As I sit in the departures lounge of Seattle Airport I think of my friends doing the final bits of boat prep before their own departure tomorrow. Back to sea, back to a place I shall never forget. No regrets in this life I promised myself and certainly that rings true here. Even the moments of fear, sadness and hardship that took me to the brink, I wouldn't change a thing. Because their lows gave me the greatest highs, collecting our podium position, laughing wi...

Well, it's finally arrived - my last day in Seattle before I fly home tomorrow. I have mixed feelings. I've had such an amazing experience but I am looking forward to seeing family and friends again and also returning to work. This time next week I'll be back in the classroom! This break has been really good for me and given me new focus. For my last day I took a ferry across to Bainbridge Island in the hot sunshine for a last little bit of sea time and on my ...

It's been an interesting few days - rides up the space needle and on Ducks. Sorting and packing food was the aim of the game this week and we achieved a lot, managing to get most of the filled day bags onboard. There is still a lot to do but we are well on our way with the massive store ship we have to complete. I attended Sarah's memorial yesterday. It was beautiful, moving, sad and full of love and smiles as we remembered a much loved member of the Clipper fa...

A little bit of sightseeing today and a lovely bike ride along the waterfront in the sunshine. Space needle -tick! Hair cut -tick! Warm and dry - tick! Happy days - tick! After loosing a stone but talking about food constantly, America is full of temptation. The first steak I had here was just amazing! Last night I had another fabulous meal including divine ice cream. Another reason for exercising caution is the cost, Seattle is very expensive so there have been...

Seattle is beautiful! We arrived at around 9pm and after a few circles outside the harbour we were finally allowed in. We could hear family and friends calling from the shore! Although the welcome was more understated than Qingdao, it was no less warm. It was fabulous to be here. A quick trip to customs and immigration and we were in. We were given beer and clam chowder and then we're free to get off the boat. I found it quite emotional. The realisation of wh...