Firstly… I know I said I’d get better at blogging… turns out I didn’t actually get better & I’ve still got over a years worth of blogs to finish writing & get loaded up… 😊
So, again, why now… well… today I got a reminder to check into my BA flight. I hadn’t actually clocked the date, in less than 24 hours I was due to be on a plane en route to Seattle, having packed up my life & put everything in storage for 4 months away at sea…
Two years in the planning… and now… its all on hold…
The race has now been postponed till next year – the guys who were on Leg 5, got detoured to the Philippines (Subic Bay) rather than Sanya where the Leg 6 crew joined them. The original intent was for them to sail to China, stop off at Sanya, Zhuhai & Qingdao before setting off to tackle the mighty Pacific and where I was due to join in Seattle…
With COVID 19 hitting hard – Sanya & Zhuhai were out as possible stops, there was a scrabble around to try & organise another route & it was decided to do a race around the Philippines (I think with the hope that things would settle down enough to allow the boats to sail to Qingdao) In the 5 or 6 days the crew were racing, the severity & the implications of the virus snowballed, entries into & out of countries being restricted, boats being refused port entry and countries going into full lockdown.
When the boats got back to Subic Bay after the race – they were in effect quarantined on the dock for 5 days, waiting to find out what was going to happen next. Whilst I wasn’t there – I will admit to getting pretty worried about everyone out there, it really didn’t sound a great situation to be in. I also can’t imagine what the Clipper staff were going through at this time – 200 crew on a pontoon, another 300 or so worldwide who were due to join on Legs 7/8, all wanting updates and as much information as possible about what the plans were & what they should be doing in regards to flights & hotels.
I did hear a rumour about Port of Refuge tactic, basically provision, set sail & head towards Seattle (possibly Vancouver) & try to claim sanctuary… Apparently when they looked at the availability of stock at the supermarkets – beer, cans of coke, tinned sausages & cheese were about the only available items, not really suitable for crews of up to 22 for 40 days at sea!! Now don’t quote me on that… clipper rumour mill is rife… if nothing else, the available food list did make me chuckle, I don’t think anyone could be that inventive with that stock AND it’s a dry boat 😊
So for a variety of reasons, Clipper finally made the call that they were postponing the race – and they had 72 hours to try & get 200 people out of there & homeward bound. Pleased to report that no matter how horrific some of the journeys were, everyone made it back safely… with an enforced two week quarantine 😦 not quite the journey they had anticipated.
It’s been pretty tough… for everyone involved. The vast majority of people who have signed up to Clipper, have made a lot sacrifices, put lives on hold, given up jobs and homes… especially the Circumnavigators… my impact wasn’t that great in comparison…
When I got the news – I contacted my landlord & was thankfully allowed to retract my notice (so yes I still have a roof over my head), and work – were well, quite frankly bloody wonderful. They’ve allowed me to postpone until the race restarts next year… Whilst I’ve had sad moments that this “thing” I’d been planning & focusing on for the last two years wasn’t happening now… In the grand scheme of things, I’ve tried to count my blessings… I’m in a much better position than most… and that’s something I’ve tried to hold onto… some days more successfully than others granted…
Its been a little odd though – I’d had to stop getting so involved with things at work, knowing I wasn’t going to be here for 4 months… head back into the game… and things are decidedly stupidly & crazily busy… but ya know what… that’s not a bad thing… Just a change in focus… and that’s what we as humans do right?! Sink or swim… and nope I’m still not one to sink…
So… I’ve now got time & absolutely no excuses to start getting the older blogs finished & uploaded… No promises as to when though eh 😉
And… fingers crossed, measures will start easing so that we can at least get SOME sailing in this year… Or maybe some opening/closing parties in Ibiza 😉
TTFN
JoJo's Clipper Journey 