We have begun to take some serious miles off the lead boats as we approach the
scoring gate off Taiwan. We still have good wind and are maintining excellent
VMG. The lead pack is now sitting in a wind hole to the East of us.

Crew is a bit sleep deprived as we have had to call for all hands on deck twice
in the past 48 hours after losing the spinnaker into the water after strop and
halyard failures. Yes, we have had a spinnaker up!

Fingers crossed, we are looking for a strong position on the scheds by dawn.

Nice job Saints... oh well :-)

This is the first Super Bowl I have missed in 30 years.

Prediction

Colts 34
Saints 24

Saints fail to get the pressure on Manning as they did on Favre in the
Championship game. Brees under constant pressure starts throwing high and ends up
with 4 picks. Manning gives up 2 turnovers.

Was I close?

We have been working our way West for several days and last nigh were within 12
miles of the Vietnamese coast. We think thtat we now have a really good line
North on the gate and if the projected wind angles hold true we can stay on the
same tack the whole way and be carried to the gate. Our strategy has currently
cost us some miles but many of the other boats will be required to put in several
tacks that will have them at a wind angle that will not be advancing them to the
gate for significant periods of time. I must say we are all nervous as it does
not feel good to slide down the leaderboard. We are also wildly hoping that there
is a small chance we will get a deep enough wind angle as we approach the gate
that we can get a kite up. What we are watching closely on the scheds and grbs
now is miles we are taking off the leaders.

We are experiencing problems with our water makers so rationing has been
introduced. Pete's worki9ng with the shore crew on a fix as production is about
20% of normal.

Temperatures by day are still scorching on deck, at night we are now wearing our
HL Fusion jackets. Down below it is always hot and we all look forward to
temperatures cooling off in the sleeping quarters as a few of ss are definitely a
bit sleep deprived.

Onwards we go, 5 days to the gate...5 days to what is now constantly reffered to
as The Gates of Hell becuase of what awaits us on the other side of the straits

After safely making it across the motorway known as the shipping straits off Singapore we
had a light wind start to Lag 4, Race 2 to China. So far as you can see from the tracker it
has been light air and tactical racing. The pack is close together but spread East to West.
The wind angles do not allow us to sail directly at our target so a lot of tacking back and
forth. This is what dramatically shuffles the boat positions each schedule. We are holding
on to 3rd/4th hoping we get more favorable air than those boats further to the West.

Temperatures are blazing again and we are foolishly looking forward to the cooler days
ahead.

Great to meet all the crew families in Singapore. Melissa's parents, great job on waving us
off. How did you get from the Marina to the point that fast!?

Onwards we go silently picking our way through the many small Islands both day and night

Well, no punches pulled by the Race Director at today's pre-race
briefing for Race 6, from Singapore to Qingdao.

I think we have all known since we signed up that this was going to be
a pretty harsh race. I am reminded of Ian Dees words, a Round the
Worlder on the last race who we riddled with questions for hours at
Berkley Yacht Club nearly a year ago. As he succinctly put it "The
final beat into Qingdao, were the worst seven days of my life!"

We are expected to be at sea 17-19 days. The first week will see a
reprise of the blazing heat we experienced approaching the Equator &
Singapore. It will be a hot and humid beat, so the hatches will have
to be closed due to the decks being awash making temperatures below
deck stifling to put it mildly. We are also likely to experience
powerful squalls at night that if caught unawares can have the sewing
machine humming by day making sail repairs in the sweatshop below
decks.

Then it all changes. We pass through the Lauzon Straits,
affectionately known as the "gates of hell" and within hours
temperatures will begin a precipitous drop, we will be riding a cold
current into a northerly strong breeze as we race by Taiwan. That
means chop, a lot of it. 7-10 days of a beating, bouncing, heeled,
banging boat. The temperatures will continue to drop and with the wind
chill we will likely see -20 on deck. So imagine riding a mechanical
rodeo bull while being sprayed by an icy fire hose. Watches rotations
will be every 20 minutes rather than 3-4 hours with only 2-3 on deck
at a time. One thing we have all learned is nothing is predictable so
we know that along the way we will be required to come up with a plan
B, C, or possibly D.

The reward? A spectacular greeting awaits the arriving boats in
Qingdao. The race finish line is positioned 27 miles off shore. Why?
So no matter what time we arrive, the 6,000... I repeat 6,000
performing artists that will greet us will have enough time to get to
the waterfront and be in position in their costumes to create an
amazing spectacle all broadcast live on national TV.

Hanging with the crew(s) tonight at Keppel Marina Restaurant.
California Clipper have adopted two Cork Clipper crew members Gavin
and Noreen. Thrilled to have them aboard!
We slip lines at 9.30am tomorrow, and then it all begins with a start
line set across the straits.

What on earth have I got myself into! Stay tuned...

For those of you that may have missed the link in the right hand sidebar to the official California blog postings hosted on the Clipper Web Site:

http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/california/index.php/CrewDiaries

Cork Clipper crew member Alan Moss, another guy never without a camera in hand continuously took pictures as events unfolded on the morning of the 14th. He kindly gave permission to post a few.

Life on board a Clipper Yacht is a mixture of complex evolutions to adjust the sail plan based on changing conditions, or concentrating on helming and monitoring sail trim. We can stay on the same sails and tack for days, or we can cascade through a series of changes punching in, and and shaking out reefs  all night as squalls come and go. Nothing is predictable. One watch can have nothing take place the entire 3 or 4 hours, then the next watch will have to handle a night that leaves them exhausted and soaked, These are a few short low resolution video clips from my still camera from some of the lazier moments on board. Many of the most intense moments are undocumented as your focus tends to be on completing the task rather than playing with a camera. I did bring a chest mounted camera rig with me and intend to wear it on deck for the next race to capture some of the more full-on moments.

Last night we had a Clipper welcome party at the Turi Beach Resort where I have been staying. Tonight, back to back rather amusingly we have the Clipper leaving Party at Nongsa Point Marina Resort where the boats are moored.

Tomorrow at 4.30am we slip lines and cross to Singapore where there is a quite a reception planned. First we have to make our way through the offshore armada of 4,000+ ships at anchor in the straits. Brigitte will be at Keppel Marina waiting for me. She got in about an hour a go after an exhausting 23 hour journey.