5th to 11th July was our final mandatory training week. It was a week at sea on a Clipper 70. Its specific purpose was to get us in racing mode - to practice our skills as a team but the greater purpose was to introduce us properly to managing life on a racing yacht which is trying to perform at optimum level 24/7 - for weeks at a time with no let up or break. It is tough - and we were only in the English Channel and only for a few days!
Why is it tough (many reasons)? It is tough because even a Clipper 70 (like all yachts) - is an unstable platform. They bob up and down on the sea like a cork. A Clipper also sails fastest on a heel - often it seems at 45 degrees. This makes functioning very difficult (and fall injury all too easy) because you have to hang on - to brace yourself against falling over - and there is no let up. It doesn't matter if you are on deck, down below - cooking - using the heads - or for that matter lying in your bunk (your bunk has a pulley mechanism and lee clothes which can be adjusted to avoid you falling out). Sea sickness is often induced - especially down below - but thankfully this is something I avoided over the week. It is also tough because the boat has to be sailed 24/7 and that requires the crew to be divided into rotas - called watches. That means 4 hours on and 4 hours off. Sometimes this pattern is broken by necessity - but typically you have 3 hours in your bunk on a rota basis - so good sleep is precious. Fortunately I typically sleep well. Onboard so many things are difficult especially if you are hot bunking (sharing your bunk with someone from the other watch). Accessing your gear - maintaining a modicum of personal hygiene - (there are no showers - it is wet wipes all the way) - and certainly getting dressed and ready for going on deck takes a lot of thought, pre planning and physical effort. On this trip it was easy to get hot below and you struggled with your gear but up on deck the reverse can soon be true.
As an aside - the Pacific leg I am doing is in the north Pacific and will be very cold - below freezing at times - air ands sea temperatures brutal. The seas can also be some of the most challenging on the planet - huge waves - massive remoteness and violent storms. (what I experienced this week - hard enough - but actually little compared with what is to come). What to wear is an issue. For the Pacific leg many people go for a dry suit. They make sense because they are designed to keep the water out but also give you more of a chance of surviving water temperatures if you go over the side (god forbid). However getting a dry suit on and off is a battle - and talking to someone who has done the leg before - a disincentive to use it. Rightly or wrongly I have bought a dry suit made by Ursuit. It is made of much lighter material and is designed to worn under your foulies and not instead of. It will not be as good as a full dry suit in the water - but there is a better chance that you will actually be wearing it and it will be more comfortable. It is a compromise. I am not sure if I have made a wise decision.
I have talked about how tough it is on a Clipper 70. Now a bit about why it is magnificent! A couple of specifics for now. The first is racing. It adds another dimension. It is your crew - your teamwork - the boats good decision making - that makes the difference. This can engender a lot of passion and commitment. The second for me was time on the helm - steering the boat. Can I try and describe how it feels. It is the middle of the night - a wonderful bright full moon. We are hammering back from Cherbourg. There is a stiff breeze giving us fantastic boat speed. Big waves are coming in off the port beam. We are on a close reach on a port tack. St Catherine's Light House is miles off and we are heading for the finish off Bembridge. I am on the helm - steering a 40 ton yacht chasing down another Clipper a mile or so in front. The bow is being bashed by the rollers and it is tricky to hold a course - but we seem to be catching the yacht in front. The water is sizzling as it rushes by - I get the boat in a groove - everything goes super light - speed picks up more. My helm buddy is clapping - we are cheering and laughing - come on baby - we are after you swear swear. What a feeling - amazing. I absolutely loved it - the whole thing.
Enough - back to the practicalities. The Round the World race starts from Liverpool on August 20th. Before that there is masses to do. The majority of the crew will be helping at some point with boat prep before the boat is sailed up to Liverpool. Specifically our boat is CV25 until it is sponsor wrapped - which should happen shortly. Much more significantly we have had a change of skipper. Rick Powell has reluctantly had to stand down for personal reasons. Dale Smyth - a South African has been appointed as his replacement. I have sailed with Dale for one week on an earlier training course. While it was sad to lose Rick because he got our campaign off to such a good start and was a really good bloke I am absolutely delighted that Dale is his replacement. Dale has vast ocean going experience. He is also a really solid, down to earth fun guy and I am sure he will be a tremendous skipper.
A moments reflection. What I have taken on is scary. The Pacific will be an uncompromising challenge. Am I prepared for it - because it has really hit home to me that this is no joke? It will be the hardest and certainly the most unnerving thing I have ever done. The answer is not really. To start with I need to improve my upper body strength - because there is so much hard physical lifting and pulling to do. I will be working out. More importantly I still feel under experienced to tackle the north Pacific and 5 weeks at sea. Therefore I have signed up with the Tall Ships Trust to deliver a Challenger 72 to Grand Canaria from Portsmouth in Oct/Nov. This will give me over two weeks of offshore sailing including crossing The Bay of Biscay and I think it will be invaluable and sensible preparation for me. It will be off to Qingdao, China in mid March to pick up my boat for the 6000 + mile leg to Seattle USA. What an incredible possibility.
Like so many things in the life the main pleasure will come at the finish and reflecting on what you have achieved I think, but there will be massive highs and lows for sure on the way across. Talk about mixed feelings - but a dream come true if it all works out - and mega mega mega touch wood it will - ha!
Why is it tough (many reasons)? It is tough because even a Clipper 70 (like all yachts) - is an unstable platform. They bob up and down on the sea like a cork. A Clipper also sails fastest on a heel - often it seems at 45 degrees. This makes functioning very difficult (and fall injury all too easy) because you have to hang on - to brace yourself against falling over - and there is no let up. It doesn't matter if you are on deck, down below - cooking - using the heads - or for that matter lying in your bunk (your bunk has a pulley mechanism and lee clothes which can be adjusted to avoid you falling out). Sea sickness is often induced - especially down below - but thankfully this is something I avoided over the week. It is also tough because the boat has to be sailed 24/7 and that requires the crew to be divided into rotas - called watches. That means 4 hours on and 4 hours off. Sometimes this pattern is broken by necessity - but typically you have 3 hours in your bunk on a rota basis - so good sleep is precious. Fortunately I typically sleep well. Onboard so many things are difficult especially if you are hot bunking (sharing your bunk with someone from the other watch). Accessing your gear - maintaining a modicum of personal hygiene - (there are no showers - it is wet wipes all the way) - and certainly getting dressed and ready for going on deck takes a lot of thought, pre planning and physical effort. On this trip it was easy to get hot below and you struggled with your gear but up on deck the reverse can soon be true.
As an aside - the Pacific leg I am doing is in the north Pacific and will be very cold - below freezing at times - air ands sea temperatures brutal. The seas can also be some of the most challenging on the planet - huge waves - massive remoteness and violent storms. (what I experienced this week - hard enough - but actually little compared with what is to come). What to wear is an issue. For the Pacific leg many people go for a dry suit. They make sense because they are designed to keep the water out but also give you more of a chance of surviving water temperatures if you go over the side (god forbid). However getting a dry suit on and off is a battle - and talking to someone who has done the leg before - a disincentive to use it. Rightly or wrongly I have bought a dry suit made by Ursuit. It is made of much lighter material and is designed to worn under your foulies and not instead of. It will not be as good as a full dry suit in the water - but there is a better chance that you will actually be wearing it and it will be more comfortable. It is a compromise. I am not sure if I have made a wise decision.
I have talked about how tough it is on a Clipper 70. Now a bit about why it is magnificent! A couple of specifics for now. The first is racing. It adds another dimension. It is your crew - your teamwork - the boats good decision making - that makes the difference. This can engender a lot of passion and commitment. The second for me was time on the helm - steering the boat. Can I try and describe how it feels. It is the middle of the night - a wonderful bright full moon. We are hammering back from Cherbourg. There is a stiff breeze giving us fantastic boat speed. Big waves are coming in off the port beam. We are on a close reach on a port tack. St Catherine's Light House is miles off and we are heading for the finish off Bembridge. I am on the helm - steering a 40 ton yacht chasing down another Clipper a mile or so in front. The bow is being bashed by the rollers and it is tricky to hold a course - but we seem to be catching the yacht in front. The water is sizzling as it rushes by - I get the boat in a groove - everything goes super light - speed picks up more. My helm buddy is clapping - we are cheering and laughing - come on baby - we are after you swear swear. What a feeling - amazing. I absolutely loved it - the whole thing.
Enough - back to the practicalities. The Round the World race starts from Liverpool on August 20th. Before that there is masses to do. The majority of the crew will be helping at some point with boat prep before the boat is sailed up to Liverpool. Specifically our boat is CV25 until it is sponsor wrapped - which should happen shortly. Much more significantly we have had a change of skipper. Rick Powell has reluctantly had to stand down for personal reasons. Dale Smyth - a South African has been appointed as his replacement. I have sailed with Dale for one week on an earlier training course. While it was sad to lose Rick because he got our campaign off to such a good start and was a really good bloke I am absolutely delighted that Dale is his replacement. Dale has vast ocean going experience. He is also a really solid, down to earth fun guy and I am sure he will be a tremendous skipper.
A moments reflection. What I have taken on is scary. The Pacific will be an uncompromising challenge. Am I prepared for it - because it has really hit home to me that this is no joke? It will be the hardest and certainly the most unnerving thing I have ever done. The answer is not really. To start with I need to improve my upper body strength - because there is so much hard physical lifting and pulling to do. I will be working out. More importantly I still feel under experienced to tackle the north Pacific and 5 weeks at sea. Therefore I have signed up with the Tall Ships Trust to deliver a Challenger 72 to Grand Canaria from Portsmouth in Oct/Nov. This will give me over two weeks of offshore sailing including crossing The Bay of Biscay and I think it will be invaluable and sensible preparation for me. It will be off to Qingdao, China in mid March to pick up my boat for the 6000 + mile leg to Seattle USA. What an incredible possibility.
Like so many things in the life the main pleasure will come at the finish and reflecting on what you have achieved I think, but there will be massive highs and lows for sure on the way across. Talk about mixed feelings - but a dream come true if it all works out - and mega mega mega touch wood it will - ha!
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