My Clipper Log

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”    ~ Dr. Seuss , I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! Which holds so true for me. The more I read the more I discover and desire to do. With the increased interest in sailing and all things nautical, I've been reading all I can about sail trips and sailors. Here I've listed a few that stood out for me. In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick Just at the time that the whaling industry was in its last throes, a whaler attempts to hunt and kill the largest whale ever spotted. Only to become the hunted, with the whale turning on the whaling fleet and wrecking havoc on them all. The survivors turn to cannibalism in a last ditch attempt at survival. A story that reminds us to be mindful of nature’s willfulness at all times A Voyage for Mad Men by Peter Nichols Recounts the first Golden Globe Race, a solo circumnavigation in a sail boa

There are no foolish questions and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions. ~  Charles Proteus Steinmetz   June 1 st and the countdown to my training has begun. As I pack my bags, I wonder how it will be like? Wonder what Gosport is like? I’ve never been to the UK. How will the Clipper folk actually be? They seem like an assorted, global mix of interesting people. What will it be like to live on a boat for a few days at a stretch? I’ve been dying to do that. Will I be able to stay on board and not trip and fall? Only because I’m used to being barefoot on Mhadei but will need to have boat shoes on now. What about the possibility of being sea sick? How will I go through that? It’s always a possibility. Both Dilip Donde and Abhilash Tomy were sea sick at some point. I’ll have these answers once I get there and get started. But I thought it might be a good idea to respond to some questions sent my way When did the Clipper Round the World Race start

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

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