Author: bandboat

Qingdao Part 2

/ bandboat / 9 Comments
Having fun!

Having fun in Qingdao!

Yes, I am in here in Seattle and have been here over a week.  Yes I am slow.  Been dealing with a little issue called Immersion feet/trench foot and been seeing some great old friends, ex-students and life has been crazy.  For those not familiar with trench foot, it became popular in WWI in the army with soldiers always in wet boots, wet socks and cold weather.  So yes I have been in wet boots, wet socks and definitely cold weather the past several weeks.  It is very painful and I was REALLY glad we finished the race and got to Seattle when we did as I was in the Painful stage and not able to sleep at all due to pain.  However, once good friend Nancy Rumbel got me to her house and then to medical clinic I got the proper instructions and medication to get better.  Life is much better but several days of barely being able to walk and at one point crawling to bathroom was not fun.  All is good now! So here we go. Continue reading →

Qingdao

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Though we still ended up accepting our position and motoring to finish, we made it with no major injuries! Once we started our motor around 12:30am, we began our deep clean of the boat and finally made it to deck after 1PM to get ready to go into port.

Han brought a bottle of Peach Champagne (NON Alcoholic since alcohol not allowed on boat) to celebrate arrival

Han brought a bottle of Peach Champagne (NON Alcoholic since alcohol not allowed on boat) to celebrate arrival

Enjoying a cold drink while we circle around outside of Qingdao until our escort brings us in.  They do this as there is a celebration for each boat as they arrive. Continue reading →

Making it to DaNang

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The rest of the trip to DaNang was again with big winds and then doldrums’ hot sauna like days.  Just going to give you some fun pictures to describe this part of the journey.

Linda a bit cold and tired taking a break.

Linda a bit cold and tired taking a break.

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Race 7 Airlie Beach to Da Nang an Historical and Exciting Adventure

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We sailed up the East side of the Philippine Islands on our way to Da Nang with our turning point at the top of Luzon.  I recognized the names of many of the Islands as we went by from hearing exPOWs from WWII talk about their experiences as POWs of the Japanese.  My dad was a POW of the Japanese for 3 1/2 years so this part of the trip was significant to me as I compared the weather we sailed through with the stories I had heard about the Philippines and the “Hellships” voyages to Japan! Continue reading →

Race 7, Airlie Beach to Da Nang Vietnam Part 1

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Hello all,

You are correct, what am I’m thinking doing race 7 when I haven’t finished Leg 3 or Leg 4.  Well, this race turned out very special for me so wanted to share it now.

And yes, I am delinquent but if you have me on your Facebook you know that during the Da Nang stopover I flew home to attend my Aunt Katie’s memorial service.  Am now at DFW waiting for my flight to go back.  That has been interesting as after I left Da Nang, I discovered my visa was a single entry visa.  The Clipper office has been working since the 20th to get me back into the country.  My approval came in a few hours prior to leaving San Antonio today.  Without it I would still be there.

So, the adventure begins! Continue reading →

Leg 3 Cape Town to Albany Australia, Part 1

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Crew ready to GO!

Crew ready to GO!

Race start is always interesting as we have a crew briefing where they tell us what to expect as far as weather, wind, the adventure of the sailing and the schedule.  Forecast for start of Leg 3 was prepare for 40 to 50 knot winds!!!  Expect to rock and roll through days of exciting wind and waves and lots of surfing the waves.  This section of the Southern Ocean is the one that will provide you a fantastic and fun Sleigh Ride.  After the mass Crew Brief we had our boat one with new Skipper Matt Mitchell.  He emphasized that we would most likely be in our foulies the whole leg and be ready for cold, rough action.  Be sure that you are double clipped on with your tethers (clip on from life jacket to strap that runs from bow to stern of boat)!  Not a problem for me as Nick A and Tony were already on my case to be safe!!  Cool, we are ready and have only a little trepidation to be doing this with someone we have not sailed with previously.  We believe in the team!! Continue reading →

A Day at Airlie Beach

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Okay all. I am in Airlie Beach Australia and have been since the morning of the 10th.  So, you ask, why have you not been busy on your blog!

Truth is the first two days we were doing the deep clean on the boat so I was up and down the mast doing the rig check, taping split pins, taking leather chafe off of one spreader to redo as it was becoming unattached when I checked it, taking off the port spinnaker halyard as it was about to explode in more ways than one and then going back up to silicone remaining split pins.

arlie-beach-linda Continue reading →

Cape Town: prepping to leave

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Preparing to leave is always an interesting time.  We spend lots of time fixing things when we arrive only to put everything back in it’s place when we get ready to depart.

Food bags prepared at the crew house

Food bags prepared at the crew house

Continue reading →