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Arthur Logic - At Sea - Sunday



Amidst the war of words and petty squabbles about fellow crewmates shortcomings we'd like to pay some attention to the professional sailors amongst us.

There are two men in whom we have placed my life and who are ultimately responsible for Arthur's safe passage across the Atlantic. Our Skipper Mike and first mate Bob.

To introduce them, their many strengths, differing styles and leadership qualities let's use another great Rugby team as an analogy if I may (One trick pony? You're right)? That of the England 2003 World Cup winning team.

That team had one captain, but two leaders. Two people who held the ultimate responsibility and on whose shoulders victory or defeat would sit. Both very different in form and in function but both as invaluable as the other.

Lets start with first mate Bob 'neck wider than my shoulders' Mechem. He's the Martin Johnson of the pair. You'd follow him into any battle (even one with Senegalese pirates) and know full well he'd have your back unequivocally, no matter how bad your helming. Break the boats steering cable and he'll replace it while the boat's still moving and with a wry smile that just reads 'piece of piss'. Dependable, honest and a man you always want to have on your team.

Next up, it's our Skipper Mike 'athlete in not just the foot' Pickering. A precocious and highly skilled strategist to and a helmsman extraordinaire. He's our Jonny Wilkinson. Analysing his own performance constantly to find ways to make the boat even faster. Even when he's sleeping he's giving us tips on how to go even faster. (albeit those tips come in the form of loads bouts of snorring that can best be described as a Pig in distress) But what's most important is we all know that when the pressure is on he'll be the man to deliver.

With our crew bonding over daily ballads, sarong wearing and the sugar free Coca-Cola (we are not suppose to talk about) we can take great comfort in the speed the boat is travelling - fastest in fleet yesterday isn't bad, especially considering how close we are to the bigger boats t whose crew mocked us in Las Palmas.


But rather than bask in our own glory we've taken the sound advice of Sir Clive Woodward to keep our momentum up. When you win, get straight back to work and look for areas to improve. Only when you lose to you go out and have fun. We will save that for Rodney Bay.

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