The Clipper Round the World 2019-2020 Race departed London on the 1st of September and I did not plan to miss this. Besides, we had been invited to a get together gathering where I would be able to meet some of the people that would be doing the 2021-2022 race. So I reserved a hotel near St Katherine's Dock (the place where the Clipper yachts were moored) and drove there on the afternoon of Saturday the 30th. It was a really spectacular sight seeing all these boats ready to depart the next day. You could feel that there was a lot of energy in the air and a lot of people looked like they were trying to have their last bit of "normal" fun before they embarked on this adventure.
I was meeting the other people of the Clipper Crew at The Dickens Inn, a very nice and beautiful pub that sits just by the dock. I was able to share a wonderful time both with many people from the Clipper Race organisation like Della, Will or Jilly and with many people who had decided to do the race, wonderful people like Eric, Stéphanie, Bettina, Tony, Gary, Martin or the Belgian guy with the impossible name. We had a blast and spent a lot of time talking about our experience, our goals, our dreams and some advice, specially from Eric who had already done Leg 6 in the 2017-2018 race and was planning to do the full circumnavigation now.
I was meeting the other people of the Clipper Crew at The Dickens Inn, a very nice and beautiful pub that sits just by the dock. I was able to share a wonderful time both with many people from the Clipper Race organisation like Della, Will or Jilly and with many people who had decided to do the race, wonderful people like Eric, Stéphanie, Bettina, Tony, Gary, Martin or the Belgian guy with the impossible name. We had a blast and spent a lot of time talking about our experience, our goals, our dreams and some advice, specially from Eric who had already done Leg 6 in the 2017-2018 race and was planning to do the full circumnavigation now.
The only problem of the night was that I thought that the Clipper Team would offer something to eat, even if it was just some snacks. But there was no food in sight so when I left I was feeling quite hungry. A quick visit to a kebab place on my way to the hotel put an end to that :-)
The next day there was even more energy in the air, you could feel that everyone wanted this to get under way. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was walking around with a happy smile on his face. It was good to see some of the people I had met the night before like Eric or Stéphanie hanging around. All the crews looked pretty excited with lots of farewells and hugs.
The next day there was even more energy in the air, you could feel that everyone wanted this to get under way. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was walking around with a happy smile on his face. It was good to see some of the people I had met the night before like Eric or Stéphanie hanging around. All the crews looked pretty excited with lots of farewells and hugs.
While reading the magazine that the Clipper Race people distribute, I learned that one of the skippers was Spanish and came from Galicia, the region where I used to live in Spain before I moved to the UK. So I decided that I needed to meet him and give him my good wishes for the race. I waited near Punta del Este, the boat that he skippers and was finally able to spend 5 minutes speaking with him and wishing him the best for the race. He looked like a great guy and I knew that I now had a yacht to support. Vamos Punta del Este!!
Then came the time for the presentation of the teams. One by one they went into the platform, accompanied by their chosen team songs, to say a few words of farewell. All really exciting, the crowd loved it and you could see that the crews were proud of what they were about to embark on.
And finally the moment that we had all been waiting for. The boats dropped their lines and left the dock one by one under the joyous cheers of the crowd. Then they went up river to go under the London Tower Bridge, turned around and went back under the bridge to start their journey downstream and from there go around the world. It was a brilliant show, the crowd loved it and it was very emotional for me, thinking about how in a couple of years it would be me and my team mates who would be under the gaze of all this people. A wonderful weekend that I will never forget.
