SINGAPORE: Sea-sickness, weather changes and rough seas are just some of the challenges faced by the Uniquely Singapore crew during their Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Hitting the high seas with almost a different set of crew who are mostly novices for each leg of the race can be rather challenging for any skipper.

From Fremantle Australia to Qingdao China, the crew included representatives from some ASEAN countries, sponsored by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With 13 nationalities on board, it is not surprising that things can sometimes get lost in translations.

But there is one unifying factor – food.

Diana Chan said: "We all share preferences for Asian cuisine, so we talk about fried rice, Vietnamese cuisine, Laos cuisine, Malaysian food, chilli, chilli, chilli. It's always a hot topic."

"Maybe at home we don't cook much and now on board we have to learn how to cook, and we have to learn how to cook for 18 people on board," said Elmy Rizal.

Erma Siswowaluyo said: "Living with 18 people in a 68-foot yacht, there's really nowhere you can go except overboard, so we have learnt to live together, work together and we have to accept what's happening around us."

Living and working together for up to three weeks at a stretch, crew members said there are rewarding moments.

Timothy Ettridge said: "We saw 400 dolphins once, on the horizon, and they just surrounded the boat, playing, splashing, jumping... played with us for a while until they got bored."

Mark Preedy, the team captain, is hopeful of a podium finish although Uniquely Singapore is currently not in the top five positions.

He said: "I did say at the beginning when we started the whole voyage that I'd rather be last with a happy crew than first with an unhappy crew, but I'd rather come middle with a happy crew and first with a happy crew.

"And so we've got a happy crew, people are working well, so hopefully we can start showing results because I think their sailing abilities are getting to a point where they can start to show whether their performance within the race is really making inroads into that leader board."

The public can keep track of the progress of the Uniquely Singapore clipper via www.channelnewsasia.com/keppelclipper.


- CNA/so