21.02.2010
A day of welcomes
If the victorious team from Spirit of Australia were nursing sore heads this morning, Qingdao’s Olympic Sailing Centre was probably not the best place to be.
With Jamaica Lightning Bolt, Qingdao, Uniquely Singapore, Cape Breton Island, California and Hull & Humber all arriving one after the other, the spectacular marina resounded to the sound of beating drums, exploding fireworks, crashing cymbals, impassioned speeches and loud cheers as each team received their own spectacular welcome to the stage.
First up was Jamaica Lightning Bolt and as they stepped in to the media spotlight, local school children gave each crew a smart salute, presented them with a bouquet of flowers and then lead them by the hand to the stage. Skipper Peter Stirling was draped in a red cloak complete with his name embroidered in gold. In ancient China, such cloaks were only worn when Emperors and Generals set out on battlefields or came back in victory and they symbolize nobleness. With China celebrating the Year of the Tiger, the final part of the colourful ensemble was a silk tiger hat which is said to represent great luck. With the team enjoying their fourth podium placing with an excellent second place, it didn’t take much for them to celebrate in front of huge crowds and the watching media.
Understandably, the locals wanted to see ‘their’ boat and Chris Stanmore-Major and his Qingdao team duly obliged with a popular third place – their first podium of the 09-10 race. As the yacht entered the harbour to yet more fire crackers, they unfurled a huge Chinese national flag from the aft stay which flew proudly in the icy breeze. With two Chinese crew members plus two Chinese media on board, there were emotional family reunions and quite a few tears when they faced the crowds. For LiZhong Zhang (Leo to his mates) his arrival fulfilled a long held ambition. Joining him was Tie Wa Li, a team member from Cork, Ireland who moved to Qingdao after his yacht hit a submerged reef in the last race. His team allegiance reindexs strong and wearing his Cork team cap, he was cheered to the stage.
Jim Dobie and his Uniquely Singapore team were next to experience the colour and energy of Qingdao's famous welcome and the ever popular team positively leapt on to the stage. Jim told the media “We had a soft introduction into this leg as it started off fairly gentle as we left Singapore and headed out into the South China Sea. Then, off the coast of Taiwan, the weather just came in and all hell broke loose for about four days with constant gale force winds for at least two of those days. It was phenomenal but also enormous fun at the same time.”
When asked about his team’s performance, Jim couldn’t praise them enough, saying, “The guys were superb. I couldn’t fault anything they did; they just got on with it without complaint. They had every right to complain as sometimes they took some big knocks as waves hit them hard on the bow, but they were just fantastic. They all had the inner strength to just get up and do it.”
The Californian’s were next up and while fifth is their best result to date, it is clear that their competitive drive wanted more – especially when they had been at the sharp end of race six for so long. But they are a great crew with a ‘never say die’ attitude and Pete Rollason paid tribute to their efforts and tenacity. It is clear that a win is something they deserve and Pete demonstrated to all the other skippers that he knows how to spray Champagne better than Jenson Button.
Slipping past the giant Olympic rings and now extinguished Olympic flame came the team from Cape Breton Island. With Canada hosting the winter Olympics, the team looked the part in their smart maple leaf woollen hats and the immaculate ensemble were soon cheering their skipper Jan Ridd as he received his cloak and tiger hat. Like all the other teams, each crew member was presented with red scarves complete with tiger embroidery plus a soft tiger mascot supplied by the organisers. “We send these artistic gifts to the Clipper warriors and wish them a happy, healthy, prosperous and auspicious year of 2010” explained the commentator to the crowds of thousands.
Last up was Hull & Humber and they looked totally amazed at the reception they received. As the massed drummers (aided and abetted at one point by Clipper Chairman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Madam Zang, Honorary Chair of the Qingdao Yachting Association), skipper Piers Dudin thanked the sponsors and city officials for the warm welcome. As they headed away from the stage, passing through a colourful avenue of dancing lions and dragons, members of the public raced in to intercept them. Crew member Arthur Bowers was besieged by photographers, Jeremy Reed was asked to pose for numerous pictures with local families, temporary crew member Kevin Austin showed his allegiance to Cork as he waved an Irish Tricolor to crowds of admirers and skipper Piers signed hundreds of autographs.
Tomorrow, the team representing Edinburgh Inspiring Capital will receive an identical greeting and in a message from the yacht, skipper Matt Pike confirms that they are looking forward to the arrival ceremony. He went on to say, “This is a very disappointing finish for the team after a great sail. The disappointment of being caught in the wind hole that missed the rest of the fleet was tangible on board, as we came to terms with the fact we were stationary and the rest of the fleet were speeding to the line! Soon (but too late for us) the wind built and up went the kite, first light and then heavy, driving us towards the finish. Last night, we had a stunning sail up the Yellow Sea lit by stars and hundreds of ships on the horizon! OK, maybe not hundreds but at one stage the AIS was showing sixty eight vessels in the vicinity.” But Matt was quick to reassure fans of the Scottish team when he added, “There is an unbreakable spirit in the Edinburgh Inspiring Capital crew”.
Team Finland continue to make good progress and skipper Rob McInally reports that the mood on board is up-beat. It looks likely that they will arrive at some point on Tuesday and the beating drums and crashing cymbals can start up all over again.
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