So far I have completed the first three out of the four compulsory levels of training, not knowing who I would be sailing with in the actual race. But this has changed now. On 17^th May my campaign got a little more real. Together with some 300 other crew I gathered in the Guildhall in Portsmouth for Crew Allocation. While one might say that the trainings are part of the race as well, I have to admit that I haven’t been this excited yet for the race.

In the morning the mood was good as we all met people we had previously trained with. Catching up on their most recent training and future training plans, everyone was curious to find out with whom they would share their boat. As part of the official welcome, every crew member received their soft-shell jacket, clearly identifying them as “Race Crew” with bold silver letters on the back. In addition, everyone got a wrist band that would later light up to indicate which team one was assigned to.

As the main event was not to start until closer to lunch time, used the time to show my dad around a Clipper 70, which was docked in Gunwharf Marina. He had joined me for this special day to learn about how they would be able to support my journey. We were shown around by former race crew and I had the possibility to add a few insights from my training on these kind of boats.

Crew Allocation

But then it was time for the main event. It started with some general information on the race, an inspirational speech by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who founded the race, some details from the race management team and other members of Clipper Race. The suspense was building until after almost two hours the first of the ten race skippers was called on stage. He then invited his first mate and after a ten second countdown, the first wrist bands lit up and those people knew their team.

This procedure kept repeating itself for the next skipper, and the next one and so on. I was starting to worry my wrist band might have stopped working since the initial test light up, when my band lit up with the with the ninth skipper on stage. I will be part of Team Lou who will lead us around the globe with Brian as first mate. At this stage not all team partners are known so we don’t have a team partner just yet.

I had followed the skipper and later first mate announcements, attended the webinar and listened carefully as to what they had to say. I had decided before to not root or hope on any particular skipper, to avoid any disappointment when ending up in a different team. It was quite easy since I had not sailed with any of them, so I did not know them personally. I had accepted this as part of the experience that I had no control over where I would end up. I wanted to focus my attention on making the best of it.

After also the final team had been assigned, we all headed out onto the stairs in front of the Guildhall for some pictures, which you can find on the Clipper Race website. While waiting for the pictures being taken, we had the first few moments to introduce ourselves to our fellow crew members. Once all the pictures had been taken we headed back inside for some lunch, followed by a first team meeting.

It was a good first meeting where Lou and Brian introduced themselves, outlined what we should expect from them and what they expect from us. We talked about what we want to achieve as a team, who we want to be and how we would interact with each other. Most points will need some refinement over the next few weeks until the race starts, but I am already happy that everyone seems to have quite similar ideas despite the different backgrounds.

After three hours of discussions and a first team-building exercise, we headed down to a bar to socialise further. Unfortunately, not everyone on the team could join, but I am happy about those I could meet and am looking forward to meeting the rest of the team soon.