All I want for Christmas is…………..
Word has it that the dozen sailors that will comprise the Team GBR for the 40th Contender Worlds, scheduled to he held in Brisbane in a few weeks, will be spending their weekend desperately writing notes to Santa.
Top of their wish list will be;
Boat, Mast, Sail, Sailing Gear – in fact all the items needed to compete at a Championship on the other side of the world. This sudden requirement has come about after the shipping container, that had been so carefully loaded in Southampton a month ago, has gone ‘walkabout’ 3,000 miles short of its destination. Instead of being on the high seas, heading for Brisbane, the container is believed to be stuck in a container park in Malaysia.
Shippers Peters and May have few options. The simple one, of waiting for the next boat, would see the container arrive during the festive break. With the Christmas shut down, any hold ups at customs (always a possible problem in Australia) would probably see the GBR boats being unpacked as the pre-worlds get under way. Other options, such as sending the container to Sydney or Perth, then transhipping across Australia by train, might shave a day or two from this bad news situation, but either way, unless there is a major new initiative from the shippers, the situation does not look good. The delay is particularly bad news for Simon Mussell, as with very hot weather bringing in strong sea breezes had to be considered very much a potential from runner at the event. Peters and May, aware of their reputation as first choice shippers for international events, will be working hard to try to retrieve the situation but for now, Team GBR can only
hope that the season of goodwill arrives early in the shipping offices of the Far East.
The Australians, who have been practicing hard for some time now in advance of the World Championships, have no such problems. Revenge for loosing the Ashes Series in the summer? Who knows…. But the answer now lies with ANL, Australian National Line, who as shippers for the final leg of the journey will either make this happen, or will leave Team GBR as the best team of trolley dollys yet seen at a Worlds!
David Henshall
Bearfacemedia