Our Skipper Report , Day 1 Dec 25th 2020

Day 1: Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

We are leaving the coast of Australia into the open ocean and it is Christmas Day! Doing two of my favourite activities, sailing and Christmas’ing. We are beating into 30 knots of breeze which it is not the most comfortable of conditions but, even so, we have managed to do our happy hour Christmas special. Under the Australian sunshine and battered by the strong winds we sang Christmas carols wearing Christmas hats apart from Mary that had a Christmas pudding outfit and we also had a visit from (Spanish) Santa bringing some presents.

Our short stopover in Fremantle has been amazing thanks to the support of crew from other boats helping with our deep clean of Punta del Este, great Clipper Race spirit! Also big thanks to all my Clipper Race family for making our life easier with maintenance and paperwork without them the crew and I wouldn't have the free time to enjoy time off with family and friends. Last but not least, the new joiners to Punta del Este for Race 5 doing an excellent job at getting the victualing needed for the crossing to Airlie beach. The Fremantle Sailing Club has been outstanding at looking after us and we had a unique send off by two dolphins that came into the marina next to Punta del Este to wish us luck. They were so close that I managed to stroke one of them, it was a little moment for me.

We are sailing hard and fast aiming to get closer to the rest of the fleet and ahead of Visit Sanya, China and Unicef. The new crew are settling well, despite sailing against wind and waves which makes conditions on board more challenging.

Enjoy your Christmas time wherever you are!

Daily Stats:

Tune of the day: Punta del Este Christmas Carol by Mary Vaughan Jones

Daily Run: 209 nm

Max boat speed: 12 knots

Sealife spotted: 2 friendly dolphins in Fremantle Marina

Sailing manoeuvres (sail changes, tacks and gybes): 3 reefs

Hot drinks consumed: 12

Meal of the day: Turkey breast with veg and gravy

Crew of the day: To all the new joiners for Leg 4 ; Joanna Mann, Diego Palacios, Petrissa Eckle, Rajani Karuturi, Johannes Witt-Doerring, Susan Waters and Catherine Johnson for adapting so well to the new environment.

Jeronimo