me with some kind trimming and the winds gave us a little boost as we went past , it is amazing we are in a big sea and yet we could see the fear in the eyes of the W.A crew as we came right behind them and then around them taking their wind ,It was a team pleaser , but lets not get carried away we still have a few thousand miles to go and positions right now aren't too exciting until we get thru the Doldrums

--

SMSCrewMail NOTE:

The SMSCrewMail system only accepts emails from shore to the vessel without attachments and in "Text/Plain" format.

The SMSCrewMail system also limits email messages received by our user on the vessel to 1,380 characters.

When replying to our user, please do not include his original message to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.

When sending your own message, please make sure to set your message sending format to "Text/Plain" and refrain from sending any attachments to ensure your message would be processed properly and thus reach our user on the vessel.