Race 13 - Pre-race
Crew Diary - Derry-Londonderry to Liverpool
21 July
Stormhoek Wine Blog – Leg 8 - Lyndsay Barnes (CV22)
The friends I have made on the Clipper Round the World Race will remain a true highlight of this adventure...
Onboard Garmin we have been lucky enough to have a fantastic team spirit over the past year, which I believe is a key element to not only enjoying the race but also to surviving it (or as I like to look at it keeping your sanity slightly more intact). Now this is not easy to form such a close bond on the high seas when you put 20+ strangers together, from all different walks of life, into a foreign environment that can only loosely be described as cramped, confined and incredibly basic, plus the frequent challenging weather conditions put peoples' patience and tolerance levels to the real test. Our team spirit is not only confined to when we are at sea, as during stopovers the family bond continues – for example in Hobart, Garmin were noticeably recognised as the highly 'spirited' and 'hooligan' team. On the race we have come to find that laughter is one of the key elements to keeping team morale high and can totally change the mood on deck in a split second. This is usually created in the form of a very inappropriate joke or a good story from the past.
I was lucky enough to take part in leg 1 of the race and so set sail from Liverpool some 11 months ago and I will return to Liverpool with a lot of the same people later on this month. I can honestly say that returning to Garmin in Seattle to take part in legs 7&8 felt a lot like returning home to another family I have been lucky enough to become a part of over the past year or so and I hope it is one that sticks together for a long time.
Friendships are usually built because of a similarity in personality or a shared passion, but they can also be built during the most random experiences and/or situations in life. This is certainly true with the Clipper Race as you find friendships form with people who you usually wouldn't expect to connect with or become reliant upon everyday. One thing that everyone who takes part in the Clipper race shares in common is the need for adventure and to truly have the experience of a lifetime. We all share the same dream, whether it's to sail the whole way round the world or to just complete a section of the race. However, irrespective of your level of friendship, small acts of kindness go along way onboard and often these can be day/mood changing – it is important to note that on land the majority of these would no way bear the same effect. When speaking to my fellow crew mates, or pirates as we are known on Garmin, it was incredibly moving to learn what example of kindness people were able to recount and share with me during their time here. A cup of tea at a low moment or when you're wet and cold from the rain, waves and your own sweat can go a long way, or a bar of chocolate from your precious 'snacks' dry bag can truly be a game changer for someone. Other examples were when people noticed that someone particularly needed a hug; listened to someone for 2 minutes while they needed to rant and get something off their chest so they can then move on with their day; shared their sprite with someone who spent yet another watch in the sail locker fixing and sewing the code 1 spinnaker or bagging yet another sail below deck, providing someone with earplugs so that they could finally get some sleep and block out the sounds of the commands on deck, as well as the chitter chatter and clanging of pans in the galley. At a particularly low moment recently, a couple of the crew stepped up to the mark immediately and for that I am incredibly grateful – the bars of chocolate passed through the hatch and the can of cold coca cola whilst I was on deck could not have been more needed and appreciated. Oh how they know that sugar and snacks are the way to my heart.
Friendships vary in all different ways and not any friendship can ever be the same. We all know who we will turn to in a moment of need, but it is nice to know that everyone on board not only has your back but would always give you the time of day. We are incredibly lucky to be taking part in such a life changing experience but we are even more lucky to have made some life long friends along the way too, hence why the new friendships are truly the real highlight of the race.