Racing report
Amazing Race Season 30, Episode 4, "Gotta put your sole into it"
Film date: 2017-10-07 - 2017-10-08
The last pit stop was in the Moulay Hafid Palace, Tangier Morocco. Teams seem to be released from just outside the palace the next day in the following order:
1. | Henry & Evan | 11:34 | |
2. | Alex & Conor | 11:35 | +0:01 |
3. | Kristi & Jen | 11:37 | +0:03 |
4. | Trevor & Chris | 11:41 | +0:07 |
5. | Cody & Jessica | 11:54 | +0:20 |
6. | Joey & Tim | 12:08 | +0:34 |
7. | Eric & Daniel | 12:25 | +0:51 |
8. | Lucas & Brittany | 12:26 | +0:52 |
9. | Cedric & Shawn | 12:44 | +1:10 |
Route info: "Do you know the way to Saint-Tropez?"
"Hopefully we won't end up in speedos, for our sake and the audiences sake", Eric
Teams must make their way to a travel agency and pick up their tickets. It seems production has provided tickets and the are no better flights available. All teams end up on the following flights (thanks to claude_24hrs) leaving the following morning:
AT471 TNG-CMN 04:50 - 06:00
AF1497 CMN-CDG 07:42 - 11:53 (scheduled 07:40-11:40)
AF7714 CDG-NCE 12:46 - 14:06 (scheduled 12:45-14:15)
At the Nice airport teams pick up their cars. These turn out to have a manual transmission, which always seems to trip some teams up. The ones having the most problems seem to be Eric & Daniel who are unable to figure out how to put it in reverse. So we got some hilarious shots when they push their car backwards.
Teams must now drive to Ecole de Voile, Saint Tropez (105km 1h24min). Some teams have an easier time navigating than others. Alex turns out to have raced in this part of the world so he has driven here a lot.
"Babe, let's move here", Jessica appreciates the beauty of the area
"No, unless they've got the constitution and bill of rights and all of that", Cody only trusts one system
Lucas & Brittany are among those having a hard time. They have a hard time finding their way and seem to be upset with each other.
"I messed up there so I apologized to her", Lucas interviews later
Eventually all teams arrive to the next clue box in the following order:
1. Kristi & Jen
2. Alex & Conor
3. Cody & Jessica
4. Henry & Evan, probably 15+ minutes after #2
5. Trevor & Chris
6. Joey & Tim
7. Cedric & Shawn
8. Lucas & Brittany, after the first 5 teams have left
9. Eric & Daniel
Cedric & Shawn find their speed bump here. They must pick up 14 optimists from the beach and place them in numerical order in a storage rack. There is nothing complicated with this task, just some grunt work. This takes some time but no other teams arrive while they are doing it so they do not loose any positions.
The other teams can go directly for the clue box.
Road block: "Who's ready to break wind?"
In this road block contestants must learn so sail an optimist (a kids sailing boat). There are no lessons nor any demonstrations. They must just pick up a set of riggings (already completed) from a stand and put the mast in the right hole on the boat (this is hard to miss). Then off they go into the water. They must sail out to two buoys and pick half a clue at each.
The boats are kind of small and it is easy to get lots of water in when you crawl in. It looks kind of ridiculous to see the racers who do not know like they know what they are doing in these small boats. And for added effect this task is interspersed with shots of beautiful ocean-going yachts racing further out.
There is one part missing from these optimist and that is the main sheet (the rope holding the boom) instead players must hold the boom with their hand. This makes for awkward sailing but I assume it is done so as to reduce the risk of anybody getting hit and hurt by the boom. This strategy does not work.
"This looks extraordinarily difficult", Jen looks as Kristi attempts to sail
"I think she is figuring it out, there is like forward progress happening", Jen after a while
"It took him all of 15 minutes just to leave the shore", Conor explains to Jessica how hard the task is for Alex
"He probably thinks he is doing it right, but he is not", Conor comments Alex
At this moment Alex is letting the sail hang loose and is instead paddling the boat with two paddles. He is making progress but it is slow.
Alex did not read his clue properly so he returns to the shore after collecting only one half of the clue. He has to go back out there to get the other half as well. And offline we learn that Lucas did the same mistake.
Evan is, like most others, having a hard time with the sailing.
"This is so frustrating", Evan
"I feel so dumb right now", Evan
Eventually as she is using her hands to hold the paddle she turns and greets the oncoming boom with her smile. The boom is harder and breaks one of her teeth. But she is not prepared to give up so she soldiers on and eventually gets the hang of sailing.
In the extra footage we learn that what she lost was an old filling, which was on its way out anyway. And production sent her to a dentist during the pit stop so she got a new filling.
"That speed bump was made for us but too bad these boats weren't", Shawn see the big Cedric trying to get into the small boat without taking the whole ocean with him
"As a lifeguard I feel very compelled to go and help him right now", Brittany see that Cedric's boat is capsizing, but she suppresses her instincts
Lucas seem to be the only one who knows how to sail.
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0) | Kristi* & Jen | (2-2) | |
2(+0) | Alex* & Conor | (2-2) | |
3(+0) | Cody* & Jessica | (2-2) | |
4(+1) | Trevor* & Chris | (2-2) | |
5(+1) | Joey* & Tim | (2-2) | |
6(+2) | Lucas* & Brittany | (2-2) | |
7(-3) | Henry & Evan* | (2-2) | |
8(+1) | Eric & Daniel* | (2-2) | |
9(-2) | Cedric* & Shawn | (2-2) | |
Detour: Bread or thread
In bread teams must use 30lb of dough to make 50 traditional baguettes. This takes place at La Tarte Tropézienne. They are given a big piece of dough and must roll it out to baguettes ready for the oven.
In thread teams must complete a pair of sandals. This takes place at Sandales Tropeziennes. Teams seem to get the parts needed and must just thread the straps and fasten them will small nails.
Both detour take place in Saint Tropez so teams must park their cars at Parking du Nouveau port (3.2km 9min) and make their way on foot.
"No, I have no idea?", Conor does not understand why his baguettes get rejected
"Trevor is absolutely the Martha Stewart of our apartment", Chris
"You'd better hurry up because we're on your heels", Cedric at the shoe detour
The telecast did not show this but both sides of the detour ended with teams having to deliver something (a loaf of bread or a pair of sandals) to a person in Saint Tropez.
Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1(+0) Kristi & Jen. thread
2(+0) Alex & Conor, bread
3(+0) Cody & Jessica, bread
4(+0) Trevor & Chris, thread
5(+0) Joey & Tim, thread
6(+0) Lucas & Brittany, thread
7(+0) Henry & Evan, thread
8(+1) Cedric & Shawn, thread
9(-1) Eric & Daniel, thread
The next clue point teams to another head-to-head. This takes place at Place des Lices. Teams arrive in the following order:
1(+0) Kristi & Jen
2(+0) Alex & Conor
3(+0) Cody & Jessica
4(+0) Trevor & Chris
5(+0) Joey & Tim
6(+0) Lucas & Brittany
7(+0) Henry & Evan
8(+0) Eric & Daniel
9(+0) Cedric & Shawn
Here teams must play pétanque, a game similar to boule. The rules are describes as:
PETANQUE RULES
* The object of Pétanque is to get your boules closer
to the jack than your opponent's.
* Pétanque is played in rounds, with each team member
throwing 3 boules per round.
* The jack and all boules must be thrown from the
start circle.
* A member of the starting team throws the jack into the
marked area, and then throws the first boule.
* After each throw, the team NOT closest to the jack
takes the next throw
* Once a team has used all its boules, the other team
will throw the rest of its boules.
* After all 12 boules are thrown, the team with a boule
closes to the jack receives one point for each boule
that is closer to the jack than their opponet's
closest boule.
Phil also says that the first team to get 3 points wins. But the way the matches are edited it looks like it is enough to get just one boule closer to the jack than your opponent.
The head-to-head matches turn out like this:
* Kristi & Jen loose against Alex & Conor
* Kristi & Jen loose against Cody & Jessica
* Kristi & Jen win over Trevor & Chris
* Trevor & Chris loose against Tim & Joey
* Trevor & Chris win against Lucas & Brittany
* Lucas & Brittany looses against Henry & Evan
* Lucas & Brittany looses against Eric & Daniel
* Lucas & Brittany wins against Cedric & Shawn
The last match was even more exciting in reality since Cedric & Shawn won the first round with 2 points. Lucas & Brittany won the second with one point. Finally Lucas & Brittany scored two points in the third round and win the match, and get to stay in the race.
The pit stop is right by the course so team can check in as soon as they have won a match. They do this in the following order:
1(+1) Alex & Conor, win $5000 each
2(+1) Cody & Jessica
3(-2) Kristi & Jen
4(+1) Joey & Tim
5(-1) Trevor & Chris
6(+1) Henry & Evan
7(+1) Eric & Daniel
8(-2) Lucas & Brittany
9(+0) Cedric & Shawn, are eliminated
"I've been watching for 29 seasons, my whole family, and I wanted to win", Cedric