Today was our last day and we did not do any sailing. After breakfast Will Stokely from the Clipper Race team visited us and we had a chat with him to learn about the next steps and to be able to give him some feedback. He also asked us to confirm our commitment with the race. We then started the deep clean of the boat. In between we each had a one-to-one final private meeting with Stefano to learn about his personal assessment of each of us. Stefano told me what I already knew, that my overall sailing knowledge was more than adequate and that I just needed to practice more to transfer all this knowledge to the handling of these bigger yachts, so I was quite happy with this assessment.
We started the deep clean by removing all the stuff inside the boat, starting with our personal luggage. We then removed all the ropes from the forward cabin, removed all the cushions and mattresses, removed all the wet suits and the life jackets and removed all the floor boards. We then split into teams, with each team taking care of cleaning some part of the boat. Some people worked on all the parts of the boat which were covered by the floor boards, other persons cleaned the galley, some other people took care of cleaning all the floor boards... I ended up working most of the time cleaning the aft lazarette, which needs to be emptied of all the stuff and then cleaned in depth with an anti-bac spray. I also helped with the cleaning of the floor boards, cleaning all the ropes, cleaning the cushions and mattresses... It was a great team effort and, though we spent several hours doing this, I think it was quite efficient and we worked together very well as a team.
When we finished, and after a final shower, we met in the Clipper Race office where we were able to get our RYA Competent Crew certificate. Also, those people who had sailing logs were able to get them signed by Stefano. We finished the day by having lunch together in a nearby cafe. It was sad to have to say goodbye to all these people, we really had an amazing time together. I was already looking forward to our next training. And I already knew that a couple of my team mates would be doing the same dates as I was going to be doing in March, which was great.
We had created a Whatsapp group to keep in touch and Maxim had posted a very nice poem about sailing by a Russian poet. I was flying that evening to Spain and somehow I felt inspired by this poem and decided to write my own, so I spent all the flight doing that. It is very far from a literary masterpiece but I am quite happy with it as I feel it reflects our training very well. I have decided to reproduce it here
Grinding on the topping
and easing on the main,
these words are not stopping,
these thoughts still remain.
Lots of new instructions,
too many words to learn.
Can't have no distractions
or it all ends in pain.
Honey in your coffee,
pot noodles in the air,
running out of toffee,
no problem, we don't care.
Bob is in the water,
he's fallen in again.
Well, it doesn't matter,
we'll find him in the rain.
Distance from the pulpit?
"Thirty meters", then "Reverse!"
No matter how you look it,
I think it makes no sense.
Enrico, have you eaten?
Two-six and hoist the sail.
We all look badly beaten.
Someone is getting pale.
Team is getting stronger,
supported by your peers.
Can't take this any longer,
I'll have just two more beers.
We need to thank the skipper
and also the first mate.
Patience runs through them deeper,
there's always someone late.
No matter that we're all tired,
we're doing a deep clean.
The bilge pump hasn't fired.
Where the hell is Maxim?
These words are not stopping,
these thoughts still remain,
easing on the topping,
and grinding on the main
We started the deep clean by removing all the stuff inside the boat, starting with our personal luggage. We then removed all the ropes from the forward cabin, removed all the cushions and mattresses, removed all the wet suits and the life jackets and removed all the floor boards. We then split into teams, with each team taking care of cleaning some part of the boat. Some people worked on all the parts of the boat which were covered by the floor boards, other persons cleaned the galley, some other people took care of cleaning all the floor boards... I ended up working most of the time cleaning the aft lazarette, which needs to be emptied of all the stuff and then cleaned in depth with an anti-bac spray. I also helped with the cleaning of the floor boards, cleaning all the ropes, cleaning the cushions and mattresses... It was a great team effort and, though we spent several hours doing this, I think it was quite efficient and we worked together very well as a team.
When we finished, and after a final shower, we met in the Clipper Race office where we were able to get our RYA Competent Crew certificate. Also, those people who had sailing logs were able to get them signed by Stefano. We finished the day by having lunch together in a nearby cafe. It was sad to have to say goodbye to all these people, we really had an amazing time together. I was already looking forward to our next training. And I already knew that a couple of my team mates would be doing the same dates as I was going to be doing in March, which was great.
We had created a Whatsapp group to keep in touch and Maxim had posted a very nice poem about sailing by a Russian poet. I was flying that evening to Spain and somehow I felt inspired by this poem and decided to write my own, so I spent all the flight doing that. It is very far from a literary masterpiece but I am quite happy with it as I feel it reflects our training very well. I have decided to reproduce it here
Grinding on the topping
and easing on the main,
these words are not stopping,
these thoughts still remain.
Lots of new instructions,
too many words to learn.
Can't have no distractions
or it all ends in pain.
Honey in your coffee,
pot noodles in the air,
running out of toffee,
no problem, we don't care.
Bob is in the water,
he's fallen in again.
Well, it doesn't matter,
we'll find him in the rain.
Distance from the pulpit?
"Thirty meters", then "Reverse!"
No matter how you look it,
I think it makes no sense.
Enrico, have you eaten?
Two-six and hoist the sail.
We all look badly beaten.
Someone is getting pale.
Team is getting stronger,
supported by your peers.
Can't take this any longer,
I'll have just two more beers.
We need to thank the skipper
and also the first mate.
Patience runs through them deeper,
there's always someone late.
No matter that we're all tired,
we're doing a deep clean.
The bilge pump hasn't fired.
Where the hell is Maxim?
These words are not stopping,
these thoughts still remain,
easing on the topping,
and grinding on the main
