Race 7 - Day 15
Crew Diary - Whitsundays to Da Nang, Vietnam
03 February

It is true that GREAT Britain crossed the Equator a week and 1600 miles ago but we assume that King Neptune a busy God and has been working his way up from the back of the fleet. So finally, Neptune paid a visit to GREAT Britain, the second since London. The previous spawning of 19 tadpoles from a crew of 22, gave GREAT 11 shellbacks to fill the court positions over a mere seven tadpoles.

As usual, crimes against the Kingdom of Neptune and fellow crewmates were many, varied and mostly either tenuous or fictitious at best. Still, as they say, never let the truth get in the way of a good story, so we proceeded. King Neptune presided, Queen Amphitrite fanned herself and the officers of the court, the Herald, the Judge, the Barber, the Chief of Police and his bears held sway. Each shellback dressed in a variety of colouful shirts, wigs, flags, a toga and even a bowler hat.

The tadpoles were Matt Connell (Legs 5-8), Syvia Chesters (Legs 4 and 5), Bradley Hastings (Legs 5 and 6), Faye Christopherson (Legs 4-6), Rowan Fernando (Legs 3-7), Rupert Hamilton (Legs 4 and 5) and last but not least Charlotte Evans (Leg 5). Crimes included: deliberate vandalism - of and umbrella by opening it as a sunshade in 25 knots of wind. Refer Evidence Exhibit A: Somnambulism - sleep walking your way around the boat to always end up on a bunk next to Charlotte. : Bronze medalist thrower- upper - in the Olympic "chuck 'n field" events… and so it went on.

Despite the best efforts of some of the tadpoles to have the well fermented slop bucket thrown over the side in the previous days, this just steeled the resolve of those who were on the receiving end last time to have something even more nasty. John Charles (RTW) was the Barber ladling out this filth and he rather gave the impression that he was enjoying it a little more than was necessary. After being punished for their crimes, both real and imagined, the tadpoles were rinsed off with the fire hose and matured into full fledged shellbacks. Proceedings ended with a customary round of grog from Neptune who promised to have a word with all sharks and other sea beasties to give the new shellbacks safe passage wherever they might travel.

Simon Rosbottom