Race 12 - Day 7
Crew Diary - Race 12 Day 7
14 June

Generally, people have a lot of ‘stuff’ and I’m no exception, but having been on the Clipper Race for Leg 7, I now know that we don’t need half of the things we have and that we can survive and thrive with very little.

Let's take clothes for example, you don’t need to change your underwear every day, no, every five to seven days should be sufficient. You don’t need different shoes for every outfit, crocs are the only footwear you will ever need. You can even save time in the morning by just going to bed in your clothes, that way when you get up, you are already dressed! You need to realise that we spend a lot of time on the boat getting into and out of bed due to the watch system, we go to bed and get up six times in 24 hours!

You can also save time with less washing. There are no showers so baby wipes are all that you need for a good wash. Plus there is only one mirror on the whole boat so you cannot even see how frightful you look. My morning routine has been perfected to rolling out of bed fully clothed (well not so much rolling as I’m in a top bunk), cleaning my teeth….and that is all.

When it comes to bathroom fittings, all you really need is a toilet with no seat and a sink as big as a side plate with a foot pump for the water!

As we spent quite a bit of time on Race 11 in wind holes, I did sometimes treat myself to shaving my legs and this was done on deck with a cup of water.

I’ve also realised we don’t need half of the kitchen essentials we have at home. Generally, all meals can be made in one pot and served in a plastic bowl with a spoon, this helps to save on the washing up too. On the boat, washing up is done in seawater and then everything is rinsed in fresh water, well water we have ‘made’ using our water maker so it’s not exactly fresh! Also, you can survive without fresh food for weeks, tinned carrots and tuna become your friends.

In my ‘spare time,’ I am able to read and I quickly read the one book I brought but we have a little library going on board and books are shared and discussed in our makeshift book club.

Also, as we ‘hot bunk’ we share our bunk with a person on the other watch. Initially, I would change the sheet as I got in and my bunk partner would do the same but this soon became time-consuming, we now don’t bother and we share the sheet despite it being soaked in our sweat due to the 45-degree temperatures below deck. It turns out, that clean bedding is not essential for me. I do hope my partner will understand when I return home.

We can survive with very little. For six weeks I have managed without expensive coffees, takeaways, dinners out, shopping, washing my hair, showers, TV, and Netflix and it has been fine. What I have realised is that I have missed my family very much and email communication with them was an essential I would not have been able to live without.