"And your skipper is..."

What a weekend!

The long awaited Crew Allocation truly lived up to all the hype - nerves, excitement, and much partying.

After a long and nerve-racking morning waiting for my name to be read out, I am thrilled to announce that I am part of Team Roy / TeamCV28 / Team ThreePointFive (we've been officially a crew for all of three days and we already have in-jokes - amazing!).

Skipper Roy's Bio

I'm also super happy to be crewing with not one, not two, but SIX of my training crew mates from Levels 1 and 3 (including five who helped look after me when I had my accident), and the rest are shaping up to be a damn cool bunch.

We spent a great afternoon getting to know each other and thinking about what we believe makes a good team, how competitive we want to be and other crew business, during which I somehow volunteered myself to be Social Secretary (Roy asked who *might* be interested, and I was the only one who put my hand up!). The first test was sorting out dinner after the initial drinks - luckily the wonderful Fran stepped up and sorted out enough tables for all 40 of us while I herded everyone in the right direction. The next test will be organising a residential team building weekend away with only 26 days notice...watch this space!

As well as all the excitement about finding out our crew, at long last the Race route was revealed to us, and although I can't say where I'm going just yet, I can say that I'll be seeing these cuties!

Magellanic Penguins

Exciting times ahead!!

P.S. In a burst of productivity I've set up a Supporters Group for friends, family and fans (!) - please join to become part of Team Roy's journey and show your support

Around the world in 80 animals - Little penguin

No Christmas season would be complete without mentioning my favourite animals - the penguin. Luckily for me, when I'm in Sydney and Hobart this time in 2017, I might get to see some adorable Little Penguins in the wild!

Little Penguin fast facts

Aka: Fairy penguins
Type: Bird 
Diet: Carnivore (pilchards, anchovies, warehou, red cod and barracouta and a small quantity of squid)
Height: 13in (33cm) - the smallest penguins in the world
Weight: 2.2 lbs (1kg)
Group name: Rookery (on land) or Raft (in the water)

Did you know? The deepest little penguin dive recorded is 72 meters. An average dive in search of fish is between 5 and 20 metres

Did you know? Waddling is the most efficient form of movement for penguins. Little legs and big feet make movement awkward on land but waddling helps by raising a penguin's centre of mass, allowing the penguin to swing its body forward.