My Clipper Log

“I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and say to myself "well, that's not going to happen” ~ Rita Rudner One of the things I’m just not good at, but is required during the race, is to take your turn to cook for the crew. I can put stuff together and it’s usually edible but the thought of 20 people taking one bite of my cooking only to chuck it into the sea was depressing. More so, when you read tales of sailors who are great cooks and can rig up a sumptuous meal in less time than it takes to hoist a sail.  That’s when I thought of Sujit’s Sourdough baking sessions. He has this beautiful bungalow along the Mandovi, in Britona and has a select few come over Sundays to learn the art of baking sour dough with him. The bread turned out alright the day I baked with Sujit, but I still have to attempt it unsupervised. Team Roy, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Regular bread is easier though and I recently learned a delightful recipe

Sore today, strong tomorrow                                       ~ Anon When I decided to sign up for Clipper, one of the first people I spoke with was Sunil Prabhakar .  He did the entire Round the World Race in 2015-16. Not only did he send me lots of written advice but also called and shared his experiences. The words that stayed with me were make sure you’re fit enough to do everything asked of you. Try your hand at everything and let your experience decide what you want to focus on during the trials and the race. And definitely get out of your comfort zone. The very next day, I made a beeline for the gym. And continue to do so every day after work. Upper body, lower body, weights, core, cardio – bring it on! I got a bicycle as a birthday gift last October and have been enjoying my early morning bike rides for a while before the Clipper bug happened. So luckily for me, my muscles were better acquainted with exercise and didn’t scream in as much agony. Cycling in

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door.  You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien I missed this in the excitement of figuring my team. Believe me, checking that list felt like looking up my exam results. Weird, since I have yet to meet a single person related to Clipper,except for Harsh (more about him later).  The news? Sir Robin announced the route and the participating cities: Liverpool – Punta Del Este – Cape Town – Freemantle – Sydney – Hobart – Airlee Beach – Sanya – Qingdao – Seattle – Panama – New York – Londonderry – Liverpool  Leg 2, the one I’m sailing, will be further South than earlier planned, between Punta del Este and Cape Town, right on the edge of the roaring 40’s. Leg 2: Punte del Este, Uruguay to Cape Town, South Africa

If the world ran the way a crew runs a set, we'd have a better, more progressive world. Steven Spielberg Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/crew.html If the world ran the way a crew runs a set, we'd have a better, more progressive world. Steven Spielberg Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/crew.html     If the world ran the way a crew runs a set, we'd have a better, more progressive world. Steven Spielberg Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/crew.html There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew. ~ Marshall McLuhan Big day yesterday - Crew Allocation Day! All of the 12 boats have been assigned their crews and skippers. Now I know my skipper, Roy Taylor , and the names of all my crewmates . Huge event in Portsmouth to announce the names and boy what a celebration. There was to be a livefeed but it misfired, so here's the recorded version

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than those you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~ Mark Twain Though I spent almost my entire life watching the many moods of the sea from my windows at home in Bombay, it never occurred to me that those waters had so much more to offer. The First Indian kindled my passion for sailing.  A few sails out in the Bombay harbour, off the Gateway of India were followed by a basic sail training session on a J24 with Lobo Sails (thanks Ayesha!). A fortuitous move to Goa allowed quality time on INSV Mhadei and the opportunity to learn dinghy sailing as well. Sailing the J was a breeze, with the only challenge being manouvering the boat, on sail, out of the harbour and then figuring the right place to anchor her on our return. The presence of a trainer and a tindal (sailing assistant) made the whol