Think B&Q will be the talk of the fishermen along the Vietnamese and Thai coast for a while, probably being labeled as the 'spiderlike' looking boat (my own interpretation of what I think they would liken the boat to). The number of fishing fleets we had to pass through or dodge away from was incredible, at one point we thought it was the glow of the Vietnamese coast ( which was ruled out to be highly impossible) until the next night we were nearer to the coast that we saw that it was just the incredible numbers if fishing boats.

On a serious note, by B&Q being here, I think it has given Asia an actual live visual perception of the racing yachts and races that we here hear through the news, television and Internet. It is something totally like not many here have seen before and as with the fishermen, the general public at each port of call that B&Q stopped. It increased
the awareness of the sport of sailing and the many related opportunities it brings. The marine industry is rapidly growing here in Asia and this will definitely add on to the pace.

Obviously the major difference for me was the size of B&Q (75ft trimaran) as compared to Feng (21ft mini). I was stunned when I first saw the trimaran in Shanghai where I joined the tour and was a bit embarrassed that it took a while for me to recover from it. The first leg from Shanghai to Taipei was an eye opener on what trimarans sail like and the sheer loads on everything. Good thing that we had a bit of a blow leaving Taipei and I had actually got to see how fast the speeds are (well not max but substantial) but it was short lived. Boy is going back to the mini going to be a bit small and slow. The boat was incredible and well thought of and had everything worked out for almost any situation for Ellen, very impressive. Other aspect where I got the most out of would be the management and logistics side of such a campaign. I had the chance to see what is needed and what it takes to run a campaign of such magnitude. The time I had being on tour with Ellen and her crew had taught me loads on how and what I have to do to move up to the next level. A huge thank you to Ellen and the entire crew.