Message From GARYJESSOP

Summary 4th
We had a great le Mans start , after the last one this was real Ninja stuff,and we lead the race for a few days.The evolutions by the crew cracking, nailing them all ..we just want to get even faster.The wind died and we wavered a little.We then gave the ball to th oppo and let them run in an easy try not worthy of the points;Letting W.A come around us.We were then fighting for a podium rather than 1st place.
Of all the races so far this is the most gutting.

As expected listening to the radio we can hear some skippers bleating about the race being called early .. but funnily enough they were the skippers who were bleating that there was no wind and it should stop.

We now have the boat ship shape , the yankee 2 poled out and sailing towards NYC our VMG is 12.1 so hopefully make it by sunday night.I beleive customs will be at the dock Monday at 11ish.. So some time will be spent in the local Bar.

Well done to New York , what a great result to come 1st in your home port.

As for us we will keep nailing the evolutions/the races and hope that Lady luck plays her hand.

Have a nice day now !!

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Message From GARYJESSOP

32 23.6 N 075 04.8 W time 21.00 GMT
we have vmg of 10kts .. wind stregth at 12 kts .. i m sure all the fleet have the same .. but deep down I hope not. W.A to our Port side.. they've just caught a gust ..we are also moving .. we have change from 0.75 kite to mid weight ... and a good change was donew by all .. a good team performance.

Now just 3 hrs to .. it will all be very close for the fleet .. i m sure some skippers wil moan about their out come .. i know we wont . 'It is what it is ' and so far has been a great fun sail with new blood on board.

Enjoy the updates at home ..

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Message From GARYJESSOP

30/5/08 31 34.2 N 075 07.0 W NEWS FLASH;

Just heard the race will finish early ..Tonight at midight GMT.
This has come out of the blue for Marcus , he didnt expect this and beleived the race would go to the end, this is ocean racing and we planned to race to the Ambrose Light house , with just 536 miles to go and a feeling that the wind is picking up we are gutted for this call.
As I said before we will have time enough on Land in the near future and New York is a easy place to fly to.

But we also have to remember that the race commitee have goals to meet and to keep sponsors happy etc,so timing is always at the back of their minds.And I m sure some of the other skippers try and put their two penneth in.It must be a tough call for Joff and his team.

As I write we have 6kts of wind and are now on the heels of W.A who passed us in the night with some lucky gust of wind.

So now my mother watch has finished , rice salad , pasta and porridge all done and dusted its back to the top side to try and take back some miles.

Enjoy the Drama

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Message From GARYJESSOP

West side and WINDLESS
Thurs 29/may 31 11.1 N 075 13.5 W 560 to NY Conditions;Perfect for fly fishing

We should know by now not to get excited by a good breeze and working out that we would be in NY early was a school boy error but hey when your in the lead you start to work out the VMG rates and time of arrival,we always have the conversation and good to see it on the Jet watch .. if VMG IS 10kts then we get to NY on .... if it is 11kts and naturally we work up the impossible scale to 15 kts etc .. And what happens,over night we enter a wind hole and have zero kts,the time of arrival in NY is October2010 ... just in time for the next clipper race.
But good news for all our supporters ,,The Lady Qing and crew are use to these conditions and we take the time to relish where we are,some other skippers sound frustrated and stressed, here on the Lady we certainly are not,we will get to the Big Apple as and when.I hope Joff isn't stressing too much at race Hq because I love the ocean , the pure air the sunsets/sunrise and just being out here.All I know is land will come and before we know it this will be a distant memory .. so I say lets take our time,relax and enjoy ..If we get a gust of wind which transports us to a podium that would be a great reward for all the sailors of all legs on the Lady and our patience and hard work.
Presently 3rd with a calm soul

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Message From GARYJESSOP

27 54.9 N 074 38.4 W Tue 27 may ; conditions : beautiful
Haven t written for somne time due to i.t problems. Now back.
Good bye to Jules,Debs,Austin,Steve,Cal
What fun we had sailing ,, coming 4th and 2nd .. some good sailing and some luck ..all with the great ingredient of chat.. jules was non stop ... by the way did any of you pick up my Qingdoa polo with panama flag badge and christians slam shorts.
Last Leg :1st race we go West Side Story
SHARKS:Chris,Oscar,Emma,Hen,John,Mole
JETS:Myself,Christian,Nicole,Ant,Abi,Dan .... when you're a Jet ..
We had a good race around the cans out of Jamaica ..and a great start on the Le Mans start .. the wind favoured The Badgers 'Wing it call' and off we went with a pinch and a tuck here and there and after some great but very tiring evolutions with not much sleep for the Jets we find ourselves in 1st place. But the heat is on .. go on hum it ... and the pack of hounds are on our tail.. so it will be a very tight race .. we are not use to seeing other Clippers ,so this is a first for us.. how will we take the pressure .in our stride .. bring it on
The sun rise and sunsets have be fantastic .. the blues /greys .. the stars lighting our way and the Gaurdian Orion always reminding us of saftey and what we are doing .. a joy to be alive and a joy to be spending it with a great crew as always

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Message From GARYJESSOP

Special Spectators
On the way to crossing the line it was as though nature had come to celebrate our podium position.We were first met by flocks of Gulls applauding from the gallery,swooping our sails.Next an army of dolphins(500+) dancing towards the Lady,a most amazing sight as we all sat on the rail for the extra knot.Lucky Marcus had the video camera & took some great footage of this spectacler.
Early a.m whales flipping fish by their tail.
Awesome x

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Message From GARYJESSOP

80 to go... this is very tight 12 53.6N 100 36.6 W
As predicted the race will finish early,the call has been given that we finish at the 2nd gate,the wind has been light with a few gusts,so loads of trimming/helming concentration with big coms.There are 5 up for a 'P'finish,H&H,GLAS,NY,NS & The Lady herself.It is so tight all it takes is a gust here or there,or black cloud to suck away the wind,anything at present is possible.
Yesterday we celebrated Cals b'day with Champers & Rum and Coke.With that booster we took back 5 nm on NS which they took on on us over night,and have now extended that by 3.5nm lead.This was done by some very quick evolutions from the wind seeker to the yankee, they were caught napping & we reacted very well to the conditions,maybe a small victory at the time,but the whole crew deserved it for the slickness.We have been watching their lights all night in case we have to cover tack.
Everyone is feeling the pressure in a good way,loads of encouragement by all, some great helming & as ever trim trim.
Now we have to wait to see how Lady Luck plays her hand to us.

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Message From GARYJESSOP

BLESSED
19 21 .1N 106 21.6 approx 200 nm from first gate 2/may 08 1705togo
We are surely blessed with the sailing condions,it is now day 9,we ve had no rain,the Lady Qing is flat,the water blue,the sky unpolluted & pure,the stars in abundance with our guardian Orion as bright as ever looking from the heavens upon us.The race is tight with H/H,NY/GLAS/SGP & ourselves all close-But keep an eye on Liverpool,they are west andin a good attacking position.

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