Tag Archives: China

A stronger UNICEF team and hiking the Great Wall

Highlights this week were the departure of the Clipper yachts from Qingdao, including a strong looking UNICEF team, to cross the Pacific Ocean and hiking the Great Wall during a week long visit to Beijing. Sailing for the boats have been frustratingly slow this week with little wind which kept changing direction. But now they are sailing in stronger winds after rounding the Japanese peninsula heading straight for Seattle.

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Meeting the team again in Qingdao

After a short visit to Den Helder, I met the UNICEF team again in Qingdao, China. They were busy entertaining local school children on the boat and getting ready for the next leg across the Pacific with the same skipper that took over in Albany for leg 4 to Airlie Beach. The coastal area of Qingdao was redeveloped for the 2008 Olympic Games when the town hosted the Olympic sailing races. A walking tour around Qingdao to see places less affected by the 2008 Olympic Games was therefore high on my list of things to do.

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Planning, recuperating and following

It is nice to be back for a few days planning the next stage of the adventure, but I am starting to get itching feet already. Today I am in Den Helder where the whole idea of travelling round the world and the Clipper race began and where the boats will arrive on 23 July. Planning the next stage of my adventure is going well; 4 days with the Clipper teams in Qingdao, a 15 day tour through China and flights to visit Seattle and San Francisco to then drive a 20 day route visiting the National Parks on the way to Cedar Rapids. Can’t wait to get going again.

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At home while the boats are racing north

Another week full of emotions and surprises. This adventure certainly keeps me on my toes. Saying goodbye to my friends on Clipper UNICEF and then travelling back to the UK for medical treatment was difficult but today I am booking flights and accommodation for a return to Qingdao in China while the teams are having an upwind battle towards the east coast of Taiwan trying to maintain the highest VMG possible.

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