This picture was a real scoop! In April 2003 the Clipper Race arrived in Hong Kong at the start of the SARS crisis. For those with short memories this stood for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. In the end there were 8,096 known cases reported of the disease and 774 deaths (a mortality rate of 9.6%). See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS
The acronym in this context was new to me, and I think everyone else. SAR of course is Search and Rescue but I had worked in Hong Kong before the turn over to China where it was agreed the ex-colony would be known as an SAR, or Special Administrative Region of the PRC. If you live in South Africa you know SARS as the SA Revenue Service, in other words the Tax Man. Conversely surgeons would think of the Society of Academic & Research Surgery.
Back to the photo ….. Just before dawn on the day the Clipper Race was finally going to depart from Hong Kong for Singapore I received a report that one crew member was suffering from a high temperature and a fever. Immediately the affected crew member was taken to a local hospital for all the thorough checks. The all clear was finally given but not before the South China Morning Post hit the street with a front page exclusive of ‘Clipper Race Crew Contracts SARS’. It then went on to say that the crew member was in fact their special correspondent, Anna Wardley who was now quarantined in her room at the Excelsior Hotel.
Before the paper was published there were only five of the 450 rooms occupied. Immediately the paper was published the other four guests checked out. Anna was the sole guest and forbidden to leave her room. The staff, who drew the short straw to look after her, wore masks and full protective clothing. They pushed trays of room service along the floor to her from the door with long bamboo poles.
The effect of SARS during this visit was that all tourists left and the relations and friends of the crew members at home imagined it was like the Great Plague in London in 1665 with everyone stepping over dead bodies in the street. For us, we were annoyed that the Rolling Stone Concert was cancelled but the Rugby 7s were not and enjoyed even more.
I would not pretend it was not a challenging time but all was finally overcome and Anna eventually re-joined the race in Singapore once her Bronchitis was better!
Anna Wardley finished the Clipper Race and after running the PR for the RNLI joined Clipper Ventures before the last race. She is currently Head of Communications and presently recovering from a nasty dose of GDL* which, we trust, is not as serious as her previous deceases. We hope she will be better soon.
The acronym in this context was new to me, and I think everyone else. SAR of course is Search and Rescue but I had worked in Hong Kong before the turn over to China where it was agreed the ex-colony would be known as an SAR, or Special Administrative Region of the PRC. If you live in South Africa you know SARS as the SA Revenue Service, in other words the Tax Man. Conversely surgeons would think of the Society of Academic & Research Surgery.
Back to the photo ….. Just before dawn on the day the Clipper Race was finally going to depart from Hong Kong for Singapore I received a report that one crew member was suffering from a high temperature and a fever. Immediately the affected crew member was taken to a local hospital for all the thorough checks. The all clear was finally given but not before the South China Morning Post hit the street with a front page exclusive of ‘Clipper Race Crew Contracts SARS’. It then went on to say that the crew member was in fact their special correspondent, Anna Wardley who was now quarantined in her room at the Excelsior Hotel.
Before the paper was published there were only five of the 450 rooms occupied. Immediately the paper was published the other four guests checked out. Anna was the sole guest and forbidden to leave her room. The staff, who drew the short straw to look after her, wore masks and full protective clothing. They pushed trays of room service along the floor to her from the door with long bamboo poles.
The effect of SARS during this visit was that all tourists left and the relations and friends of the crew members at home imagined it was like the Great Plague in London in 1665 with everyone stepping over dead bodies in the street. For us, we were annoyed that the Rolling Stone Concert was cancelled but the Rugby 7s were not and enjoyed even more.
I would not pretend it was not a challenging time but all was finally overcome and Anna eventually re-joined the race in Singapore once her Bronchitis was better!
Anna Wardley finished the Clipper Race and after running the PR for the RNLI joined Clipper Ventures before the last race. She is currently Head of Communications and presently recovering from a nasty dose of GDL* which, we trust, is not as serious as her previous deceases. We hope she will be better soon.
* Gosport Dreaded Lurgi …..
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