Racing report
Amazing Race Season 27, Episode 7, "Full speed ahead captain"
Film date: 2015-07-03 - 2015-07-04
At the end of the last episode Phil told teams that the next leg started right then and there and handed them their next clue. That is all teams but Denise & James Earl who were still stuck at the detour.
So we go back to the detour where Denise & James Earl decide to make two more attempts before they switch. Practice makes if not perfect then at least better. And they get their French rapping approved on their 18th attempt. They are currently very last.
"
Denise & James Earl you know the news isn't good. First on the last leg and last on this leg. The good news is you are still racing here's your next clue", Phil to them on the mat
Eventually teams checked in with Phil in the following order:
1. Justin & Diana
2. Tiffany & Krista
3. Kelsey & Joey
4. Tanner & Josh
5. Cindy & Rick
6. Logan & Chris
7. Denise & James Earl
Instead of awarding prices Phil hands teams their next clue and tells them the next leg starts right now. This clue is a route info: "Travel by train to Rotterdam". Teams also get a picture of a very red lighthouse boat which they have to find once they arrive in Rotterdam.
Everybody are provided with tickets to a train leaving Paris for Rotterdam at 19:22, but teams are free to travel on another train if they want. Most teams realize they need to get away earlier and there are lots of trains, so teams get spread out on different trains.
Train #1 departs at 16:19 and carries:
Justin & Diana
Train #2 connects via Brussels and departs at 16:53. This carries:
Kelsey & Joey
Train #3 departs at 17:16 and carries:
Cindy & Rick
Tiffany & Krista
Train #4 departs at 19:22 and carries:
Tanner & Josh
Denise & James Earl
Logan & Chris
"
Bottom line, we're the only ones here. It could screw us or it could be good", Joey is nervous that they do not see any other teams on the train
"
We are shortly arriving to Rotterdam in Germany", Tiffany is a bit confused about which country they are in
Tanner & Josh miss the part about finding an earlier train and decide to play tourists in Paris until their train leaves. They have time for a couple of beers and some crepes before they make their way to Gare de Nord.
"
It's a lot bigger in real life instead of on postcards", Tanner & Josh about the Eiffel tower
"
That was stupid", Josh when they realize that the others found earlier trains
Tiffany & Krista are confused about in which country Rotterdam is. But Cindy & Rick take the prize and are assuming that Amsterdam is what the French call Rotterdam. So they are heading for Amsterdam. The train they are on even stops in Rotterdam on the way. Shortly after the train has left Rotterdam they learn that Amsterdam and Rotterdam are not the same place and that they just missed Rotterdam. They have to get off the train at the next stop and catch the next train back.
"
Wait, wait, wait Rotterdam and Amsterdam are not the same?", It finally dawns to Rick
"
We missed our stop so we're just going one stop over to Rotterdam", Rick explains to the conductor so they can avoid buying new tickets
Eventually all teams make their way to the red boat, which is called Vessel 11. Here they find a board with the text: "The captain will deliver your clue at your chosen release time" and a number of departure times.
Teams arrive here in the following order:
1(+0) Justin & Diana, will depart at 05:00
2(+0) Tiffany & Krista, will depart at 05:15
3(+2) Cindy & Rick, will depart at 05:30
4(-1) Kelsey & Joey, will depart at 05:45
5(-1) Tanner & Josh, will depart at 06:00
6(+0) Logan & Chris, will depart at 06:15
7(+0) Denise & James Earl, will depart at 06:30
"
Third?", Rick can't believe that even though they messed up they still get the third time
Teams will spend the night on air mattresses on the deck of this ship. Justin & Diana have plenty of time before bedtime so in the extra footage we get see that when they find out that there are no showers on the boat they rent a room at a nearby hostel and use the showers there.
The next morning Justin & Diana get their next clue at the crack of dawn. Route info: "Make your to the water taxi terminal Kop van Zuid and take a water taxi to the Kinderdijk windmill village and search for your next clue. Every step counts, the more you take the higher the stakes".
Justin & Diana start their leg badly by arguing if they should run to the water taxi terminal or take a taxi. Eventually they run but they have lost time so they have a footrace against Tiffany & Krista across the Erasmusbrug (a big bridge).
Teams reach the water taxi terminal (1.9km) in the following order:
1(+1) Tiffany & Krista, on foot
2(+1) Cindy & Rick, taxi
3(-2) Justin & Diana, on foot
4(+0) Kelsey & Joey, taxi
5(+0) Tanner & Josh, taxi
6(+0) Logan & Chris, taxi
7(+0) Denise & James Earl, taxi
There are plenty of water taxis waiting and they leave as soon as a team has boarded.
At the windmills teams find a road block: "Who wants to pick the sunflower?"
The additional info in part reads: "Study the artist copy of van Gogh's Sunflowers located inside the windmill. Then search the windmills for a reproduction that matches it".
The reproductions are located by the other windmills so the contestants will get to do quite a bit of running. They have to bring the correct replica to the judge. If it is wrong then they have to bring it back to where they found it as well.
"
We're just not used to being this far back of the pack", Diana is feeling stressed when they are in the middle of the pack
"
I hate painting at this point", Tanner struggles
Teams complete the road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
| 1(+3) | Kelsey & Joey* | (4-3) | On his 1st attempt |
| 2(+0) | Cindy & Rick* | (3-4) | On his 2nd attempt |
| 3(-2) | Tiffany & Krista* | (3-4) | On her 3rd attempt |
| 4(-1) | Justin & Diana* | (3-4) | On her 3rd attempt |
| 5(+0) | Tanner* & Josh | (3-4) | On his 3rd attempt |
| 6(+1) | Denise* & James Earl | (3-4) | On her 3rd attempt |
| 7(-1) | Logan & Chris* | (4-3) | On her 4th attempt |
ROUTE INFO
Whoever just completed
the Road Block select
your highest heart rate
from the last leg. Then
find the difference
between that heart rate
and the heart rate you
just recorded on line
three. Write the
difference on line four
of the card. Then pick up
exactly that many Tulips
from the tulip cart and
Take them to...
...
Teams need to deliver the tulips to a local girl 750m away (right where they landed with the water taxi).
"
We're able to get ahead of Justin & Diana for the first time in this entire race, which is amazing", Kelsey is very happy
"
152 minus 128, so that's 32", Josh attempts to do math, it is not a pretty sight
Teams will now take a water taxi to the Nolet Distillery where they will find their next clue. The taxis are still waiting for the teams so there is no waiting time. Teams reach the distillery in the following order:
1(+0) Kelsey & Joey
2(+0) Cindy & Rick
3(+0) Tiffany & Krista
4(+0) Justin & Diana
5(+0) Tanner & Josh
6(+1) Logan & Chris
7(-1) Denise & James Earl
Phil makes an appearance at the distillery and live-narrates the progress of Kelsey & Joey as they get their next clue.
Detour: ship or skip
In ship teams must use a training simulator to drive a pilot ship through a storm in Rotterdam's busy harbor. One contestant acts as the navigator and the other is the captain and drive the boat. They must first deliver a pilot to a ship and then rescue a boat in distress, both in under 5 minutes. If they fail they must go back to training before making a new attempt. There is only one simulator so teams will have to wait for their turn.
In skip teams must jump inside double jump-ropes (Double Dutch) and perform a clapping routine. They must keep jumping for 45 seconds without getting tangled in the ropes to get their next clue. The clapping routine is simple but the challenge lies in keeping the rhythm of the ropes and to have the stamina to keep jumping.
The clue also say that teams must travel to the locations by tram. The ship detour takes place in the Millennium tower and the double Dutch takes place at Leuvehoofd.
Cindy & Rick walk off and search for the tram. The problem is that they walk in the wrong direction and end up the Nieuwe Maasstraat bus stop. They find out that this bus will take them to the tram. The catch is that they have to wait 30 minutes for the next bus.
"
By the time the taxi is here it will be the same amount of time honey", Rick wants to wait for the bus
Meanwhile all the other teams make their way on foot to the tram (1.1km).
"
We're on the tram, going hopefully in the right direction", Joey
Teams arrive at the detour location in the following order:
1(+0) Kelsey & Joey
2(+2) Justin & Diana
3(+0) Tiffany & Krista
4(-2) Cindy & Rick
?(+?) Tanner & Josh
?(+?) Logan & Chris
?(+?) Denise & James Earl
"
Doesn't matter what we do, they sneak in front of us", Joey when Justin & Diana turn up at the simulator
"
Full speed ahead captain", Justin gets the title
"
There's 20 something screens, flashes of lighting, thunder so we're overwhelmed", Josh on why they failed to even get started on their first attempt
"
My leg hurts from the road block", Krista doesn't really like the jumping
Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1(+2) Tiffany & Krista, skip, on their 2nd attempt
2(+0) Justin & Diana, ship with Justin as the captain, on their 2nd attempt with 3 seconds to spare
3(-2) Kelsey & Joey, ship with Joey as the captain, on their 4th attempt with 7 seconds to spare
4(-1) Tanner & Josh, ship with Josh as the captain, on their 3rd attempt
5(+1) Logan & Chris, ship with Logan as the captain, on their 3rd attempt with 5 seconds to spare
6(+1) Denise & James Earl, ship with Denise as the captain, on their 3rd attempt with 4 seconds to spare
7(-3) Cindy & Rick, ship with Rick as the captain, on their 4th shown attempt with 2 seconds to spare
"
Wow, only on the second attempt", The judge is impressed by Tiffany & Krista who made quick work of the jumping
"
It was devastating to see them finish, because we were so close", Kelsey is not happy to see Justin & Diana get it before them
Rote info: "Travel by train from Rotterdam to the Hague". Once in Hague teams must make their way, by Tram, to the Peace Palace where the pit stop awaits.
The first step of the journey is for teams to make their way to the train station. Here teams which did ship have a distinct advantage since the Millennium tower is right across the street from Rotterdam Centraal while the skip detour is 2km away.
Teams end up on a few different trains:
Train #1 carries:
Justin & Diana
Train #2, departs after 09:27 and arrives at 10:07. This carries
Tiffany & Krista
Kelsey & Joey
Train #3, departs after 10:43
Tanner & Josh
Train #4
Logan & Chris
The last two teams, Denies & James Earl and Cindy & Rick meet up at the platform. Cindy & Rick find a train which leave a few minutes earlier but makes two stops along the way. They agonize if this will be faster but in the end they jump on it. This forces Denies & James Earl to make a hard decision, get on this train or wait for the direct one. In the end the decision is made for them when they can not make up their mind in time and the train leaves.
Train #5 departs at 11:37 and has two intermediate stops
Cindy & Rick
Just after Cindy & Rick have left the electronic sign shows that the direct train
at 11:43 is delayed by 10 minutes.
Train #6 departs at 11:53 (was scheduled 11:43)
Denise & James Earl
Once in Hague teams need to jump on tram #1 to go to the Peace Palace.
Cindy & Rick know they are supposed to go on tram #1 but end up getting on #9. After a while when they don't see their stop they start asking the other passengers and find out they are on the wrong tram.
"
The only saving grace we may have right now is that somebody messed up more than we did", James Earl
Teams reach Phil and the pit stop in the following order:
1(+1) Justin & Diana, around 10:10, win $31857
2(+1) Kelsey & Joey, around 10:20
3(-2) Tiffany & Krista, lost a footrace against #2
4(+0) Tanner & Josh
5(+0) Logan & Chris
6(+1) Denise & James Earl
7(-1) Cindy & Rick, are eliminated
The price for this leg is that Fit Bit turns their combined number of steps into dollars. They will also get a massage right now and the length is their highest heart rate at the moment, minutes long. Which comes to 89 minutes.
"
I'm tired of loosing", Joey doesn't like coming in second to Justin & Diana
"
Rick is my soul mate. Nobody's perfect, but I love him and all his idiosyncrasies", Cindy
