Spending the day touring the Clipper Round the World Sail Boats
Last Sunday, Scott and I took a break from packing up the house and went down to Bell Harbor Marina to view the Clipper Round the World sail boats. I’ve been following this race for months and was so excited they were stopping in Seattle!
The race is the brain child of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who was the first person to sail non-stop around the world and this is their 11th race. To learn more about the legs of the journey and their stops, read here. What’s even more impressive is that 40% of the sailors do not have sailing experience! If you click on the link above, you’ll see the conditions they sail in. That is courageous if you ask me!
Touring the boats
What was really cool, is the tour was free! You simply had to wait in line for a guest pass. They had limited guest passes, so once folks were done with their tour, then it was your turn. We toured Sanya Serenity Coast sailing yacht. Each boat has a major sponsor and then multiple smaller ones. This boat is sponsored by the city of Sanya which located in the South of China on Hainan Island. It is making its debut as a Host Port and Team Partner for the 2017-18 and 2019-20 editions of the Clipper Race. They will use this sponsorship to promote tourism and sports.
We were also able to tour the cabin of the boat and it was tight in there. Each boat has twenty crew, with ten on watch at a time. That means the other ten are sleeping in their hot bunks (which are hammocks) or trying to find a place to sit. Also keep in mind that while racing, the boat is usually at a 40 degree angle!
They have two heads on the boat and no shower. They are typically at sea for 3-4 weeks before arriving to a port. How do they shower? They use handi-wipes.
Honestly, as cool as this would be, I just don’t see myself ever doing something like this under these conditions. What was also interesting, is once they get into port they still stay on the boat. If they want to rent a hotel room, they are on their own. If it were me, I would find a cheap room to share with other people. That way we could shower and do laundry for a couple of days.
A great way to break away from the chores of moving
Spending a sunny day at Bell Harbor Marina, touring these awesome boats was a great distraction from our chores of moving! Everyone was in such a great mood and having a great time.
Seattle also has a boat in the race, promoting tourism for our city.
Here’s the video footage we took:
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