Message From GARYJESSOP

We say farewell to S.A and the yacht clubs that looked after us well.Night one was a baptism to the new guys and a reminder of the bay of Biscay to some of us.Winds at Force 9 and gusting higher,waves braking over the boat both the bowman and helm getting it so for the first four days we knuckle down,but it is amazing how one copes with these conditions,always clipped on and alert.We once again are lucky to have some new blood on board.I was honoured once again by Marcus to be watch leader took it on , Chris also.I have to say it is good fun and the guys on board help it not be a chore.So the names of the watch's took some time but someone came up with a Christmas theme or is it ..Leg or Breast.
On Leg watch Myself,Christian who wrote a great Clipper Blog yesterday,Ant,Daisy,Vee,Martin (strong as an ox),Max the Italian wih style,steve the pirate or is it Kaito now.
Breast : Chris,Oscar,Nicole,Carlo,David,Zoe,John,Charlie the king of the Log.
So as you can see we have a great team here and we will get a podium.
39 35 .2 S 047 39.7E so you can see we are about to enter the southern ocean. So with Neptune and Hermes on our side bring it on.

A quick farewll to Linda and Klaus who were both great and made the first legs a good time.And a quick congrats to Graham on the birth of his son Benny.We look fwd to seeing you onboard in Perth.

Enjoy the race

Just incase you tried to call me .. Phone went over board coming into Durban

The Day before getting into port I had to jump up the pole ,thus my phone went for a swim as I was trying to call mum and dad .So to all those out there sorry for not calling and sorry for not picking up. The welcome into Durban was grerat we were met by the Zulu Chief and ate a fried Breakfast and drank a few beers followed by the odd Captian good morning. It felt good to come to this exciting land by sea and the locals have been great. I have also been blest with some good friends and Gordon and Justin let me stay at their wonderful house in Cape Town - Camps Bay .Now I have to say that this is a wonderful place and the house is Fantastic, the views of the ocean ,the 12 Apostles and Table Top Mountain from the balcony are awesome ...yes I am jealous .. and yes I recommend it .. so if you want a break .. get the Blue train to the Cape and stay at Gordons and Justins house and If you are lucky Jimbo will be there to tell a tale or two.
 

Message From GARYJESSOP

Phosphourescence,Whales soring through the air,Shark fins gliding through the ocean with a sinister air,Dolphins joyfully playing along side like children in the park, Dive bombing Ganets in huge clusters hunting down their early breakfast,birds abundant soaring the thermals over the waves and showing off their formations,the ocean rich in colour and the silvery white horses waving at us,the land on our port side looking unspoilt and only touched by natures hand .... yes this is Africa.

Message From GARYJESSOP

Phosphourescence lights up the Cape for us as we came around it last nght , I have to say it was a magical evening with glowing dolphins gliding through the waves.We also had a little traffic , but nothing too close.We now have 560 miles left, we think Liverpool clipper maybe infront of us,so we could have dropped to 4th ,a lot to play for and the current / sea breeze will play its part .... I see the land of Africa and it brings back great memories... I look forwardto tonights sail.

Message From GARYJESSOP

35 26 .8 S 011 46.8 E 9/11/07
We've seen tits and had the odd swallow on the trip so far but today we were courted by an Albatross, I think it thought we were another bird as it glided around our sails the whole day.As the sun departed for the day we had Dolphins juming through the tops of the 5 metre waves.The swell has picked up for the first time, we haven't seen it this big and know it will grow.We have been informed that when we go around the cape and upto Durban we could get upto 20metres, I think I maybe hiding in the heads for all that , I'm due a sick day.But to be honest the Lady Qing feels comfortable in these waters , we are just under 500 miles from the cape and looking to hit it by sunday and then into the testing Agulhas Current for which we hope we can do in three days,so not long to go.Just had my first shower since leaving Salvador and feeling pretty sharp.So as I am on mother today I hope to get a restful night sleep after being woken up at 2.30 last night after our watch fininshed at midnight to help get the kite down as the wind was picking up and we had hit speeds of 17.8knts ..so sail changes needed to be done which led into my next watch which started at 4am.. with the sun coming up and nature awaking with us ..it wasnt a hindrance but the perfect start to the day.

--

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 a quicky today, a quick hello to all the hong kong cricket club hockey section,hows it going with the results ?hilton are you still training everyoehard? david are you being cat like in goal? sparrow ,have you started a game yet rather than been supersub? mr jenkins are you still leading and hows your wonderful family?doctor are u still scrapping down the wing and over celebrating? who, do they know who u are? kev have u headed any moregoals in? andcongratulations to rupert on his newbirth .. hopu are all doingwell..anda quick cheers to 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

The Hare and Hounds and I wish I was talking the pub,that's how it feels out here at present.With the rest of the fleet on our heels we can only keep sailing our race our course with every dip in wind we sigh but we can only go as fst as the elements will let us and our knowlegde of trim for which we are for ever learning.We are fighting as example have just off 2 watch's which have been for ever busy,evolution after evolution, we dropped the staysail then the yankee 1, and hoist the windseeker ,next drop he wind seeker hoist the yankee 1, hoist the stay sail, drop the yankee 1,hoist the yankee 2, get the yankee 3 on deck ready to hoist..wait ..put the yankee3 back down again ..drop the yankee 2 hoist the kite..now back to speed ,so with this all done I crash onto my bunk.I decide to listen to some classical,so on goes Beethoven symphony no6 ,I drop off to the blissful pitch of the Bavarian state ochestra with Carlos Kleiber at his helm ..when all of a sudden I awake in panic feeling a storm hitting the Lady Qing ..it takes me seconds to get my bearings and I realise that it is just the 4th movement beating out.... outside is calm and i gently doze back ....

--

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.