Hi all, I am backdating this blog entry to the first day on board on Lord Rank. Please read on as I fill you in with the exciting and mind-blowing nautical adventure that we experienced in the Atlantic Ocean. :O 

We arrived at the Topaz Stage at 9am in the morning and the race village was bustling with activities, despite of the frigid and annoying drizzle coming down every now and then. Finally, we were experiencing the true Irish weather after so many sunny days spent at Galway!!! The best part of the weather was that we were hit by hailstones! COOOOOOL OR NOTTTTT???? It felt like a dream, seriouslyyyy.
It was the start of the leg 8 as the competing vessels were preparing to leave Galway for another destination at Stockholm.

After waiting in the cold for some 2 hours (FREEEEZING TO THE MAX), we were greeted by a Lord Rank crewmember and was welcomed to board the boat. We stood on the deck and listened to the speeches as the competing vessels were blessed. We also waved at the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese! Ian Walker, the Skipper for Green Dragon walked over to our boat and said goodbye to us personally! We felt good because he still remembered us from the previous Media Crew Conference.

It was time that all the vessels sail off to the inport racing zones to witness the commencement of Leg 8 of the race. Excitement level was high as all the private yachts and spectator boats buzzed their way to the middle of the racing port.

We sailed back to the port at Galway and docked the boat there as we decided to sleep overnight in the boat. Then we took a watertaxi (a huge dingy that drives people from sea to shore) to town and did a little last minute shopping before our actual voyage started. Had McDonald's for the last time at Galway and we tried to enjoy the town-life/land-life while it lasted. Ha Ha.

Day 2

Rise and shine at 7am! We had breakfast together with our Irish crewmembers at 8am while our Skipper, Emerson briefed us on the safety issues that entailed in our voyage. We were also split into shifts, called Watches, and I belonged to the Red Watch with Vani and Larry, while Wyncy and Mallory were in the Green Watch. Different watches are responsible to steer the wheel, keep a look out on deck and basically sail the boat during different timeslots.

We had a lesson on how to hoist the sail mast, operate the winge and to switch sails at different windtype. SUPER TEDIOUS as it needed a lot of physical strength to lug things around limited space. However it was quite a pretty sight to witness Vani, the Fairy, utilizing brute strength instead of her magical fairy powers. Haha, it was quite an unglamorous sight to behold. However, we should all give props to Miss Vani because at her age ( />19 remember? HAHA) and given her stamina, she went through what we youngsters went through. Good sportsmenship! I like! She should get a pay rise for being so committed. HAHAHA! JOKING.

We sailed for a while and stopped at Aran Town where they have SUPERVALUUUUUUUU!!!! Haha, so happy, I bought a packet of worm candies (The Natural Confectionary Co.) and an Icecream! HAHA. I was quite a happy kid, not knowing what is in store for me later at night. (What was about to happen at night was appalling to the max max max.)

VERY PRETTY SUNSET.

Here comes the highlight of the day: NIGHT SAILING. IT WAS SUPER TRAUMATISING AH, SAILING AT NIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEEP BLUE SEA WAS VERY VERY VERY SCARY. The waves were very unfriendly too, the boat crashed into any waters that came its way many times and we all had had a hard time on deck! ESPECIALLY ME, HAHA, I PUKED IN THE KITCHEN, ALL OVER THE PLACE TO BE PRECISE AND ALEX AND ANDY (My watch leaders) TO CLEAN UP MY SICK. HAHA, I AM VERY EMBARRASED, I AM REALLY SORRY!

NOTE, I HAD CURRY CHICKEN RICE FOR DINNER, so you can totally imagine the colour, texture, smell and taste of my sick. HAHA. GROSS TO THE MAX. I didn’t know why I didn’t aim at the sea, but I was caught off guard because my puke tolerance was at its brim. This is so embarrassing.

On a happier note, we managed to see a very pretty sunset and night sailing was one of the best (despite of all the mess) and enlightening experience from the entire voyage. We took turns to stay awake to watch the boat and it was the longest night of our lives. It was a combination of sickness and weariness and giddiness and aimlessness during the watch, but it’s all worth it as I can now proudly claim that I’ve sailed at the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the night. Quite a milestone actually. ESPECIALLY FOR VANI! I bet everything thinks she is damn garang now.


I'll stop for now and update the other time!

See you! The adventure doesn't stop!!! HAHAA

2:12 AM