by Jason Cruz
Northwest Asia Weekly
USS Seattle battles on the mighty Pacific stage of the Clippers (courtesy of Seattle Athletic Commission)
The time for Chinese crew member Robert Mark’s voyage has finally come.
“I’ve waited 3 years to embark on this journey,” he explained, as this year the Clipper Venture competition continues its annual competition around the world. The first two years have been stagnant due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ve dreamed of the sea since I read 20,000 Union Under the Sea as a kid,” the 39-year-old said. The book opened his mind to adventures around the world. “I quit my job in 2018 to become a sailing instructor,” the former policeman said. “My friends and family think I’m crazy and my family hasn’t spoken to me for two years.” Mark said he is now communicating with his family.
Clipper racing lets people from all walks of life become ocean racers.
It is estimated that it will take 11 months for contestants to sign up for a single or multiple races, or even the entire race. This is a 40,000-nautical-mile round-the-world race on one of eleven 70-foot ocean-going boats. The competition is divided into 8 stages and 13 to 16 individual competitions. The Seattle stage is the end of Stage 6.
The race started in China and ended in Stage 8, returning to China from New York City.
The Clippers, which were suspended in 2020, officially restarted in the Philippines on March 24, 2022, and arrived in Seattle last week. The race was officially postponed in March 2020 due to the global pandemic, with the last 3 of the 8 races suspended. Quarantine for teams suspended in Subic Bay, Philippines. The fleet was due to depart for Seattle later that month.
Almost two years after the day the race stopped, it returned with a destination across the Pacific to Seattle. Boats for most of the races arrive at Bell Harbor Pier on Seattle’s waterfront on April 24. Tsingtao is one of the boats in the race, and although it will depart from San Francisco next month, it is not participating in this stage.
Mark will meet the end of this stage in Seattle, and he will travel to San Francisco to join the Qingdao team in the next game. The next stop is through the Panama Canal and finally to New York City.
Hours on board are regular, as crew members have shifts and most of their rest time is spent eating or sleeping. Maintaining a rowing boat in the ocean is a lot of work, so many crew members say they sleep right after their shift. The crew do make travel diaries and send them to the race office.
If this game goes well, Michael (Tang Lin) of China hopes to travel the world by himself. “I want to be adventurous.” He’s been riding his motorcycle from Alaska to Panama. “Now is an opportunity to do the same around the ocean.”
The small business owner said he thought he would enjoy the journey. “If that’s true, then I’ll be sailing around the world,” the 52-year-old said.
Cheok In Lo, from Macau, was amazed by the vastness of the sea as he completed his first race after crossing the Pacific Ocean and docking in Seattle.
“It was like I was dreaming. That was so exciting.” He trained for four weeks in England to get used to the rigors of the ocean. Additionally, each crew member has a specific job during the race.
“The waves were huge and terrifying,” said Wan Chio, who worked at Clipper and was one of the dedicated crew members. She noted that some winds reached 57 mph. She recalled the need to change the sails in the middle of the night, which required her to take the helm.
But with the power of the ocean, there is also beauty.
“The blue of the ocean is something I will never forget.”
For more information about the competition, please visit Clipperroundtheworld.com.
Jason is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
