Report from Captain Clare: On day 11 of our totally different JST voyage and with the race due to finish at 1300 BST today I thought I'd take this opportunity to reflect on the voyage so far and to attempt to straighten the record.
Race wise I would be feeling we have had a Jonah (or at least his sister) on board if it hadn't been for the fact that Pelican and Cuauhtemoc have managed to find the same wind holes as us, at least it appears we won't actually be last. Ships company wise I have nothing but praise for my fellow ship mates. The enthusiasm and cheerfulness, even under the most depressing of circumstances i.e. flat calms and fog has been truly amazing. I will admit to having been slightly apprehensive about a ship full of women (the last time I experienced anything like it was 30 years ago at boarding school, a time I look back on with absolutely no fond memories at all)
There have however been strange sights on board, knitting in the bar and on the deck in the (occasional) sunshine, C/Es reading penny romances to an avid nightly audience of those about to turn in before their night watches, singing in the most random of places including the main tops and a continual stream of folks volunteering to clean and help in the galley.
Ship-wise, Lord Nelson has never looked cleaner or gleamed more and the dress flags which are a good vintage and got a hammering in Liverpool when the wind blew have been completely re-vamped so that we can again fly them with pride.
All in all I think all have done well.
Would I want to do it again? Don't tell anyone but I rather think the answer is "yes".
Update By: Captain Clare