You don’t need a long memory to recall a blog entitled “Plan early ….. plan twice.” A week or so should cover it. An even shorter memory will recall how someone was pretty convinced he was answering in the affirmative to “Be in all respects ready ….”

Now is most definitely the time to add that another of my over-used and favoured sayings has always been, ………………….. “in the nick of time will do nicely.”

Like many, I remember when the most complicated aspect of international air travel was on-line check in. Covid has certainly changed all that. For reasons I wont bore you with, but I suspect you can appreciate, flying into a country that only started vaccinating a year ago and who only reintroduced Visa waivers on 10 Feb 2022, requires quite a bit of paperwork. A traveller arriving by air but departing by 70ft yacht adds another dimension.

My final pre-flight check list included passport, tickets, online check in confirmation, official letter from Clipper, two separate letters from the Philippine’s Department of Foreign Affairs and their Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a copy of my NHS vaccination certificate covering both shots and the booster, proof of registration (via separate on line forms generating a personal QR code) of the Philippine’s “One Health Pass”, proof of having already downloaded the Philippines test and trace app (called Traze) which can only be activated on arrival, and finally, proof of a negative RT-PCR test 48 hours prior to departure by a testing service accredited by both the UK and Philippine’s authorities. And all that was just for the flight. My training notes, some Team-Coordinater-related paperwork and circa 25kg of rather important sailing kit also featured.

A rain soaked, wind-buffeted, one hour, rush-hour drive to Manchester Terminal 3 (from where I had departed two years ago) then followed, via a doorstep goodbye to Mum and a final stop just short of the airport for petrol. As I refilled the car I thought I’d better check the Terminal again ……. did so …….. and there it was …… Terminal ONE!!! Delete “ready in all respects” – insert “in the nick of time will do nicely.” Don’t worry. It WAS to get worse.

Moving quickly beyond the final lingering farewells, I find myself at the front of the check in queue. It is exactly 10am. I pass over various documents as requested. I answer a couple of questions. After a while the check-in chap stops and begins to look increasingly troubled. “Don’t worry, Keith,” I say to myself. “They always look worried at some point during check-in. I bet they’re even trained to look worried. Just wait till he checks the 9 year old passport photo against the bearded apparition in front of him,” I thought. Then came the small bombshell. “Your PCR test result has expired. I can’t let you check in.” Did I really just type “small” bombshell?

“You have got to be $#@&ing kidding me” …….was, thankfully, only what I thought. “I beg your pardon?” was, thankfully, what came out of my mouth a split second later. My test result was timed at 1050 on 19th Feb which was, he helpfully pointed out, 47 hours and 10 minutes before I started checking in. But, he rather unhelpfully went on, that is 50 hours and 20 minutes before the scheduled take off. “I therefore cannot check you in for this flight.” (##$%&€£ – feel free to insert your own expletive at this point). Time for a rather quick “Plan B.”

The “published” turnaround time for the sort of test I required was 3 hours. My Wednesday test result had been turned around in 2 hours and 3 minutes. The time was now 1012 and check in was due to close in 1 hour and 58 minutes at 1210. Beginning to look like a requirement for Plans C, D, and E and maybe NOT “in the nick of time” after all.

Cue a rather undignified sprint pushing a loaded airport trolley through the rain to a COVID test site outside the Terminal in the airport train station. Why is it that when you don’t really know where you are going, and you are really pressed for time, the large “COVID testing centre” signs you have been sprinting passed …….. suddenly disappear??? Probably the same reason that the first “official-tabbard-wearing” person you stop to ask for directions turns out to be a window cleaner! And almost certainly why the final doors to the airport railway station are not automatic and have to be simultaneous held open whilst wrestling with a trolley which had, by now, developed a mind of it’s own. Eventually I reach the centre, book in, pay, complete an online registration and have the required PCR test. Tick tock.

The test is timed at 1038.

Check in closes in 1 hour 32 minutes. “How long?” I ask. “Normally 2 hours” she replies. “Plan Z” I begin to think, “What’s the quickest possible turn around,” I ask, briefly explaining my position. “One hour 30 minutes,” she calmly replies. And with that she applies the only solution possible and puts an “urgent” sticker on my test. Tick tock.

The result will be e mailed to me.

When I get back to the check in queue ….. it is HUGE! Good. I need time. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an airport check-in queue before AND wanted it to move so SLOOOOWLY. Where are the family of 8 with 32 pieces of luggage when you really want them??? I’m at the back of the queue and its 1058. Unfortunately, all the check-in gates are now open. Bugger!

At 1200 precisely I am at the front of the queue. Still no test results. “How long have I got?” “10 minutes,” is the reply …. “but,” he adds looking at the remaining queue, it might be as “late as 1220 or 1225.” 1210 (normal closure time) comes ….. and goes. No test results. By 1215 I can see the end of the queue. Up steps a party of 6 “twenty-somethings” travelling together on the same booking. Stacks of luggage and, God bless ’em, 2 of them still haven’t got their paperwork out of their carry on luggage. You couldn’t make this up. And I’m not!

I am standing to one side, phone in one hand, paperwork in the other, watching the queue get smaller. “Ping” goes my phone at 1216. IT IS NOT MY RESULTS!!!

My results, timed at 1218, arrive by e mail at 1219. Test to result in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Let’s hear it for “urgent stickers” and long check in queues. In the nick of time will do very nicely indeed. All checked in by 1225 and a mad dash through security and a further sprint through all the Duty Free shops accompanied by broadcasts announcing the final FINAL CALL for my flight.

Oh and after all that …….. the result………was negative…… boarding was actually delayed …….. and we were 1 hour and 6 minutes LATE taking off!!!!!

Tonight, just over 24 hours after a safe and relatively uneventful arrival at my “Government approved” quarantine hotel, you might wonder if actually crossing the North Pacific can be anymore stressful than getting to Subic! I’m fairly confident it will be.

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see

https://justgiving.com/teams/keithsclipperadventure

For UNICEF UK please see

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Please take a look. Thank you.

I first wrote those words in a Captain’s Night Order book in the summer of 1988. 18 years later, almost to the day, I wrote the same words for the last time. Now I review those words from something of a different perspective. I asked myself ”Am I ready” way back in blog 90 written the night before sailing from Punta del Este. That was deliberately light-hearted. I updated this with a slightly more serious blog on the morning of sailing – blog 91: Leg 2 (Race 3) starts TODAY! the following day. A similar question was on my mind in blog 98 on 17 Nov 2019, on the day of our sailing from Cape Town. Tonight, on the eve of departure for the Philippines, the answer to the ”am I ready” question must be something of a “qualified yes.”

I’m certainly ready for departing the UK. My day started with a ”final to-do list” of 15 items. When you consider it included rigging outside lights, checking the winter feed on the beehives and moving a Grandfather clock, you will realise it wasn’t ”all Clipper.” I thought one of the decisions on which I had most control in the final days before departure would be when to stop shaving and get the annoyingly-itchy bit out of the way. I made a pact with myself that the razor would be put away when I was 80% certain I was actually going. In the end the decision was nowhere near that ”scientific” – I simply ran out of shaving cream about 2 weeks ago! The ”to-do list” grew to 23 items as today progressed but it is now …… clear.

We had a very good UNICEF team zoom call at lunchtime today spanning time zones from San Francisco (early morning) to the Philippines (mid evening). Ian and Dan have been working very hard on engines, generator and a multitude of yacht systems. The yacht has been deep cleaned and passed a structural survey – more surveys to come. Our main sail is back on and most/all of the running rigging has been checked. Ian and Dan are afloat on Thursday and Friday with the other skippers and AQPs for their training. We also continued our discussions about strategy, tactics, weather, routines etc but you’re going to have to wait for some of those details. Still plenty to do and I guess I will only be ”ready in all respects” after Level 4/refresher training and we all have a Crew Assessment to pass. More on that (again) if future blogs. As I reflected today, I haven’t tied a knot in 2 years, or at least not a knot that the skipper would recognise!!!!

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see

https://justgiving.com/teams/keithsclipperadventure (hopefully this link has now been re-instated – fingers crossed)

and for UNICEF UK see:

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Please take a look. Thank you.

Thank you to those who spotted my inadvertent use of ”Apr” rather than ”Feb” when listing my abbreviated programme yesterday. Now suitably corrected/republished. Just to be crystal clear – forget the date, forget the month ……. I fly on Monday.

It’s very easy to lose track of days and months in the “sail-eat-sleep-repeat” routine of a long ocean crossing. I appear to be so ”in the zone“ that I started early yesterday. Just imagine how confusing I’m going to find the International Date Line 😜😜😜

A lot has happened since I last wrote. So much so, that I’m going to try and avoid boring you with any of it. OK. In reality that means I’ll try and avoid boring you with most of it.

Today is Thursday 17 February and in 4 days, subject to successful download of two separate Pilipino apps 72 hours before departure and, more significantly, a negative PCR test 48 hours before flying, I will be departing for the Philippines in preparation for the restart of Leg 6 across the North Pacific to Seattle. 4 more days.

Plan early…… Plan twice has always been a favourite saying of mine. I normally say it to myself whenever I am applying that extra pressure to myself in pushing any sort of deadline to its limits. It’s really an excuse for laziness. I deploy it alongside “anyone can make decisions, the art is knowing when to make them“, “No plan survives contact with the enemy/reality“, and “a plan is only a basis for change anyway!” I’ve used them all, especially in relation to Clipper in the days since I tempted fate in my previous blog.

The latest change to the Clipper programme blew in yesterday afternoon on the back of Storm Dudley. Incidentally, am I alone in thinking “Dudley” is far too cuddly-a-name for a storm?? If you are in the UK and storm-bound this weekend check out blogs 22, 23, 31, 129 and 133 (amongst other) for storms!

I digress. Yesterday’s Clipper e-mail announced a further 7 day delay to Level 4/refresher training and the cancellation of the short Subic-to-Subic point-scoring race (the first race of Leg 6) whilst maintaining a 20th March departure date for crossing the North Pacific. This is, in effect, an additional week of fleet prep as a result of a delay in Clipper HQ receiving the necessary paperwork to get the full maintenance and Race Staff into Subic and a shipment delay of some fleet spares. There are a number of implications here that I will return to later in this blog but one immediate impact is that refresher training will now start on 7 March and it is therefore possible for Race Crew to delay arrival in the Philippines.

With Clipper-mandated self quarantine in force for 3 days prior to refresher training (4-7 Mar) it is now possible for crew to delay arrival in the Philippines until 4 Mar. Not surprisingly various Clipper-related-team-WhatsApp groups were very active from about 5pm yesterday, around the time this latest news broke. I cannot speak for everyone, let alone my fellow UNICEF team mates, but I am aware of one colleague, due to fly out from Manchester with me on Monday to compete in the three remaining legs – and therefore not return to the UK until the end of July – who has already moved out of her flat to stay with a friend in the NW prior to our flight. For my own part I have spent the last few days “putting my affairs in order” for a Monday departure> I spent last night balancing costs of changing flights and flight availability (already done this once since Jan), rearranging pre-flight PCR testing (already booked – probably easy to change), changing quarantine hotel booking (actually its only booked at the moment until original start of refresher training – 28 Feb – because it’s cheap and I wanted to see exactly how cheap before any further booking!) and the prospect of being allowed to get stuck into boat preps between 28 Feb and 4 Mar against increased time at home. I’d be lying if Storm Dudley followed by Storm Eunice versus shorts, t- shirt, 25 degrees C, 5mph winds, 76% humidity and a few days beside a pool (no matter how cheap!) were not also factors thrown into the mix last night. Oh ……… and I discussed it with Ruth. Net result ……….. I’m still departing on Monday. Some of my team mates have yet to declare their intentions and some have already expressed an intent to delay.

Short version of MY programme is therefore:

21 Feb Depart UK

22 Feb Arrive Philippines

22-28 Feb Degree of self quarantine in Subic Bay

28-4 Mar Boat preps (see boat preps prior to Fleet departure from Portsmouth covered in blog 86: Time Travel —- or rather TIME to wind back the clock, while I TRAVEL))

4-7 Mar Mandated Clipper pre-Level 4 quartantine period. Negative PCR terst to progress to

7-13 Mar Level 4/Refresher training (see blog 81: Race 2 Day 3 latest ,.,,,, 4,800 nautical miles still left to Race, sio let’s wind tghe clock back a bit.)

14-19 Mar N Pacific preps

20 Mar Race Start – North Pacific. Then as per the published Race Schedule.

As a team, UNICEF have held two Zoom meetings since I last wrote. We have another programmed for 1200UTC on Sunday. Ian, our skipper, and Dan, our “new” AQP, are already in the Philippines and initial reports about the state of our boat are good. Dan, one of our original Round-The-Worlders has been promoted to be our Additional Qualified Person (AQP) and Mike Miller (our original AQP and a Round-The-Worlder from the 2017-2018 edition of the Race) is now the skipper of Sanya. With Sanya only 7 points ahead of us in the Race it should bring an extra good-humoured spice to team rivalry.

Not every Cliperee across the Fleet has been able to return to the Race. Reasons are wide and varied and completely understandable given the events of the last 2 years. 55 of the crew joining the Fleet in the next few days are new to this edition of the Race. All of them have completed Level 1 to 3 training in Clipper 68 yachts (more light-reading – see blogs 9, 26-29, 31, 33, 57 and 60 to catch up with my training experiences) but none of them have yet to complete Level 4 training in a 70ft yacht. This is therefore a must before any further racing.

Four new joiners will be joining the UNICEF team and its been great to meet Sue, John, Jonathan and Alex on line recently. Our only “surviving” Round The Worlders are the skipper (phew!), Dan (as our AQP), our sail-repair-Ninja – Holly Williams ( and additionally our medical expert responsible for running repairs on Leg 3 hand injuries and immediate care of all our other sick and wounded), our ace-blogger-and media expert (award winning I can hear him injecting) – Danny Lee, and our dedicated medical-supplies-guru and my Graham-Norton-look-a-like Leg 3-Mother-Watch-buddy – John Dawson. I think I am the only remaining 4-legger. Oh and I’m the new Team Coordinator (TC). More of that in a future blog.

We are currently at 12 crew plus skipper and AQP for the North Pacific. Two watch of 6. Take one out of each watch as Mother Watch and that’s two watch of 5. Then overlay a bit of sea sickness. And potential injury. Leg 2: plenty of sea sickness (and bags of credit for Jerry and Chris keeping on coming back for more on deck – generally accompanied by a bucket) plus 2 sets of broken ribs. Leg 3: two hand injuries, one case of appendicitis, one broken jaw/5 missing teeth, and one set of fractured ribs accompanied by a punctured lung. AND In my view, belief and experience, WE are a pretty safe yacht. This is tough, dangerous and hugely physically, emotionally and psychologically challenging. A sail change in the conditions we experienced in the South Atlantic will require 1 on the helm, 3 on the foredeck and two in the cockpit. When we letter-box-drop any of the spinnakers it must be immediately taken below and re-packed in the confines of the port passageway (where at least half of the off-watch will be trying to sleep), and this is also a reasonably manpower intensive evolution, at least if it is to be done in a speedy yet comprehensive manner. Muck this up and we just make more trouble when we inevitably get around to re-hoisting. All good fun.

Crossing the North Pacific, where we can realistically expect to have to ride up to three storm systems, this all becomes an added challenge (he typed with a degree of British understatement!). Consequently we, as a team, are already talking about how we might have to adapt our routines to take all this into account. Boat preps are, self evidentially, essential ahead of the North Pacific. But the understandable cancellation of the short Subic to Subic race reduces the time we have to practice any revised routines prior to race start on the 20th Mar.

So how am I feeling? In brief, very excited and seriously up for this. Raring to go and keen to get stuck in. I tried to explain the other day that I feel in a “better place mentally” than I did this time 2 years ago. Not sure I can put my finger on “why” given the considerable uncertainty that still stands between tonight and 20th Mar, never mind what comes after that. I still don’t have return flights booked from Seattle but I’m sure all that detail will fall into place in due course. I have started thinking about my next challenge (as per the closing paras of blog 131) and I’m delighted to have found someone who is keen to complete that challenge with me. I wouldn’t completely rule out a return to Clipper and some of the legs I haven’t done this time around……. but first ……… lets FINANALLY FINISH THIS EDITION!

I’ll blog again on Sunday night prior to departure, as I have done before in blogs 90 and 91 pre-Leg 2 and 98 pre Leg 3. Thereafter my next blog post will come from Subic Bay in the Philippines’ (and regular readers will know what happen last time I was in Subic- see blog 122: I see No Ships.

For new readers, and regular readers who have forgotten, you can check out the different yachts competing at blog 74: The 2019-2020 Race Line Up and Starting Stats, the way the Race is scored at blog 76: How The Clipper Race is Scored and how you can follow the Race across the North Pacific as it unfolds at blog 75: The Race Viewer – and a health warning. This can be addictive. And its still not too late to sign up to be a Race Supporter (its free!) – see blog 68: It’s Time, almost for me, but definitely for You.

There is lots of additional material on the official website at http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com including a specific team UNICEF page via the Race Teams drop down menu. Plenty to read if you are in the UK and battening down the hatches ahead of Storm Eunice. Me – I’m off to shift all that not-yet-packed sailing gear off the bed so I can get to sleep!

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see:

https://justgiving.com/teams/keithsclipperadventure.com

For UNICEF UK see:

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Please take a look. Thank You.

I checked my bees today. Or at least I checked their feed. I hadn’t expected to be even typing this let alone doing it on the first day of 2022 but the unseasonably warm weather right now means my bees as as active today as they are on some days in Spring. My garden thermometer registered 14 degrees. It felt warmer. The bees were flying and that’s not necessarily a good thing. 14 degrees! I bet it won’t be that warm in the North Pacific.

When I sat down to type this afternoon I couldn’t help but wonder whether or not 2022 will be the year that sees the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race 2019-2020 complete! Just think about that for a second. An 11 month race that will restart in month 30, and finish, fingers crossed, in month 34. I think this is about 1,033 days so when I joked about Sir Francis Drake being quicker in my last blog, I think I might be right. I seem to remember Drake’s circumnavigation took 1,020 days!

Regular readers will know I have tempted fate much too often on these pages in previous posts, so forgive me if I continue that tradition into the New Year and also dispense with all the usual “what-if”, “maybe”, “COVID-permitting” caveats that normally accompany any discussion about Clipper programming. Here is the latest version of the Clipper schedule:

I fly to the Philippines in a little over 50 days. I’m two legs, two races, two oceans and 10,597 nautical miles into Clipper. I have two legs, five races and two oceans to go. I’ll let you know the mileage when I finish. We’re in 5th place in the Race, 7 points off 4th place, 16 points off 3rd, and we haven’t played our joker yet. Leaving aside (at least for this post) a degree of pre-flight isolation, PCR testing, flight details, visas, insurance, relocating all my kit, packing and repacking, goodbyes, quarantine hotels, bubble arrangements, boat maintenance, mandatory sailing training, more quarantine, lateral flow testing and more PCRs, flights from Seattle, getting to Bermuda and the London race finish – oh, and I almost forgot …. the “when do I stop shaving decision!” – leaving all that aside for one moment – the key dates for me appear to be:

22 Feb – date on which I must arrive in the Philippines.

Thursday 10 Mar – Leg 6 Race 9A starts – a point scoring race “around” the Philippines starting and finishing in Subic Bay. Arrival window Subic 14-15 Mar.

Sunday 20 Mar – Leg 6 Race 10 starts – 6,100 nautical miles across the North Pacific to Seattle, USA. Arrival window Seattle 16-21 Apr. Crew changeover (date on which I must leave the yacht) 25 Apr.

Tuesday 14 Jun – Crew changeover in Bermuda. Date on which I must report to the yacht. Refresher training afloat will be in the window 15-17 Jun.

Sunday 19 Jun – Leg 8 Race 13 starts – North Atlantic, Bermuda to New York. Arrival window New York 23-24 Jun.

Wednesday 29 Jun – Leg 8 Race 15 starts – North Atlantic, New York to Derry-Londonderry. Arrival window Derry-Londonderry 14-18 Jul.

Sunday 24 Jul – Leg 8 Race 15 starts – North-about around Scotland to finish off Southend Pier Friday 29 Jul.

Saturday 30 Jul – final sail up the river Thames to Royal Docks, London.

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see:

https://justgiving.com/teams/keithsclipperadventure

For UNICEF UK see:

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Please take a look. Happy New Year

Since “deafening silence” (at least on my part) and Blog 131 there have, in fact, been a positive tsunami, whirlwind, hurricane, even pandemic (I’m trying to avoid use of the word “typhoon”) of e-mails from Clipper HQ on a whole range of Clipper and Philippines-related topics.

We’ve had confirmation of our personal arrival dates into the Philippines including specified airports, an updated race schedule (confirming NO stopovers in China and a 6,100 miles crossing of the North Pacific direct from Subic to Seattle), more on Special Entry Permits and visa arrangements for the Philippines (with the promise of more to come), an updated detailed schedule of events in Subic, Quarantine hotel details, training (quarantine afloat) details, post-race pre-Pacific crossing quarantine details, Skipper confirmations and new additions, AQP confirmations and new additions, and confirmation of new crew members joining the team(s) to replace those who can no longer make it, in our case 4, meaning a team of 16 plus skipper and AQP for the North Pacific. All this information has arrived since 29 Nov. Enough info for three or four blog posts but I guess I have been putting off writing much of late. Somehow I think COVID has not yet had its “final input” to all this planning and February 22nd (the date I am expected to arrive in the Philippines and go into the first phase of quarantine) still seems a long way away despite the “mental ground rush” of all I realise I still have to put in place to make it all happen. have arrival.

In addition to my reluctance to burst into print as a result of continuing COVID news, I realise I have been extremely reluctant to write about Clipper given the impact of most recent weather events on the Philippines.

I’m no novice when it comes to experiencing bad weather at sea, or for that matter witnessing its effects on land. I’ve written about weather and various related climatic oceanographic stuff a few times on these pages, most notably blogs 22, 23, 27, 28, 37, 79, 82, 83, 111 and 129.

As recently as last week our newly appointed AQP wrote that “his most memorable sailing moment was crossing the South Atlantic from Punta del Este to Cape Town, surfing the incredible weaves in strong winds out at sea,” going on to say, “seeing the power and the majesty of the world’s oceans will be an experience I will never forget.” I remember it well and share that view. It was over a week of this:

Super Typhoon Rai hit the Philippines just prior to Christmas. Rai underwent an unexpected rapid intensification on 15 December when it increased windspeed from 75mph to 160mph on 16 December just before it made its first landfall. By this time the eye, clearly visible from space, was 6 miles wide. While the Clipper fleet in Subic appears to have escaped undamaged the same cannot be said for large areas of the southern Philippines and hundreds of thousands of the population of the southern archipelago.

A powerful pre-North Pacific reminder, if a reminder is needed, of the power and might of Mother Nature. Have a peaceful Christmas and be thankful you can. More (much more) to follow in the New Year.

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see:

https://justgiving.com/teams/keithsclipperadventure

For UNICEF UK see:

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Yesterday was Remembrance Sunday and last Thursday was the 103rd anniversary of the Armistice. I wrote about Remembrance in 2018 (see Blog 32: We will remember them … published 11 Nov 2018)

On Remembrance Sunday 2019 I was in Cape Town, the UNICEF team having finished 2nd in the Race from Punta del Este in Uruguay to Cape Town, South Africa. Leg 3 from Cape Town to Freemantle (which in our case was to include a medical emergency diversion to Durban) was still over a week away. My team mate Tim Chappell represented the UNICEF team at the Cape Town Remembrance service; I seem to recall I was mending sails. Blogs 94 through to 104 published between 31 Oct 2019 and 9 Jan 2020 covers all that for those that need reminding.

I wrote about Remembrance again last year (see Blog 124: 100 years ago, 2 years ago, 1 year ago, Next year? published 12 Nov 2020)

but when I started this blog I hadn’t envisaged a fourth Remembrance Sunday coming around before the Race finish. That said, Race restart is drawing nearer and my preps – professional, personal, domestic etc – are occupying more of my time, even if only “thinking time.” That changed, at least to a degree, on Friday with a rather lengthy and detailed update from Clipper HQ following recent talks with Philippines and Chinese authorities. The headline news is that it is looking increasingly likely that we will get into Subic Bay (I’ll come back to whether or not we will get out of the Philippines and where we might be going later!), but we will not be going to Sanya or Zhuhai, don’t know yet about Qingdao, and Race start will now be sometime in March and not 20th February. With me so far?

Busy readers can quit now. For readers with a bit more time, here are the details.

The Clipper team and the Philippines Inter-Agency Task Force Working Group (IATF-TWG) met on Wednesday of last week to discuss details to allow Race Crew and Race Staff to enter the Philippines for Race start next year. The net result, on Friday, was approval of a Special Event Permit with the following ”terms and conditions:

1. Through the Special Event Permit, the Philippines authorities will support Clipper Race Staff and Race Crew in obtaining a visa for entry as visa free entry is currently suspended. Details of how to apply will follow. The Permit applies to Race officials and Leg 6 Race Crew only. Race Crew Supporters and Crew for other Legs will not be allowed entry.

2. Unsurprisingly, we must all have been double vaccinated. (I am due my booster jab on 21st Nov).

3. We will be required to take an RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test within 72 hours prior to flight departure from country of origin and have proof of a negative result. So far so good (expected).

4. We must all the adhere to the Philippines quarantine protocols which are based on a traffic light system (stop me if you have heard this before!) by which the Philippines IATF classifies the COVID risk of individual countries. This risk classification determined the length of time we have to quarantine on arrival. The classifications are reviewed every two weeks.

GREEN: If double vaccinated there is no quarantine on arrival. Mainland China, Japan, India and South Africa are all amongst 44 countries classified GREEN. The UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand ……. are not currently on this list. However, Clipper themselves are enforcing a requirement for a minimum two day quarantine and a negative RT-PCR test, taken on day two, will be required before Race Crew can re-join.

YELLOW: If double vaccinated then we will be required to undergo a quarantine at an accredited quarantine hotel until the return of a negative RT-PCR test taken on day 5 (day 1 being the day of arrival). If the RT-PCR is negative then we move to ”home” quarantine until day 10. Under the terms of the Special Event Permit, this ”home quarantine will be undertaken on board the Clipper yachts whilst completing a 7 day Mandatory Refresher Training Course. The UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand are all currently on the YELLOW list.

RED: If coming from a RED country Race Crew will need to stay in either a YELLOW or GREEN country for at least 14 days prior to departure to the Philippines. Crew would then follow either the YELLW or GREEN protocols (above) depending on their country of departure. The Faroe Island and The Netherlands are the current RED countries.

With 40 different countries represented in the Race this isn’t even as straight forward as it might first appear. Race Crew will be required to fly into the Philippines on an agreed date. Quarantine hotels must be hotels accredited as such by the Philippine Ministry of Tourism and travel from arrival airport to quarantine hotels will be prearranged as part of the Special Event Permit

So …….. if nothing else changes (feel free to remind me I actually just typed that!) ……. I fly to the Philippines with proof of a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before a flight date I don’t have yet, to go into a quarantine hotel I don’t know yet for 5 days. On day 5, provided I return another negative PCR test, I will be transferred to Subic Bay yacht club to join the UNICEF yacht, register, attend a safety brief then depart that day for a 7 day Mandatory Refresher sail, of which the first 5 days will qualify as my ”home” quarantine. For new Race Crew who have signed up for Leg 6 since the Race was postponed, this 7 day sail is the equivalent of Level 4 training (see Blog 81: Race 2 Day 3 latest ….. 4,800 nautical miles left to race, so let’s wind the clock back a bit, published 18 Sept 2018). After this training yachts will return to Subic Bay. Some crew will be able to stay onboard the yachts and the rest will move to approved hotels. Movements thereafter will be restricted to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Area and will be monitored for contact tracing. Subic Bay Yacht Club will have a designated Clipper Race area for us all during this time. All Race Crew will be required to conduct Lateral flow tests on Sundays and Wednesdays while in the Philippines.

Before Leg 6 Race Start we will be required to take a further RT-PCR test and return a negative result. After taking this test, we will all move onboard our respective yachts and stay onboard until the race starts. But where are we going?

Due to Government restrictions, both Sanya and Zhuhai Host Port Partners were unable to secure the required permissions to allow them to host the Clipper Race as planned. A potential stopover in Qingdao – China’s Olympic sailing centre – is still being discussed and Clipper hope to publish an up to date revised Clipper schedule by 29 November. In the meantime two Leg 6 Race options are being considered.

Option 1. If Qingdao confirms it can host the Race and process Chinese visas on arrival, then there will be an 8-10 day, 1,390 nautical mile race from Subic Bay to Qingdao followed by a stopover. Quarantine and testing routines have yet to be announced. The Leg would then complete with a 24-29 day, 5,580 nautical mile race across the North Pacific to Seattle.

Option 2. If Qingdao cannot host the Race then Leg 6 will start with an approximately 7 day race starting and finishing in Subic Bay. This would be followed by a 7 day prep period before the fleet races direct to Seattle, a race of 27-32 days and 6,100 nautical miles.

So, not for the first time, it’s watch this space!

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see:

https://justgiving.com/teams/keithsclipperadventure

For UNICEF UK see:

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Please take a look. Thank You.

It’s been 146 days since I last wrote a post for this blog.

Strangely enough it’s not as if nothing has been going on, either at home, at work, across the country or internationally. Plenty to write about and I admire my fellow Clipper-bloggers who have maintained their writing skills, but, to be blunt, my thoughts are only now beginning to turn to the possibility of resuming the 2019-2020 edition of the Race early next year. Pretty much all the caveats I have touched on before on these pages remain relevant. That said, there is now a draft schedule for completion of the Race, some of my colleagues managed to get afloat in this year’s Fastnet Race, UK training resumed in Clipper 68’s from Gosport a week or so back, “our” insurance has been extended – saving a couple of thousand – and I have signed up to complete my own pre-Race refresher training in the Philippines in February 2022 and I have received my joining instructions. Chinese visas are now expired but US visas – allowing me to arrive by yacht and depart by air, remain valid. We are aware of the latest thoughts concerning COVID testing and potential quarantine requirements. Current Clipper Race Teams had to declare their availability for the new dates, or postpone to a later edition of the Race, at the end of June. Clipper, aided by a return to training, are now working on crew makeup and it is already clear that a number of my UNICEF team mates are no longer able to complete the current extended edition.

My only sea-time since last writing was a trip onboard the MSC GENEVA outbound from Harwich to Hamburg, although I disembarked with the pilot at the Sunk Light Vessel position in the southern North Sea. Everything else has returned to a degree of normality and I’ve even managed to identify my next challenge once Clipper has (finally) completed. More of that later.

In 146 days time from now it will be 18 January 2022 and, by my best current guess, 10 days before I return to the Philippines.

The current state of the potential Race programme is as follows:

Crew Reporting day in the Philippines will be 8 Feb 22 ahead of a planned Race restart on Sunday 20 February – Leg 6, Race 9A.

Leg 6 will then comprise 3 short races (9A, 9B and 9C) and then the longer Race 10 across the mighty North Pacific. For a reminder of what this might be like see Blog 55: This time next year. Leg6, Race 9. A Four Video North Pacific taster, published 27 Mar 2019.

Race 9A will start from Subic Bay, Philippines on Sunday 20 Feb and race to Sanya, China with an arrival window of 24-25 Feb and stopover until 2 Mar.

Race 9B will start from Sanya on Wednesday 2 Mar and race to Zhuhai, China with an arrival window of 4-5 Mar and a stopover until 10 Mar.

Race 9C will start from Zhuhai on Thursday 10 Mar and race north inside the Korean peninsula to Qingdao, China with an arrival window of 18-20 Mar and a stopover until 25 Mar.

Race 10 will start from Qingdao on Friday 25 Mar and race down the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, round the southern tip of Japan, across the International Date Line and across the mighty North Pacific Ocean to Seattle, USA with an arrival window of 18-23 Apr. My contract release date on completion of Leg 6 will be 26 Apr.

Leg 7 (Races 11 and 12) Seattle – Panamas – New York will start from Seattle on Sunday 1 May and the arrival window into New York is 14-17 Jun.

I will re-join the Race in New York and must report to the UNICEF yacht on 17 Jun (Ruth’s birthday!!). Once again I will be required to complete the Clipper Crew assessment. Leg 8, the homecoming leg, will start from New York on 22 Jun (our wedding anniversary!!!) and will comprise 3 races, race 13, 14 and 15.

Race 13 will start from New York on Wednesday 22 Jun and race to Bermuda with an arrival window of 26-27 Jun and then a stopover until 2 Jul.

Race 14 will start from Bermuda on Saturday 2 Jul and race across the North Atlantic to Derry-Londonderry with an arrival window of 16-20 Jul and a stopover until 24 Jul.

Race 15, the final Race of the circumnavigation, will start from Derry-Londonderry on Sunday 24 Jul and race north-about around Scotland for Race Finish off Southend on Friday 29 Jul ahead of a formation return to London up the Thames on Saturday 30 July 2022. I think that’s something like 2 years 11 months since Race Start on 1 Sept 2019 (Blog 87: Another Time Travel Blog, published 12 Oct 2019). For a reminder of what the North Atlantic might look like see Blog 64: This time next year. Leg 8 Race 12 The North Atlantic, published 25 Jun 2019.

Beyond all this??? Well firstly I am aiming to complete my Ocean Yachtmaster Theory qualification by the end of this year and will then look to remain current. I hope to return to sea with the Cirdan Sailing Trust in 2022 (see Blog 48: My Next Sailing ….. but one ….. and a little something for Lord of the Rings fans!, published 20 Feb 2019) and then in 2023 I am planning to walk the 1000km of the Western Front Way, in one go, an altogether different physical and logistical challenge. By then I might just have to re-title this blog!

But for the moment I’m still fundraising.

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see:

https://justgiving.com/teasms/keithsclipperadventure

and for UNICEF UK see

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Please take a look. Thank You

The most exciting announcement for some considerable time is today’s news about the future of Clipper and a completely new post-COVID, 21st Century expansion of the current franchise. In company and close cooperation with the space-orientated entrepreneur, Elong Mask, Clipper Ventures plc is going into space, or to be more precise, into orbit. Low altitude-space orbit racing around the planet.

Today’s announcement confirms speculation that has been rife for some time. Whilst exact details of investment and sponsorship has yet to be announced, the outline plan will see design and build of a first batch of 6 space-shuttle-like Clipper vessels for the first ever orbital race around the globe. This mirrors the first ever terrestrial Clipper Race of six 60ft yachts of Clipper 1995 with the first of 6 space-age developments with obvious potential to build on initial success and grow the fleet size. Tenders for Space-Clipper designs should be complete in about a year with a view to the first “race” in the northern hemisphere spring of 2031, notably the 50th anniversary of the first NASA Shuttle flight. Race start is being planned for 12 April 2031, the anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch.

Travelling at approximately 17,500 miles per hour it takes about 90 minutes to orbit the earth, or 1 hour 31 minutes and 12 seconds to be a bit more race-precise when every second it likely to count.. The initial Race concept will be 135 orbits or laps of the planet, 135 being the number of Space Shuttle missions flown by the original programme between 1981 and 2011. Orbits will be conducted at a minimum altitude of 190 miles and a maximum altitude of 330 miles above sea level with the effects of gravity having an effect on choice of Race altitude. Race start will be controlled by the International Space Station . Refuelling stops and crew changeovers will also take place using the International Space Station with teams having to pre-programme their dockings in advance in a kind of Clipper-Formula One pit-stop-like event. Obviously programming for such pit-stops and slick drills through intense training will be a key element of race success.

Each crew will consist of 2 trained astronauts as “skipper” and “mate” plus up to 12 crew on each orbit. In a mirror of existing Clipper rules, each team will have at least 6 crew who will pay to complete the entire mission, including launch and landing. The race will require 8 pit-stops (replicating the current 8 legs of the existing Clipper Race) for crew changeovers and re-provisioning at the ISS, meaning that a crew member signing up to complete just a single leg can expect to spend approximately 25 hours in space or approximately 16-17 orbits. Training will follow an intensive 6 month programme and a specific medical and training programme is being negotiated with 5 rival agencies – the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Washington DC, the European Space Agency (ESA) in Paris, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in Beijing, Roscosmos (the former Russian Federal Space Agency) at their launch complex at Vostochny, and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Bengaluru. It has not been announced when a final selection will be made.

Crew costs for training and participation are yet to be announced. Speaking about this exciting announcement, Sir Robyn Nox-Johnson , founder of Clipper Ventures plc and the first man to sail single handed non stop around the globe said that this latest evolution of “Clipper” sailing from the Flying Cloud and Cutty Sark through Clipper 60s, Clipper 68s and Clipper 70s to the future Clipper-shuttle represents the next step in man’s inherent desire to “boldly go where no man has gone before.”

I’ll return to the latest update from Subic Bay (received yesterday) in my next blog. In the meantime:

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see:

https://justgiving.com/teams/keithsclippertadventure

For UNICEF UK see:

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Please take a look. Thank You. Happy 1st of April!

This week included World Meteorology Day. Of course I’m sure you spotted that. Actually it was Tuesday. Our weather here was pretty good for March and quite spring-like. World Meteorology Day takes place every 23 March and it commemorates the coming into force of the Convention establishing the World Meteorological Organisation on 23 March 1950, so happy 71st birthday WMO.

Rather appropriately, at least in terms of Clipper and this Blog, the theme for World Meteorology Day 2021 is “The Ocean, Our Climate and Weather.” CV 22 Seattle were clearly ahead of their time with their branding

This theme celebrates WMO’s focus in connecting the ocean, climate, and weather within the Earth’s system. It also marks the starting year of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). The Decade galvanises efforts to gather ocean science, through innovative and transformative ideas, as the basis of information to support sustainable development. As the UN’s specialised agency for climate, weather and water, the WMO strives to support understanding of the inextricable link between ocean, climate, and weather. This helps us understand the world in which we live, including the impact of climate change, and helps member States strengthen their ability to keep lives and property safe, reducing the risks of climate related disasters and to maintain viable economies. For more about the World Meteorological Organisation take a look at http://www.WMO.int

‘On reflection, I’ve written about the weather and various related climatic oceanographic stuff already. In fact 9 blogs last time I counted from Blog 22, Florence, Mangkhut and Helene … with memories of Michael Fish, Daria and Luis, published 4 September 2018 to Blog 111, The Drifters, published 22 February 2020 ………………. via

Blog 23, The Weather theme continued …. but spare a thought and a prayer this Sunday for Abhilash Tomy, 23 September 2018,

Blog 27, ‘Twas the night before Christmas … ooops sorry! ‘Twas the night before Clipper, 12 October 2018,

Blog 28, Level 2 Training Part 1, Sea Survival, 25 October 2018,

Blog 37, Bravo Zulu Tian Fu, 9 Dec 2018,

Blog 79, Racing downwind across the Bay of Biscay, 12 September 2019,

Blog 82, Ruth over breakfast this morning … “Explain these Dollydrums to me again.” 21 September 2019,

Blog 83, Dollydrums! WHAT Dollydrums??? 25 September 2019,

plus the odd weather update from Jeronimo in the Philippines.

But what about the (possible) future weather for my remaining Clipper Legs?

Leg 6 across the North Pacific has changed from the original plan of Zhuhai-Qingdao-Seattle in mid February to late April 2020 into Subic Bay-Sanya-Zhuhai-Qingdao-Seattle in late August to late October 2021.

Leg 8 has morphed from New York-Bermuda-Londonderry-London in late June to 1 September 2020 into Bermuda-Northern Europe-London in late December 2021 to late January 2022!

So what?

Well here’s a quick look at the “so what.”

Firstly Subic Bay, Philippines. Leg 6 will restart during the rainy season in the Philippines. Average rainfall in Subic (almost rains every day!) is considered very high in August and significantly higher in Sanya and Zhuhai in September. The new schedule is very much in the latter part of the typhoon season across the general area for the early stages of the Leg. The Philippines are prone to Typhoons pretty much any time of the year (and Jeronimo has already reported a “couple of near-misses) and they generally move from east to west across the islands heading north and west as they pass. Average temperatures in Subic, Sanya and Zhuhai are likely to be as shown below and for the Chinese ports these temperatures are up between 4 degrees and 10 degrees C on what we might have originally experienced. Good news then …. even if we can expect to be wetter!

The Race from Zhuhai to Qingdao is likely to involve heavy upwind conditions with increased sea states particularly east of Taiwan with prevailing winds from the north and east sectors and the North East monsoon in play and actually increasing during this period as Asia cools off. This will mean beating into wind and “life at an angle” with all that means for life onboard, particularly below deck. From July to October Qingdao can also be affected by Typhoons. In better news there will be much less chance of the foggy conditions off Qingdao that affected the last edition of the Race, and temperatures alongside in Qingdao will be considerably improved on the original schedule and on the last edition of the Race. Way back at Crew Allocation Day in Portsmouth, one experienced Skipper described the last Race edition in Qingdao as the coldest he had ever been on a yacht! Summer months in Qingdao are generally wetter than winter months.

The North Pacific will be generally warmer than we might have originally experienced (up by approximately 3-4 degrees C) but the prevailing winds will still be driven by low pressure weather systems heading from west to east. The Western Pacific is still prone to Tropical Revolving Storms, but once the Fleet is about a third of the way across the track will be dominated by the usual North Pacific depressions and storms. Large sea states and gale force conditions are still likely to prevail but Hurricanes in the North Pacific are generally further south than the latitudes at which we are likely to be racing. Remind me I wrote that bit when we get to Seattle!

Average weather conditions in Seattle in late October are likely to be a welcome relief!

Not surprisingly Bermuda in December is likely to be a tad cooler than Bermuda in the summer but not by as much as you might imagine. Air and sea temperatures in the North Atlantic are going to be considerably cooler. It is possible that we will be deliberately routed south, possibly with a virtual race waypoint which we will have to sail around somewhere near the Azores. This will add approximately 400 nautical miles to the crossing, and add an extra two days but it will keep us well clear of ice and fog further north and would give us the Azores as a port of refuge as an emergency contingency should this option be taken. In the familiar Northern Hemisphere winter the prevailing south westerly winds will be stronger and there will be much less chance of calms and light winds that we might have experienced in the summer. Depressions are likely to be larger and stretch over a greater area. Sea states are likely to be increased and it is possible for wind speeds to reach hurricane force.

or maybe I should have just summarised the “so what?” as “warmer, wetter and stormy followed by colder, wetter and stormy!?” Time will tell.

For Diabetes UK and the National Autistic Society see

https://justgiving.com/teams/keithsclipperadventure

For UNICEF UK see

https://justgiving.com/KeithWinstanley-TeamUNICEF

Please take a look. Thank You.