Three Westville schoolgirls have asked the crew of the Durban Clipper just what their plans are to come first in the famous round the world Clipper race.
Kerenya Nair, 11, Shannon Woodruffe, 11, and ten-year-old Myshka Sookdeo asked the key question in an email to the Durban Clipper, now on its way to the city from its last stopover in Salvador, Brazil.
The trio - and 87 other pupils at the Atholl Heights Primary School - are plotting the progress of the 10-yacht flotilla, each one representing a city around the world, as they head for Durban.
And the grade-five pupils are counting the days until the fleet sails in. The yachts are expected in on November 17, but strong winds could bring them a couple of days earlier.
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| 'We are holding thumbs that you are okay' |
Excitement is mounting at the school where pupils are hoping they will be able to go aboard the Durban Clipper during her 10-day stopover in the home port.
They got caught up in Clipper fever after librarian Linda Attwell decided to use a "yachting" theme for her latest reading programme.
"Then one of our parents, Richard Crockett, the editor of a sailing magazine, told us about the Clipper round the world yacht race, and when we learned that Durban had its own clipper, we decided we just had to get involved in the adventure," said Attwell on Monday.
The school joined the free Clippers Education programme, then got a new computer and Internet access to follow the race. Every day the pupils get an update of where the yachts are.
"And the great thing is, the pupils are learning something about the countries where the yachts sail to," said Attwell.
| She plans to help more children off the streets by teaching them how to sail |
Meanwhile Kerenya, Shannon and Myshka have just written to the Durban crew.
"We are holding thumbs that you are okay and that you will come first. What is your plan to come first?" they asked.
A crew member, Lucia Shange, has written to the pupils telling them that she works for Icare, the organisation that helps homeless children in Durban.
"I take care of those children's' needs by reuniting them with their families and helping to provide school resources while they are back at home."
Shange explained that she had been sponsored for race to represent SA, KwaZulu-Natal and Durban because she planned to help more children off the streets by teaching them how to sail on her return home.
To find our more about the Clippers Education programme, go to www.clipper-worldclassroom.org. and to find out more about the race, go to www.clipper-ventures.co.uk.
- This article was originally published on page 4 of Daily News on November 08, 2005
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