Author: Heidi
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Catching Up – By the Numbers
Wow! What a crazy few months it has been. I thought I’d be able to write while in port, but that time quickly gets eaten up with victualing tasks, maintaining the boat, catching up with racer friends on other teams to hear their experiences, Clipper events, community events, and sleeping in a real bed! Here…
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L4 Training, Preparing & Departing
Well, hello there! It’s been a while since the last update. The past few months have been busy – hectic, actually. After Crew Allocation in May, I trained with my team on the Team Qingdao boat with our assigned Skipper, Phil Quinn, and First Mate, Faith Nordbruch. That 6-day training was with 17 of my…
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Crew Allocation Complete!
Welcome to Team Qingdao! Saturday, May 17th was a big day for Clipper Race skippers, first mates, and us crew. Beyond the steps of iconic Guildhall in Portsmouth, England we all awaited our team assignments – the people we will spend countless hours with, on land, virtually, and at sea, for the next 14 months.…
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“Nerve-cited”. . .
In 2015, I coached girls’ youth softball . . . ages 10 – 12, specifically. It was early spring in the Pacific Northwest and our team had traveled for its first tournament of the season. Migrating from indoor practices to on-field play had been slow due to lingering cold weather and typical seasonal rains. So,…
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Clipper Corner #3
Clipper Corner is a monthly column I write for my local sailing club, the Astoria Yacht Club! This was my article for March 2025. Hello fellow AYC members! This month’s Clipper Corner is about the people component of the race, including all the different roles on the boat. I’ll share what it’s like to team…
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Clipper Corner #2
Hello fellow AYC members! I am excited to share my Clipper Race experience with you! This month, I’ll talk about the four levels of training required for race participants – including what’s covered in training, the boats we train on, where training is located, and what my experience has been like so far. Let’s go!…
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Clipper Corner #1
Welcome to “Clipper Corner!” As a member of Astoria Yacht Club, I am sharing my Clipper Race experience via the club’s monthly newsletter, The Bitter End. I thought it would be fun to share the newsletter contributions here on my website as well, as others might find them interesting! Cheers! January 2025: Introduction Welcome to…
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“I have a boat question…”
My friend wrote me the other day . . . “I have a boat question for you.” I’m always one to help and weigh in on a topic, especially anything boat or water related. “Say you’re in the middle of a storm or some major event on the boat. If, as a leader, the leader…
Windward Leader 