I am just back from my compulsory first week (Level 1) Clipper training starting from Gosport Marina - home of Clipper HQ.
The objectives of Level 1 is to introduce the basic principles of sailing, how the boat functions and teaches personal safety along with the principles of good seamanship.
Clipper require no initial boat experience to join the program although they do make available a training manual which you would be wise to have a good look at in advance. Of course many people do have boating experience - some are very experienced. However Clipper maintain there is a "Clipper way" and everyone has to learn it. Their rationale is integrated teamwork is essential and it will be hindered by different methods being used. There is also the scale of the Clipper boats to be taken into account. Few would have sailed on such massive and powerful yachts (with such heavy gear). On small boats you maybe be able to get away with bad practice. On a Clipper yacht you will not.
Level 1 courses are run throughout the prior year. I have left mine relatively late. It is a personal choice. Crews are made up randomly. Unusually there were 7 guys on my course plus our skipper for the week and his mate for the week. (both Skipper Roy and mate Rick are skippers in the forth coming race.)
As it turned out our crew were very experienced - 3 were Americans - all boat owners, there were 2 other Brits - one of whom was a yacht master - the youngest (early 40's) a guy from Slovenia ex Army (but had done no sailing) plus myself. (I have done some small boat coastal sailing). Our training was on one of the earlier Clipper round the world boats - a 68 - but essentially the same in layout as the actual 70's.
Thereafter everything we did was planned and team based although the massively experienced skippers were able to personalize it too by being amazingly quick in seeing when individual support was needed or difficulty was arising. They were there with friendly, caring and supportive advice often before we were aware of it's necessity. One certain thing I took away from the week - Clipper is a very professional organization - and the skippers are exceptional seamen.
Here are some observations and information about the Level 1 week. they are personal to me but might be of use to you :
- very little can be done on a Clipper boat without teamwork - because of size. Sails are very heavy and have to be manhandled in numbers. Sheets and halyards have to be ground on with powerful winches. Tensions are enormous (and potentially dangerous).
- much of the first week is about EVOLUTIONS. Evolutions are raising and lowering sails, reefing the main, changing foresails and tacking and gybing. Clipper refer to each action as an evolution. Raising the main is an evolution, tacking is an evolution. Each evolution requires the hand of 4 - maybe 6 or even 8 team members working together.
- learning and understanding each evolution is the challenge - and there is a lot to learn. On reflection I have come up with the following. There are 3 aspects to an evolution 1) understand what to do, 2) understand when to do it & 3) how to carry it our efficiently and safely ie which rope to pull, when to pull it and then how to pull it and grind it on a winch without losing your fingers! Completing a evolution efficiently and safely requires individual competence and excellent teamwork. This is the test.
- Everyone will get things wrong. At times my brain felt like mush because the learning curve is steep. We each put ourselves under pressure - it happens when you are performing in a group. No one wants to make a fool of themselves. (you will experience a pressure bowline - ha!) You just have to weather it. The skippers are great. They are so supportive. (having some very experienced crew mates can have an obvious down and up side initially. You can easily feel the pressure of their competence but you benefit from it too. Clipper Skippers are used to this. There is a place for everyone and I am confident that by the time we get to the actual race everyone will be up to speed and competent - so keep the faith and do not be intimidated. Ask if you are not sure - and remember making mistakes is part of the learning process and you are there to learn!)
- Safety is reassuringly a massive issue with Clipper. Clipping on the jack stays is something everyone has to learn to work with despite the inconvenience on the face of it. My advice is embrace all the safety stuff (hopefully it will become second nature) - it will reduce injury and loss of life. (a lot of time spent on Man over board drills.)
- For myself it was not until I finished the course (when I could go back to my training manual in my own time) that I could piece together the evolutions. Now everything makes sense. I am glad I have some time to prepare for the Level 2 course to come.
- Personal gear. You will likely take too much. That is fine. My advice is find out for yourself what works and then you can distill it down over time. There is a lot of good information from the week about personal kit you might need to buy to make your sailing more comfortable or safer. Be warned these things can come at a cost. For instance I am now sure I need a dry suit to complete leg 6 - and they are expensive but not something I understood at the outset.
At the end of the first week I felt drained - both physically and mentally. The physical side - you have to be fit - heaving heavy sails around the boat - grinding winches - including the coffee grinder and generally just moving around a Clipper under sail. Its hard on your hands - knocks are common place as you move around trying to work at 45 degrees! Safety need becomes very apparent. The mental side - the learning curve - but also the intensity of being in close proximity with a group of other strong minded people and making it work in common cause. Tough - because we all have different "norms" and different excesses. This is a massive part of the challenge - how to integrate - how to bring positivity without being disruptive. How to take responsibility without being overbearing - and not everyone gets it right.
My overriding feeling now is an incredible positivity. I have already learnt so much. I really enjoyed the first week although it was not always apparent to me at the time. It is tough. I cannot wait for the next training bout. It is all coming alive now. In a near time I will be meeting my actual skipper and my actual crew mates for the race itself. The big crew allocation day is soon. I have made the right decision - I really want to do this. I feel a deep and quiet joy at the prospect and very fortunate to have been able to make sailing the Pacific a possibility. Fingers crossed. Thank you Clipper.
Here are a few pictures (unfortunately they do not include my ascent of the 90 foot mast on a winch) - :
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| The deck of the older Clipper 68's used for L1 training. |
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| the boat middle left is a 38 footer so you can get a sense of the size of a Clipper yacht. |
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| A view of the snake pit. A lot to get your head around - and no sails are hanked on here. |
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| More shots of the 68's |
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| 6 of the 12 Clipper 70's. Each will be fully badged up with the sponsor names. |
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| Hard to grasp the size of the Clipper 70's but they dwarf most other boats in the marina. |
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