First Clippers Home Just Berthed Next To Us…

So, it’s just gone midnight on the 21st July 2010 and it’s official - the first Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race boats have this minute arrived back in their home marina, Royal Clarence in Gosport, Portsmouth Harbour, after spending 10 months at sea racing 35,000 with around 400 Joe Public crew members.

Wednesday had just arrived when James jumped up to look out of the saloon, where he noticed that two of the Clipper 68s had arrived back from their round-the-world  jaunt.

I’m not going to bother writing anything more about the race as you can find everything you need to know on t’interwebz, but this is hot-off-the-press news - they are but metres from our current berth!

James poked his head out of the door and contemplated going to catch their lines - it will be great to greet the familiar skippers and crew who departed from this exact marina less than a year ago - but rembered an incident that happened exactly this time last year…

Ready and waiting on the pontoon, James was eager to catch a Clipper boat’s lines. A Clipper came alongside, and the crewman on the bow - somebody confirmed to have just become one of an elite few to circumnavigate the globe under sail - threw James the bow line. Not just one end of a bow line with a bowline in the end, but yes, the entire bow line. James, utterly bewildered, caught the coil of warp and asked the crewman “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Err, tie it on the cleat?!” the crewman glared back

James’ reply was not made of words, but expressions. He watched as the wind blew the bow off and the skipper shouted. He shouted quite a bit, apparently.

I say no more. The Clarence Tavern will be glad to hear of your return.