So the day had finally arrived! I felt a little sick and this time it wasn't due to a swaying deck. I was nervous about meeting my new crew. Would I like them? Would they like me? What if the Skipper was horrible (I can't imagine that really as Clipper are experts at recruiting but still…) I didn't really sleep that well. I kept dreaming that the boat was sinking or there was only me and I just couldn't tie a bowline knot for the life of me. Still I shouldn't ...

So another week of fantastic sailing. This time we were out on the Clipper 70's - the boats we will be sailing in the race. They are bigger (70ft!) and designed slightly differently - 2 main winch coffee grinders, 90ft mast, accomodation further aft. They are beautiful. We are playing wth the big boys now. This week was all about consolidation and learning about sailing with a spinnakar up - something we will be doing alot of. It was exciting. Yet another bunch ...

So it arrived at last, my next Clipper installment. L2 is designed to consolidate the basics and also push on to the next level of sailing knowledge. I joined with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Will I be good enough? Will I remember anything? Fortunatly we had a fantastic skipper, Simon, and first mate, Carol, who put us through our paces with a mixture of humour and fun but always with a full explanation of why and how to go about things in a safe a...

Hi, Just thought I'd update you on my training regime...and it is a regime! There are 6 weeks to go until my Level 2 and 3 training. I've up'ed my sessions to 4 times a week - 3 exercise classes and a swim. This is week 3 of my new schedule. God, I'm knackered! However I do feel fitter and stronger which is the aim of the game. I really must remember I'm 44 not 24, and that's why it seems such hard work. There was a point yesterday when I did accidentally beg fo...

I'm doing Legs 5 & 6! Western Australia to China then China to USA across the mighty Pacific. When completed I will have officially sailed around the world (bar the Southern Oceans) completing around 11,000 miles on this trip. Yay!https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/race/route-map