There is not much sailing going on this week. The crews are on their last legs of the race and also physically after several parties in Derry Londonderry. The welcome has been overwhelming as the citizens of Derry Londonderry showed a great interest in this ocean crossing lot of sailors.
My team UNICEF has finally got their podium finish in the race across the Pacific from Qingdao to Seattle and Yesterday left Seattle to start their one but last leg 7 to Panama and on to New York. For me this week has been travelling from Wyoming through Idaho, Montana, South Dakota into Iowa. Visiting the last National Parks and National Monuments on my way to Cedar Rapids.
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.
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. 
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.