Seasickness tablets x 10000000000000000000 CHECK.
Two sleeping bags CHECK.
Thousands of pairs of thermals CHECK.
Sealskinz clothing to keep dry CHECK.
A HUGE SMILE....CHECK!!!!
Against the Tide - 10 January 2011 QUEST – Free view channel 38, Sky channel 154 and Virgin Media channel 179
The six-part television series which follows the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race will receive its world premiere next month.
Against the Tide will air for the first time in the UK on Friday 18 February at 9:00pm on QUEST (Freeview channel 38 and Sky channel 154).
The series follows the crew members as they take on the extraordinary challenge of racing around the world. The six-part documentary captures a man overboard in the South Atlantic, boat collisions, dismastings and a terrifying roll in the remote North Pacific during hurricane conditions.
More than 40 per cent of the crew for the Clipper 09-10 Race had never set foot on a yacht before their initial training and the series closely follows their journey around the world during their ten-month challenge of a lifetime.
QUEST is Discovery’s free-to-air channel in the UK and the group will be showing it around the world on other stations in the network. Please keep an eye on the race website and Facebook pages for updates on transmission times in other territories.
Discovery Network is just one of the broadcasters showing the series around the world and we will release more information on the others in due course.
The next edition of Clipper Race begins this August and the TV series will further whet the appetite of the Clipper 11-12 crew whilst allowing members from Clipper 09-10 to reminisce on their amazing achievement.
Against the Tide – Friday at 2100GMT from 18 February
QUEST:
Freeview channel 38
Sky channel 154
BT Vision: 38
Virgin Media: 179
QUEST +1:
Sky channel 167
So far I have completed levels one and two of my Clipper training in 2010. This year the real hardcore, extreme and VERY exciting training begins.
On 2 February 2011 I begin level three of the training. This means spending five days at sea becoming accustomed to extended periods on the water on the Clipper 68s (the racing yachts).
With the race start in August fast approaching, Clipper has reported that approximately 140 training courses are still to take place before the Clipper 11-12 Race gets underway. I only have two more training courses to complete and then I will be a fully fledged Clipperite!!!
After completing Level 3, the next time I will step on board a Clipper 68 I will be joined by my skipper and the team that I will race around the globe with. I will find out the identity of my skipper and fellow team mates at Crew Allocation on 30 April 2011 in Southampton.
During every level of training, the skippers and first mates assess and report back to the race office the sailing ability, leadership and team working skills of all of us taking part in the race. This information is gathered and then considered during a lengthy process to assign each of us to a particular team.
Crew Allocation for the Clipper 11-12 race is a day-long event and is open to every crew member. It begins with a morning of presentations, after which the ten race skippers are introduced and invited on to the stage to reveal the names of their new race crew. The afternoon and evening is spent in break-out sessions as each team begins to plan their campaign, gets to know their fellow team mates better and sets out the final preparations that need to take place in the weeks leading up to race start.
I cannot wait for Crew Allocation, I have serious butterflies and it isn't for another three to four months!
At this moment in time I cannot explain to you how excited I am to get this race underway.
I signed up in 2009 and the 2011 race start felt very long away, but here we are, seven months prior to the race getting underway.
For now I leave you with this...“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
(Sir Robin Knox-Johnston)