We made it into Albany around 5 AM after crossing the finishing line, getting a tow, going through immigration and finally getting off the boat. Our plan was to get in a quick shower, a quick nap and then back on the boat by 8 to start the deep clean. Tino had arranged an apartment for a few of us to stay in. Tino's brother, who was in town with his family, nicely drove us to our apartment with all of our bags which barely fit in the car. At this point, we are still mostly in our foulies as it was cold and raining as we came in. We get to the apartment and Jan is the first one to the door. It took him awhile to get the screen door unlocked, so when he finally got to the door, it opened from the inside and a bewildered woman was standing there in her nightgown. Not sure Jan knew what to say, but was very apologetic. Even though it looked like we were about to attack in our red suits, the lady was very nice and explained the apartment would be ready at 11 AM, but that we were welcome to come back at 8 since they would be gone by then. Then as we were about to pack up the car, she came out and asked if we wanted to keep our bags there, which was awesome so we didn't have to keep luging them back and forth.
Arrival into Albany!
Tino's brother drove us back to the marina where we had to que in the marina shower lines. We didn't have much time to sleep at this point so decided just to go find a place that served breakfast at 6 AM. We tried the first place, Due South, which was supposed to be open at 6, but doesn't actually open until 7. The lady that worked there explained that we could go elsewhere up the road that should be open at 6. Little did we realize it was a couple mile hike up a hill! Normally this would have been a nice stroll, but we haven't walked further than 70 feet at any given time in a couple of weeks and we were all carrying extra bags on us. We finally made it there about 45 minutes later and chowed down on some food! A few of us decided to skip the walk back and catch a cab back to the marina to start the deep clean.
That night it was the crew party and prize giving. We were all extremely exhausted after getting no sleep and working all day, but there were rumors we were up for the Stormhoek social spirit award so we definitely had to make a presence! Sure enough, we won the award thanks to Jan and his project working with the children's schools! It wasn't a podium prize but we were all stoked to get the award and I thought it was well deserved as our boat definitely has the most spirit in all respects compared with the rest of the fleet, at least I think so, but I may be biased!
Go Visit Seattle!!!
After the crew party and catching up with some friends on other boats, our crew met for a last dinner before crew changeover the next day where we would lose some of our valued crew members, especially Lucy and Leo! Luckily, Leo was staying until we left for the next leg, but Lucy was headed out early on the 27th, so we didn't have much time left with her.
It turns out the town of Albany loves the Clipper race and welcomes us everywhere we go. So it wasn't surprising that the restaurant we went to had us decorate and sign a plate for them. We just so happened to have the LMAX one right next to ours, which was very sleek, then I go to start our plate writing, "Vit", CRAP! Spelled "Visit" wrong! I may have had a few drinks by this point and for some reason was saying, "Vit-ta-min" in my head the way the English say it, so no wonder I got it wrong. The crew slowly left their separate ways and Jan, Karri, and I were left having our own shenanigans outside while we waited for our cab to pick us up.
Signing our plate
Notice how they had to color over my spelling mistake on the top left...fail!
I still like ours better!
Shenanigans ensuing!
The next day it was back to the boat for more sail repair. We had a full day working then went for drinks afterwards. The ladies made headway for the White Star while the boys found the quickest stop at Due South. Karri, Patsy, and I had a nice girl's round before heading back to the apartment to make ourselves more presentable. By the time we made it back out to the White Star where Patsy had notified everyone to meet up, the boys had never made their way home and were quite enjoying themselves by then. We had some grub there then made our way to the live music area for some interesting people watching! Once the bar closed, we decided to head to the local club to burn off some calories. I think at this point it was Patsy, Leo, and I who ended up there and then we ran into Ana who was there with some other Clipper friends. We danced the night away like only we could. But the night wouldn't be complete without some shady house party at the end, which I was at for about five minutes before deciding it was finally time for bed!
Patsy and I were determined to find a Karaoke bar, so when Saturday came round and we found out that was Karaoke night at one of the local pubs, we were set on doing that for the night. After another day working on the boat, our house decided to order in the 'best' Thai food in town...not sure I'd go that far in the label, but good enough for dinner. We invited Leo over and the four of us , Jan, Karri, Leo, and I, chilled out at the house. Leo and I had every intention of going out to meet up with Patsy for Karaoke, but I ended up falling asleep on the couch instead...whoops! Guess I was due for some much needed sleep!
Sunday, Karri and I were off since we had an open boat day on our boat and were not able to work on the sails as there was a little farmer's market going on in the makeshift sail tent, which was just the boat house we took over. So it was tidy up day and laundry day for me. Leo called later in the day to see if anyone wanted to explore Albany so I joined him in town and we walked down to Middleton Beach which is where my apartment was. We had a quick drink then walked back up to the apartment where Patsy was planning to make us a proper Sunday Roast!
Another horrible selfie photo
Patsy eventually made it home after having a few drinks with a friend and we started in on making the meal. It was a lamb roast with roasted potatoes and veggies. Patsy had invited the rest of our boat over so I helped with the meal while she entertained the guests. We had a great evening in with our crew mates and a couple others from other boats who joined in and the lamb was absolutely delicious with some mint jelly on the side...yum, yum, yum!
Enjoying the feast...
Monday was our last day before Leg 4 was set to begin. There was last minute laundry and packing in the morning and then on the boat by mid day before the regular crew brief before each race. For awhile now, my fellow Round the Worlders ("RTW" - crew doing all legs) have been after me to add the last leg since I was signed up for all legs except for leg 6, the treacherous Pacific leg. I originally didn't sign up for leg 6 since I was planning to take a leave from work and work in between during that leg. But once I quit, I decided that would be the best opportunity to take a break from the race and travel around Southeast Asia with my travel buddy, Jenna! We had been discussing and planning our trip for months now but we had not booked any flights or excursions yet. So my biggest dilemma was disappointing Jenna as I knew she really wanted to come visit and travel around with me and I was also looking forward to that as well. However, on the other side, this was my only opportunity to circumnavigate the globe in one go, a feat very few have done and I knew that if anyone would understand that, Jenna would be the person. I mentioned it to her back in Cape Town that I was thinking about it but I wanted to finish the famed Southern Ocean leg before I made my final decision. However, my crew mates finally won me over and the Southern Ocean wasn't sooo terrible, so I sent in a few emails to the race office to inquire about adding the leg, the next thing I knew, I was in the race office after our crew briefing signing the contract to add leg 6! I'm still second guessing my decision but I am sure it will be so worth it as we sail into Seattle, with our boat Sponsor cheering us in! On a side note, we are expected to be in Seattle from about April 15th - 28th, for any family or friends who want to come up and check out the boat or say hello! I'd come closer to post April 20th in case we take a few extra days to make our way there which isn't outside the realm of possibilities for our boat, but hopefully we smash it into first place somehow!
Crew briefing
We had a quiet evening in at our apartment for the last night. Jesse and Leo came over and we celebrated my new title of "RTW" and said our goodbyes to Leo who would be departing us until leg 8 when he rejoins us again.
Enjoying some downtime
Tuesday, race start, was another hectic morning as always. We did last minute fixes on the boat and got her ready to set sail...next stop Sydney!
Crew ready for Leg 4!
Goodbyes to Leo...wahhhh! Don't leave us!
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