With only 3 and a bit weeks notice, pulling together a residential team building event was always going to be a challenge, but thankfully it all came together and worked out perfectly in the end. I have to say though, I have a whole new respect for the skippers having to herd so many people - corralling 30 of them into one place at the same time and getting their payment, dietary requirements and suggestions for activities was much like what I imagine herding cats to be like!
We spent the weekend at a wonderful 4* hostel by Stonehenge that had everything we could possibly want and then some (think licensed bar, tree-top walkway, zip-wire, two large garden areas, a classroom for race planning, large conservatory/dining room...) Self-catering was the perfect choice for us as everyone pitched in without being nudged, even to the extent of having too many helpers (an excel sign for the Race), and it gave our Leg 1&2 victualler Julie a great opportunity to practice menu planning and shopping for 30 people on the Clipper budget.
On the Saturday we went on a gorgeous 11-12 mile hike around Amesbury, past Stonehenge and across to Woodhenge in the blistering heat (we only lost our skipper the once), before we settled down to an afternoon of race planning and discussions. We managed to get a Q&A session with 13-14 RTWer Sophie Hetherton as well which was handy for crew fund questions.
Thanks to Quizmaster Nigel A (one of THREE Nigel's in TeamRoy!) we spent a great evening in the garden doing a pub quiz. While my team didn't win, we did at least ace the Clipper round! Our "I'm only as competitive as you all want to be" skipper was in the winning team...
Sunday morning started off with a trip through the forest as we explored the on-site tree-top walkway (including a run-by from a wild ferret), zip-wire (hilariously Roy couldn't undo his own knot for a couple of minutes) and playground. A few big kids had great fun on the swings (Andre, Stian, I'm looking at you!) which got us in the perfect silly mood for the event of the weekend - Sports Day!
When I asked the team what they wanted to do, I have to admit I was surprised by how many of then came back with suggestions that all came together to mean we were having a sports day. Just goes to show, we're all just great big kids wanting to play! Activities included an egg and spoon race, relay race, bucket toss, and sack race. After a very competitive battle for points, the Green Team emerged victorious to claim their medals and chocolate orange prizes - interestingly, the skipper's team! The Grand Finale tug-of-war (Yankee sheets are good for more than just trimming sails you know) was hotly fought over three rounds and much discussion of the angle of the slope in the orchard we were playing in.
All in all an excellent weekend of team bonding, race planning and generally getting to know each other that bodes well for the real thing - I can't wait to sail with these guys!
Level 4 run-down to follow soon.
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