August 7th 2010: Tips and Tricks for 11-12 (Clothing)
I seemed to spend a lot of time and money leading up to the race buying clothes and equipment that would see me through the race. The following summary of successes and disasters is offered in the hope that at least one future crew member will save a bit of money and get it right first time.
There are places you can get quite cheap base layers but in reality you only need four or five sets for even the longest crossing. If I could turn the clock back I would go for Merino Wool every time as it keeps you warm when wet and tends not to smell so quickly. Icebreaker are probably the market leaders. They are more expensive but worth every penny. The Henry Lloyd base layers are pretty good too but make sure they have the ‘silver ion’ technology that gives the anti bacterial and wicking qualities you need.
There are no better socks than the ‘Sealskinz ‘which mean even if your boots get wet on the inside,your feet will not but make sure they are big enough. They have a sort of plastic bag in between the layers of material and if it is too tight your nails will go black! Also, if you suffer from smelly feet, Sealskinz will not help at all!
Keeping warm is pretty easy on the boat – you just put more layers on. For this reason, thinner layers are more effective than thick fleeces as they trap the air you need to keep warm without making you look like an advert for Michelin tyres. Try to go for proper sailing gear though with taped seams. The standard crew issue you get from Clipper (fusion jacket) serves as a good mid layer but it is worth getting a couple more. The best mid layer I bought was the fleece lined fusion jacket (teddy bear fleece) and a fleece lined mid layer salopettes. Mine were Henry Lloyd but it is worth shopping around.
All of those items of clothing mentioned so far will still get wet but are most effectively dried by either wearing in your sleeping bag to sleep or at least taking it off and keeping it alongside you in the bag.
As far as footwear is concerned, boots are the popular choice and boil down to a choice of Henry Lloyd or Dubarrys (some had Musto and the more affluent crew members swore by Le Chameau boots). Dubarrys won the head to head quite easily with most Henry Lloyds eventually developing leaks. Even the ‘free’ replacements they got leaked! My Dubarrys stayed dry right back to Hull and the only treatment I gave them was a hose down with fresh water in each port. Whatever boots you get though – make sure you also invest in a pair of gaiters to stop the water shooting up the legs of your foulies!
For the hotter legs, I tried a few different types of footwear – most of which either failed to keep dry or smelt very badly! In the end the best solution was waterproof Keen sandals which have good toe protection and don’t smell when they get wet. Some people like the Crocs but I could not bring myself to wear them personally…
Also for the hotter legs, a few T shirts are useful (make sure they have UV protection) – making sure you get some with long sleeves. Padded shorts are useful to while away the hours on the toe rail too. In actual fact, I never wore trousers. As it got colder, I added long johns and then the mid layer salopettes under the Clipper provided foulies. Trousers just tended to scrunch up around the knee as I put the foulies on.
I tried numerous gloves – all without success. In the end I suffered with bare hands. This was marginally less uncomfortable than wet gloves. It at least had the advantage of hardening your hands up a little quicker. Sealskinz do some decent mitts but it is worth keeping those for helming rather than using them for other deck work. The last thing you want is to risk getting a glove near a winch as it can draw your hand in if caught.
Foulies are provided by Clipper and are pretty good. Don’t be put off by the smock. In really rough weather it is so much better than a jacket. They do need to be treated in every other port to keep them waterproof and experience shows you need to do that yourself rather than relying on the local launderette! I bought a coastal jacket for the more moderate climates. I went for Henry Lloys and regretted it. They are not too good with Velcro and zips. Musto got a mixed reaction from crew but Gill currently seems to be the market leader in terms of quality. If you are spending a lot of time on the fore deck it would also be worth considering a dry suit
A good woolly hat and a balaclava is absolutely essential on the colder legs and I had a series of buffs to wear for the hot legs (which give UV protection). I lost 3 buffs going round, two hats and 5 pairs of sunglasses so my advice is not to take anything too expensive unless you are prepared to write it off as a loss!
Keeping your clothes organised in dry bags for quick access (in pitch black and rough seas) is essential. I had 5 dry bags for base layers, mid layers, deck gear (hats and gloves), personal possessions, and shore gear. Maybe worth having one more for dirty laundry. Make sure you get colour coded bags in thick plastic with clear panels. Do not buy the grey Henry Lloyd lightweight dry bags as they slowly absorb moisture and are not as waterproof (might be OK for dirty laundry as that is often wet anyway!).
Don't be too suckered in by the Henry Lloyd discounts. They are probably not the best quality wearing apparrel and many suppliers will equal the discount if you tell them what you are doing. There a couple of web sites that offer regular clearance bargains too including -
www.Force4.co.uk , www.sailingclothingstore.co.uk, www.marinescene.co.uk/ and www.jimmygreen.co.uk
I seemed to spend a lot of time and money leading up to the race buying clothes and equipment that would see me through the race. The following summary of successes and disasters is offered in the hope that at least one future crew member will save a bit of money and get it right first time.
There are places you can get quite cheap base layers but in reality you only need four or five sets for even the longest crossing. If I could turn the clock back I would go for Merino Wool every time as it keeps you warm when wet and tends not to smell so quickly. Icebreaker are probably the market leaders. They are more expensive but worth every penny. The Henry Lloyd base layers are pretty good too but make sure they have the ‘silver ion’ technology that gives the anti bacterial and wicking qualities you need.
There are no better socks than the ‘Sealskinz ‘which mean even if your boots get wet on the inside,your feet will not but make sure they are big enough. They have a sort of plastic bag in between the layers of material and if it is too tight your nails will go black! Also, if you suffer from smelly feet, Sealskinz will not help at all!
Keeping warm is pretty easy on the boat – you just put more layers on. For this reason, thinner layers are more effective than thick fleeces as they trap the air you need to keep warm without making you look like an advert for Michelin tyres. Try to go for proper sailing gear though with taped seams. The standard crew issue you get from Clipper (fusion jacket) serves as a good mid layer but it is worth getting a couple more. The best mid layer I bought was the fleece lined fusion jacket (teddy bear fleece) and a fleece lined mid layer salopettes. Mine were Henry Lloyd but it is worth shopping around.
All of those items of clothing mentioned so far will still get wet but are most effectively dried by either wearing in your sleeping bag to sleep or at least taking it off and keeping it alongside you in the bag.
As far as footwear is concerned, boots are the popular choice and boil down to a choice of Henry Lloyd or Dubarrys (some had Musto and the more affluent crew members swore by Le Chameau boots). Dubarrys won the head to head quite easily with most Henry Lloyds eventually developing leaks. Even the ‘free’ replacements they got leaked! My Dubarrys stayed dry right back to Hull and the only treatment I gave them was a hose down with fresh water in each port. Whatever boots you get though – make sure you also invest in a pair of gaiters to stop the water shooting up the legs of your foulies!
For the hotter legs, I tried a few different types of footwear – most of which either failed to keep dry or smelt very badly! In the end the best solution was waterproof Keen sandals which have good toe protection and don’t smell when they get wet. Some people like the Crocs but I could not bring myself to wear them personally…
Also for the hotter legs, a few T shirts are useful (make sure they have UV protection) – making sure you get some with long sleeves. Padded shorts are useful to while away the hours on the toe rail too. In actual fact, I never wore trousers. As it got colder, I added long johns and then the mid layer salopettes under the Clipper provided foulies. Trousers just tended to scrunch up around the knee as I put the foulies on.
I tried numerous gloves – all without success. In the end I suffered with bare hands. This was marginally less uncomfortable than wet gloves. It at least had the advantage of hardening your hands up a little quicker. Sealskinz do some decent mitts but it is worth keeping those for helming rather than using them for other deck work. The last thing you want is to risk getting a glove near a winch as it can draw your hand in if caught.
Foulies are provided by Clipper and are pretty good. Don’t be put off by the smock. In really rough weather it is so much better than a jacket. They do need to be treated in every other port to keep them waterproof and experience shows you need to do that yourself rather than relying on the local launderette! I bought a coastal jacket for the more moderate climates. I went for Henry Lloys and regretted it. They are not too good with Velcro and zips. Musto got a mixed reaction from crew but Gill currently seems to be the market leader in terms of quality. If you are spending a lot of time on the fore deck it would also be worth considering a dry suit
A good woolly hat and a balaclava is absolutely essential on the colder legs and I had a series of buffs to wear for the hot legs (which give UV protection). I lost 3 buffs going round, two hats and 5 pairs of sunglasses so my advice is not to take anything too expensive unless you are prepared to write it off as a loss!
Keeping your clothes organised in dry bags for quick access (in pitch black and rough seas) is essential. I had 5 dry bags for base layers, mid layers, deck gear (hats and gloves), personal possessions, and shore gear. Maybe worth having one more for dirty laundry. Make sure you get colour coded bags in thick plastic with clear panels. Do not buy the grey Henry Lloyd lightweight dry bags as they slowly absorb moisture and are not as waterproof (might be OK for dirty laundry as that is often wet anyway!).
Don't be too suckered in by the Henry Lloyd discounts. They are probably not the best quality wearing apparrel and many suppliers will equal the discount if you tell them what you are doing. There a couple of web sites that offer regular clearance bargains too including -
www.Force4.co.uk , www.sailingclothingstore.co.uk, www.marinescene.co.uk/ and www.jimmygreen.co.uk
August 6th 2010: Highs and Lows of the 09-10 Race
Where do you start? Not only was this the challenge of a lifetime but it was also the emotional rollercoaster of a lifetime!
For me the highs and lows often revolved around the same incidents. Race 5 saw us heading north from Australia and after briefly leading the race we dropped to 5th place in a squall. The next few hours saw us making ground on Cork who were just ahead of us before they got stuck on a reef at Gosong Pampango. Circling the island the next day was undoubtedly one of the low points of the whole race as we watched Cork start to break up on the reef. However we did not have too much time to dwell on that as there were 17 crew to rescue and, with the help of California, we worked hard as a team to achieve that. We also worked hard to make sure they were comfortable on board later that day and for the next five days as we sailed up to Batam. The success of that rescue operation and the gratitude the Cork crew showed was undoubtedly a memorable and highly satisfying part of the race. For those five days, however, we had 25 people on a vessel designed for 18. Beating into the wind in choppy seas and in temperatures of 40 degrees - this was no fun and everything down below was running with water making clothes and mattresses permanently damp. With very little ventilation, the air quickly became putrid and we were all glad of a chance to freshen up in Batam!
Race 6 once again saw us leading as we passed Taiwan in huge seas and we were confident that we could keep the pace up and secure our first win since Australia. Our ability to slide down backless waves was proving to be a skill to be proud of but with a new moon we would inevitably miss one or two. It was one of these misses that did for us, as we crashed down off a freakishly large wave and saw our 90 foot mast fold into 3 pieces – the top half becoming detached and sliding off into the sea along with the staysail. It was undoubtedly a low point although we did not have too much time to dwell on it as we cleared the deck of debris and once again made the deck weatherproof. The buzz we got from actually making it back to land, constructing a jury rig, arriving safely in China and getting involved in the rebuild of the replacement mast more than compensated for the low of actually losing the mast.
The subsequent crossing of the Pacific was undoubtedly the biggest low since we sailed two weeks after the fleet and had no boats close to help in case anything went wrong. With no water maker, a dying generator and batteries that failed to hold their charge, it was a difficult 35 days to say the least. However, we made it in one piece (apart from a tear in the main sail) and, as they say, if it does not kill you it makes you stronger!
Undoubtedly the remaining highs centred around our race wins. The run in to Australia was close and we ended up pipping Spirit of Australia into their home port by less than 30 minutes. After 3,000 miles of racing that is nothing short of amazing. What was particularly pleasing was the way we used stealth mode to disguise the fact that we had become becalmed in the approach, ensuring that Spirit of Australia followed us into the same weather pattern. Without that ploy we almost certainly would have finished second! Despite losing our mast, we came back strongly in the latter stages of the race with back to back wins into Kinsale and Ijmuiden. The wins were just rewards for our efforts and for the combined work of the whole team. The win into Kinsale will always stand out as one of the most memorable moments. You definitely need to be on the receiving end of a beating (as we were going into Cape Breton!) to really appreciate what a privelige it is to be on the winners rostrum!.
Away from sailing, San Francisco will always be a low point because I missed so many friends and family who were planning to come out and meet me before we lost our mast and our arrival was delayed by two weeks. That was more than compensated for by the surprise visit of my sister and her partner in Cape Breton where we spent several days taking in the scenery (and bars…).
For the same reason, Australia and Singapore were good stopovers and Cape Town and Kinsale are both locations I would like to return to in due course. Qingdao will also be remembered for their wonderful hospitality and profiling of the race. We spent a long time there rebuilding the mast – even allowing for a memorable trip back to the UK – and were always treated like conquering heroes!
The last mention goes to the crew for whom I have the utmost respect without a single exception. Everyone has their own reason for competing in the race and everyone steps out of their comfort zone in different ways. I will freely admit one or two annoyed me on occasions. I have no doubt that I annoyed others on occasions, but we never really fell out. Those that I had the more colourful exchanges with probably ended up as my favourites!! So thanks to all the crew for making it a memorable year and thanks to all those back home for putting up with me (and being there for me when I arrived back in Hull)
Where do you start? Not only was this the challenge of a lifetime but it was also the emotional rollercoaster of a lifetime!
For me the highs and lows often revolved around the same incidents. Race 5 saw us heading north from Australia and after briefly leading the race we dropped to 5th place in a squall. The next few hours saw us making ground on Cork who were just ahead of us before they got stuck on a reef at Gosong Pampango. Circling the island the next day was undoubtedly one of the low points of the whole race as we watched Cork start to break up on the reef. However we did not have too much time to dwell on that as there were 17 crew to rescue and, with the help of California, we worked hard as a team to achieve that. We also worked hard to make sure they were comfortable on board later that day and for the next five days as we sailed up to Batam. The success of that rescue operation and the gratitude the Cork crew showed was undoubtedly a memorable and highly satisfying part of the race. For those five days, however, we had 25 people on a vessel designed for 18. Beating into the wind in choppy seas and in temperatures of 40 degrees - this was no fun and everything down below was running with water making clothes and mattresses permanently damp. With very little ventilation, the air quickly became putrid and we were all glad of a chance to freshen up in Batam!
Race 6 once again saw us leading as we passed Taiwan in huge seas and we were confident that we could keep the pace up and secure our first win since Australia. Our ability to slide down backless waves was proving to be a skill to be proud of but with a new moon we would inevitably miss one or two. It was one of these misses that did for us, as we crashed down off a freakishly large wave and saw our 90 foot mast fold into 3 pieces – the top half becoming detached and sliding off into the sea along with the staysail. It was undoubtedly a low point although we did not have too much time to dwell on it as we cleared the deck of debris and once again made the deck weatherproof. The buzz we got from actually making it back to land, constructing a jury rig, arriving safely in China and getting involved in the rebuild of the replacement mast more than compensated for the low of actually losing the mast.
The subsequent crossing of the Pacific was undoubtedly the biggest low since we sailed two weeks after the fleet and had no boats close to help in case anything went wrong. With no water maker, a dying generator and batteries that failed to hold their charge, it was a difficult 35 days to say the least. However, we made it in one piece (apart from a tear in the main sail) and, as they say, if it does not kill you it makes you stronger!
Undoubtedly the remaining highs centred around our race wins. The run in to Australia was close and we ended up pipping Spirit of Australia into their home port by less than 30 minutes. After 3,000 miles of racing that is nothing short of amazing. What was particularly pleasing was the way we used stealth mode to disguise the fact that we had become becalmed in the approach, ensuring that Spirit of Australia followed us into the same weather pattern. Without that ploy we almost certainly would have finished second! Despite losing our mast, we came back strongly in the latter stages of the race with back to back wins into Kinsale and Ijmuiden. The wins were just rewards for our efforts and for the combined work of the whole team. The win into Kinsale will always stand out as one of the most memorable moments. You definitely need to be on the receiving end of a beating (as we were going into Cape Breton!) to really appreciate what a privelige it is to be on the winners rostrum!.
Away from sailing, San Francisco will always be a low point because I missed so many friends and family who were planning to come out and meet me before we lost our mast and our arrival was delayed by two weeks. That was more than compensated for by the surprise visit of my sister and her partner in Cape Breton where we spent several days taking in the scenery (and bars…).
For the same reason, Australia and Singapore were good stopovers and Cape Town and Kinsale are both locations I would like to return to in due course. Qingdao will also be remembered for their wonderful hospitality and profiling of the race. We spent a long time there rebuilding the mast – even allowing for a memorable trip back to the UK – and were always treated like conquering heroes!
The last mention goes to the crew for whom I have the utmost respect without a single exception. Everyone has their own reason for competing in the race and everyone steps out of their comfort zone in different ways. I will freely admit one or two annoyed me on occasions. I have no doubt that I annoyed others on occasions, but we never really fell out. Those that I had the more colourful exchanges with probably ended up as my favourites!! So thanks to all the crew for making it a memorable year and thanks to all those back home for putting up with me (and being there for me when I arrived back in Hull)
July 21st 2010: Review of Race 14
Race 14 to Hull was nothing more than a 24 hour dash across the North Sea and having built up a comfortable lead over Cape Breton Island (3rd place overall) we were reasonably confident of securing a 2nd place overall pennant in Hull. Confidence is a dangerous thing!
In relatively strong winds we raised our main sail with one reef but as we gybed the boat approaching the start line there was a horrible rip as the main sail virtually tore in two. The tear was just below the second reefing point so with a main sail half the size of anyone else’s we were still able to take part in the race. Cape Breton must have been buzzing. Assuming we would struggle to finish with the rest of the fleet, all they needed to do was finish 3rd in this race to take 2nd place overall from us. With light winds to start the race we soon dropped several miles behind the fleet and Cape Breton were well positioned in 2nd place. We attempted to make up ground first with our heavyweight, then our lightweight spinnakers but both ended up damaged so we were reduced to white sails for the remainder of the race. As we wove our way past innumerable oil and gas platforms, the wind picked up and everyone had to reef in their mainsails. For a while, we were on an even footing again and we took full advantage, not only catching the fleet but actually passing California into 9th position. Meanwhile, our old friends on Cork were proving to be our saviours, crossing the finish line first and pushing Cape Breton down to 3rd. That probably would have been enough to secure us 2nd overall but just to make sure, Spirit of Australia overtook Cape Breton just before the line to make it absolutely certain.
A difficult last race with frustrations threatening to undo some of our strong team work but once again we dug deep and held on for a thoroughly deserved podium finish.
A dash up the Humber saw us finish 2nd in the Harrison Cup despite our lack of sails but by then we were more focused on reuniting with friends and family who had patiently been lining the shores since early morning. It was almost 3pm by the time we were able to enjoy the warmth of their welcome but it was well worth the wait!
Race 14 to Hull was nothing more than a 24 hour dash across the North Sea and having built up a comfortable lead over Cape Breton Island (3rd place overall) we were reasonably confident of securing a 2nd place overall pennant in Hull. Confidence is a dangerous thing!
In relatively strong winds we raised our main sail with one reef but as we gybed the boat approaching the start line there was a horrible rip as the main sail virtually tore in two. The tear was just below the second reefing point so with a main sail half the size of anyone else’s we were still able to take part in the race. Cape Breton must have been buzzing. Assuming we would struggle to finish with the rest of the fleet, all they needed to do was finish 3rd in this race to take 2nd place overall from us. With light winds to start the race we soon dropped several miles behind the fleet and Cape Breton were well positioned in 2nd place. We attempted to make up ground first with our heavyweight, then our lightweight spinnakers but both ended up damaged so we were reduced to white sails for the remainder of the race. As we wove our way past innumerable oil and gas platforms, the wind picked up and everyone had to reef in their mainsails. For a while, we were on an even footing again and we took full advantage, not only catching the fleet but actually passing California into 9th position. Meanwhile, our old friends on Cork were proving to be our saviours, crossing the finish line first and pushing Cape Breton down to 3rd. That probably would have been enough to secure us 2nd overall but just to make sure, Spirit of Australia overtook Cape Breton just before the line to make it absolutely certain.
A difficult last race with frustrations threatening to undo some of our strong team work but once again we dug deep and held on for a thoroughly deserved podium finish.
A dash up the Humber saw us finish 2nd in the Harrison Cup despite our lack of sails but by then we were more focused on reuniting with friends and family who had patiently been lining the shores since early morning. It was almost 3pm by the time we were able to enjoy the warmth of their welcome but it was well worth the wait!
July 14th 2010: Review of Race 13
We were fired up by the impressive win into Cork. We had regained our 2nd place in the overall race but only 4 points separated us from the two teams below us. We needed another good performance to ease the pressure on us for the last race to Hull.
We started race 13 well, leading the fleet away from Ireland with Hull and Humber before we lost our yankee sheet and had to tack away from the fleet to recover control of the sail. We were soon back racing again and followed Hull and Humber around Lands End into the English Channel. The light winds that were predicted had not yet materialised and we were flying under our middleweight spinnaker until someone spotted a small hole. The skipper was called to authorise a drop but before he was able to pass comment the wind had found the hole and managed to rip the whole sail out of the taped seams. Beyond repair, we were forced to use the heavyweight to get us up to Dover and that cost us several places in the fleet. An inspired tack took us inshore and catapulted us from 7th to 1st pace in little over 20 minutes. At Dover, we did encounter light winds and whilst others struggled to keep the boats moving forward, we dug deep and somehow managed to get away from the pack.
As we approached Ijmuiden in the Netherlands we were flying with a poled out headsail whilst our nearest competitors were closing fast on their mid weight spinnakers. It was a tense finish with many of us holding our breath but we crossed the line for our 5th gold pennant. No sooner had we dropped our mainsail we looked around to see another four boats had already finished behind us – it was that close!
We were fired up by the impressive win into Cork. We had regained our 2nd place in the overall race but only 4 points separated us from the two teams below us. We needed another good performance to ease the pressure on us for the last race to Hull.
We started race 13 well, leading the fleet away from Ireland with Hull and Humber before we lost our yankee sheet and had to tack away from the fleet to recover control of the sail. We were soon back racing again and followed Hull and Humber around Lands End into the English Channel. The light winds that were predicted had not yet materialised and we were flying under our middleweight spinnaker until someone spotted a small hole. The skipper was called to authorise a drop but before he was able to pass comment the wind had found the hole and managed to rip the whole sail out of the taped seams. Beyond repair, we were forced to use the heavyweight to get us up to Dover and that cost us several places in the fleet. An inspired tack took us inshore and catapulted us from 7th to 1st pace in little over 20 minutes. At Dover, we did encounter light winds and whilst others struggled to keep the boats moving forward, we dug deep and somehow managed to get away from the pack.
As we approached Ijmuiden in the Netherlands we were flying with a poled out headsail whilst our nearest competitors were closing fast on their mid weight spinnakers. It was a tense finish with many of us holding our breath but we crossed the line for our 5th gold pennant. No sooner had we dropped our mainsail we looked around to see another four boats had already finished behind us – it was that close!
June 30th 2010: Review of Race 12
This was to be our last ocean crossing. For round the world crew it was our 3rd crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. For leg 7 crew, it was their first ocean crossing. We were hoping for some challenging conditions and, in that respect, we were not disappointed! The format of the race was slightly different with Cork leaving 2 days early and the rest of the fleet engaging in a full ‘pursuit’ race.
As we left Cape Breton Island, air and sea temperatures dropped quickly as we sailed over the Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap; fishing grounds made famous by the film ‘Perfect Storm’. The seas got progressively larger with swells up to 40 feet and the wind touched 47 knots on occasions. All this made for some glorious sailing conditions and with most boats averaging over 11 knots, it was clear this was going to be a record crossing. The question was, who could look after their boat in these conditions? By mid Atlantic, no less than four boats had shredded their spinnaker and later, three boats were to experience problems with the mast track that holds the inboard end of the spinnaker pole. Fortunately all boats made it to Ireland safely.
At one point we lay in 8th place but still had the benefit of seeing all of the boats (apart from Cork) around us. We plugged slowly away to 6th, 4th and finally 2nd behind Jamaica but with a big lead on the other boats. We eventually took the lead with a poled out headsail helping to maintain top speeds. On the surf I managed a personal best of 18.9 knots which was later beaten several times by other helms including one massive 23.8 by the skipper!
With just a few miles left in the race, Jamaica appeared behind us making much better speed with a medium weight spinnaker. Despite the small risk of raising a spinnaker in heavy seas, we had to do it to preserve our first place. You could cut the tension on deck with a knife as we attempted a smooth hoist and a gybe round the Old Head of Kinsale. We entered the harbour and crossed the line under a lightweight spinnaker with Jamaica less than a mile behind. The relief of securing another win was clearly visible on everyone’s face. A great morale lift with just two races to go!
This was to be our last ocean crossing. For round the world crew it was our 3rd crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. For leg 7 crew, it was their first ocean crossing. We were hoping for some challenging conditions and, in that respect, we were not disappointed! The format of the race was slightly different with Cork leaving 2 days early and the rest of the fleet engaging in a full ‘pursuit’ race.
As we left Cape Breton Island, air and sea temperatures dropped quickly as we sailed over the Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap; fishing grounds made famous by the film ‘Perfect Storm’. The seas got progressively larger with swells up to 40 feet and the wind touched 47 knots on occasions. All this made for some glorious sailing conditions and with most boats averaging over 11 knots, it was clear this was going to be a record crossing. The question was, who could look after their boat in these conditions? By mid Atlantic, no less than four boats had shredded their spinnaker and later, three boats were to experience problems with the mast track that holds the inboard end of the spinnaker pole. Fortunately all boats made it to Ireland safely.
At one point we lay in 8th place but still had the benefit of seeing all of the boats (apart from Cork) around us. We plugged slowly away to 6th, 4th and finally 2nd behind Jamaica but with a big lead on the other boats. We eventually took the lead with a poled out headsail helping to maintain top speeds. On the surf I managed a personal best of 18.9 knots which was later beaten several times by other helms including one massive 23.8 by the skipper!
With just a few miles left in the race, Jamaica appeared behind us making much better speed with a medium weight spinnaker. Despite the small risk of raising a spinnaker in heavy seas, we had to do it to preserve our first place. You could cut the tension on deck with a knife as we attempted a smooth hoist and a gybe round the Old Head of Kinsale. We entered the harbour and crossed the line under a lightweight spinnaker with Jamaica less than a mile behind. The relief of securing another win was clearly visible on everyone’s face. A great morale lift with just two races to go!
June 13th 2010: Review of Race 11
In many ways, this was the most exciting race of the 09-10 series so far. We all felt we were very close to recovering our best form but sometimes you can try too hard! As the race started we were a little indecisive on choice of sails and reefs so it was probably not our best start but we were soon at the front of the fleet pursuing Hull & Humber who had taken the role of pace setters.
Despite the expectation of a fast race, we soon hit light winds and although we initially struggled with a couple of spinnaker hoists, we were soon peeling one off behind the other as we ‘changed gears’ to cope with even lighter winds. We found ourselves in an entertaining duel with Cape Breton for second place; securing the lead and then conceding it several times over a 3 hour period.
In second place, with Hull & Humber in our sights, we were confident of a podium finish. But light winds, bad luck and maybe some tactical errors conspired to make this our worst finish to date. We slipped from 2nd to 4th and in an attempt to retrieve the situation, we took our eye off the ball allowing both Singapore and California to slide past and leave us in an embarrassing 6th place.
The quality is undoubtedly still there and a good team will be capable of using this disappointment as a platform for a good race12. Time will tell!
In many ways, this was the most exciting race of the 09-10 series so far. We all felt we were very close to recovering our best form but sometimes you can try too hard! As the race started we were a little indecisive on choice of sails and reefs so it was probably not our best start but we were soon at the front of the fleet pursuing Hull & Humber who had taken the role of pace setters.
Despite the expectation of a fast race, we soon hit light winds and although we initially struggled with a couple of spinnaker hoists, we were soon peeling one off behind the other as we ‘changed gears’ to cope with even lighter winds. We found ourselves in an entertaining duel with Cape Breton for second place; securing the lead and then conceding it several times over a 3 hour period.
In second place, with Hull & Humber in our sights, we were confident of a podium finish. But light winds, bad luck and maybe some tactical errors conspired to make this our worst finish to date. We slipped from 2nd to 4th and in an attempt to retrieve the situation, we took our eye off the ball allowing both Singapore and California to slide past and leave us in an embarrassing 6th place.
The quality is undoubtedly still there and a good team will be capable of using this disappointment as a platform for a good race12. Time will tell!
June 5th 2010: Review of Race 10
Life isn't fair sometimes. This was our best race for some time and convinced us that we are regaining our early form. We had a cracking start in light winds and led the fleet north as we headed for the Bahamas. Along with Australia, we chose a westerly route through the islands and whilst this appeared at first to be a good decision, we soon found ourselves stalled in a 'dead calm' situation. The other boats, seeing the situation develop ahead of us took full advantage of the situation and headed east. The rest is history.
7th place hurt our pride a little and as I type this entry looking across the marina to the NYC skyline, I can tell you we are fully motivated to do well in race 11. If we can keep up our good helming, good trimming and good grinding I am confident we will do well.
Life isn't fair sometimes. This was our best race for some time and convinced us that we are regaining our early form. We had a cracking start in light winds and led the fleet north as we headed for the Bahamas. Along with Australia, we chose a westerly route through the islands and whilst this appeared at first to be a good decision, we soon found ourselves stalled in a 'dead calm' situation. The other boats, seeing the situation develop ahead of us took full advantage of the situation and headed east. The rest is history.
7th place hurt our pride a little and as I type this entry looking across the marina to the NYC skyline, I can tell you we are fully motivated to do well in race 11. If we can keep up our good helming, good trimming and good grinding I am confident we will do well.
May 23rd 2010: Review of Race 9
After a truly amazing trip through the Panama Canal, race 9 saw our first ‘Le Mans’ start of the 09-10 race and we performed exceedingly well, taking an early lead on the fleet. But the Aussies started to show some good form taking a lead overnight as we battled with a reefed mainsail. Some stitching failed close to the 3rd reefing pennant and we had to severely reduce the size of the sail to protect it from further damage. It would be easy to use this as an excuse for not securing a podium position but in reality we secured some of our best speeds whilst the 3rd reef was in. This was without doubt the most difficult race in terms of living conditions. Temperatures above deck exceeded 40 degrees with lots of water coming across as we beat into the wind. Not only was it hotter below but it was running with condensation and airless. Many crew started to suffer heat rashes which are particularly debilitating.
As we approached Jamaica, we lay once again in 4th place with the lead boats just visible on the horizon. In one final twist we almost secured a podium position as all three boats ahead of stalled in a wind hole. The distance fell from 8 miles to just a few hundred metres before Australia finally made it over the finish line with Hull & Humber and Cape Breton in hot pursuit.
After a truly amazing trip through the Panama Canal, race 9 saw our first ‘Le Mans’ start of the 09-10 race and we performed exceedingly well, taking an early lead on the fleet. But the Aussies started to show some good form taking a lead overnight as we battled with a reefed mainsail. Some stitching failed close to the 3rd reefing pennant and we had to severely reduce the size of the sail to protect it from further damage. It would be easy to use this as an excuse for not securing a podium position but in reality we secured some of our best speeds whilst the 3rd reef was in. This was without doubt the most difficult race in terms of living conditions. Temperatures above deck exceeded 40 degrees with lots of water coming across as we beat into the wind. Not only was it hotter below but it was running with condensation and airless. Many crew started to suffer heat rashes which are particularly debilitating.
As we approached Jamaica, we lay once again in 4th place with the lead boats just visible on the horizon. In one final twist we almost secured a podium position as all three boats ahead of stalled in a wind hole. The distance fell from 8 miles to just a few hundred metres before Australia finally made it over the finish line with Hull & Humber and Cape Breton in hot pursuit.
May 9th 2010: Review of Race 8
This was probably our best race start since Cape Town. Despite arriving at the start line 2 or 3 seconds early, we quickly recovered the situation and by the next morning held a slender lead over Spirit of Australia and Hull & Humber. The Aussies took the lead after a sortie west and we recovered ground in a similar manoeuvre. Later we stayed west, hoping for a better angle to the finish and although we secured 2 bonus ‘gate’ points, light winds saw us drop to 8th place. We had to dig deep to get anything out of this race and having clawed ourselves back to 4th we had a glorious run through a squall which brought us right back amongst the leaders. Although we were eventually unable to improve our position further, we gave it everything; evidenced by the fact that barely 10 minutes separated the first five boats. Given the excessive heat of this leg, and the fact that we had been at sea for 56 consecutive days (other than the 36 hours in California) we felt reasonably happy with our result.
This was probably our best race start since Cape Town. Despite arriving at the start line 2 or 3 seconds early, we quickly recovered the situation and by the next morning held a slender lead over Spirit of Australia and Hull & Humber. The Aussies took the lead after a sortie west and we recovered ground in a similar manoeuvre. Later we stayed west, hoping for a better angle to the finish and although we secured 2 bonus ‘gate’ points, light winds saw us drop to 8th place. We had to dig deep to get anything out of this race and having clawed ourselves back to 4th we had a glorious run through a squall which brought us right back amongst the leaders. Although we were eventually unable to improve our position further, we gave it everything; evidenced by the fact that barely 10 minutes separated the first five boats. Given the excessive heat of this leg, and the fact that we had been at sea for 56 consecutive days (other than the 36 hours in California) we felt reasonably happy with our result.
April 15th 2010: Review of Race 7
We left Qingdao two weeks after the main fleet so were not racing against other boats. We would later be informed that we had been awarded 8.3 points based on our average score to date. This was, however, a race against the clock. We had to be in California by the time race 8 to Panama started. The main risk for us was that we were crossing the largest expanse of water anywhere in the world without the security of knowing there may be another race boat within a few hundred miles to offer assistance if needed.
In the event, things started quite badly. Our water maker failed to produce fresh water, our Chinese batteries failed to hold their charge and our generator finally died. All items were later replaced in record time at San Francisco but in the short term we used the engine for electric power and stopped off at Yokohama in Japan for adequate supplies of bottled water.The sea conditions were the worst we had seen since leaving Hull with huge waves, high winds and freezing temperatures battering us for 5 or 6 consecutive days. At one point, we turned south in the hope of outrunning a hurricane that had been forming over Japanese waters. Whilst protecting us from the worst winds, the decision would ultimately cost us as we found ourselves moving in the wrong direction or stalled by light winds. Our plan was to complete the 6,000 mile crossing in 28 days rather than the usual 35 days but in the end, 35 days proved to be an unbeatable benchmark.
We were very grateful to the new leggers as well as crew from other boats for their hard work and support to make sure we started race 8 with the rest of the fleet..
We left Qingdao two weeks after the main fleet so were not racing against other boats. We would later be informed that we had been awarded 8.3 points based on our average score to date. This was, however, a race against the clock. We had to be in California by the time race 8 to Panama started. The main risk for us was that we were crossing the largest expanse of water anywhere in the world without the security of knowing there may be another race boat within a few hundred miles to offer assistance if needed.
In the event, things started quite badly. Our water maker failed to produce fresh water, our Chinese batteries failed to hold their charge and our generator finally died. All items were later replaced in record time at San Francisco but in the short term we used the engine for electric power and stopped off at Yokohama in Japan for adequate supplies of bottled water.The sea conditions were the worst we had seen since leaving Hull with huge waves, high winds and freezing temperatures battering us for 5 or 6 consecutive days. At one point, we turned south in the hope of outrunning a hurricane that had been forming over Japanese waters. Whilst protecting us from the worst winds, the decision would ultimately cost us as we found ourselves moving in the wrong direction or stalled by light winds. Our plan was to complete the 6,000 mile crossing in 28 days rather than the usual 35 days but in the end, 35 days proved to be an unbeatable benchmark.
We were very grateful to the new leggers as well as crew from other boats for their hard work and support to make sure we started race 8 with the rest of the fleet..
March 5th 2010: Race Interrupted
The logistics of getting a replacement mast constructed and shipped out to China has meant that Team Finland's drive to win the Round the World Yacht Race has been temporarily put on hold. Race seven started as planned on 2 March and Team Finland do not expect to sail until around 14 March. They will then be playing catch up as the fleet journey nearly 6,000 to their next destination in California. At the time of writing, the mast is en route to Luxembourg from where it will be flown to China and installed on the boat early next week.
This has meant an impromptu break for the crew; some of whom have taken the opportunity to visit family and friends following a very dramatic couple of races from Geraldton in Western Australia, to China. Team Finland effectively retired from Race 5 to Singapore so that they could lead the rescue operations following Cork's grounding on the small Indonesian island of Gosong Mampango. Then on Race 6 we were dismasted off the east coast of Taiwan and had to construct a jury rig before motoring the rest of the way to Qingdao.
The highlight of the trip home for me was undoubtedly being able to celebrate my 30th wedding anniversary with my wife and visiting the young people at the Rainbow Centre for Conductive Education - my nominated charity for the race. Special thanks to David, Dylan, Geoff, Liam, Alex and Matthew for allowing me to join them for their morning lessons and lunch. I very much look forward to seeing everyone in July when the race is finished.
Despite our setbacks, we are more determined than ever to get back into the race and try and win the overall event. We are still only 10 points behind the leaders with some 70+ points still to play for. I fly back to Qingdao on Sunday, hopefully in time to help secure the new rigging before we sail later in the week.
The logistics of getting a replacement mast constructed and shipped out to China has meant that Team Finland's drive to win the Round the World Yacht Race has been temporarily put on hold. Race seven started as planned on 2 March and Team Finland do not expect to sail until around 14 March. They will then be playing catch up as the fleet journey nearly 6,000 to their next destination in California. At the time of writing, the mast is en route to Luxembourg from where it will be flown to China and installed on the boat early next week.
This has meant an impromptu break for the crew; some of whom have taken the opportunity to visit family and friends following a very dramatic couple of races from Geraldton in Western Australia, to China. Team Finland effectively retired from Race 5 to Singapore so that they could lead the rescue operations following Cork's grounding on the small Indonesian island of Gosong Mampango. Then on Race 6 we were dismasted off the east coast of Taiwan and had to construct a jury rig before motoring the rest of the way to Qingdao.
The highlight of the trip home for me was undoubtedly being able to celebrate my 30th wedding anniversary with my wife and visiting the young people at the Rainbow Centre for Conductive Education - my nominated charity for the race. Special thanks to David, Dylan, Geoff, Liam, Alex and Matthew for allowing me to join them for their morning lessons and lunch. I very much look forward to seeing everyone in July when the race is finished.
Despite our setbacks, we are more determined than ever to get back into the race and try and win the overall event. We are still only 10 points behind the leaders with some 70+ points still to play for. I fly back to Qingdao on Sunday, hopefully in time to help secure the new rigging before we sail later in the week.
February 28th 2010: Review of Race 6
After the drama of race 5 we were really hoping for a less eventful race 6 to Qingdao but that was not the case. It seems the challenge of a lifetime happens every month on Clipper 09-10 and our challenge for race 6 was without doubt the biggest and most challenging to date.
On the plus side, the team has been developing very well indeed. We left Singapore in the knowledge that the sea conditions would be the toughest yet; gale force winds on the nose of the vessel, icy conditions and waves as high as 50 feet. Despite this we had no less than 10 people who were both confident and competent to helm in these conditions.
Our strategy was clear - to finish ahead of our nearest rival, Spirit of Australia (SOA), and put as many boats between us as we possibly could. The first few days saw us shadowing SOA very closely but in light winds and with the rest of the fleet spread out ahead of us we could clearly see where the best winds were. Once we made our move we quickly pulled out a 40 mile lead on the Aussies and started to march through the rest of the fleet with impressive speed. We had taken the lead, were moving at an awesome pace as we passed Taiwan and were confident of another podium position. Oh how quickly things can change....
....at 4am there was a huge bang on deck and I felt the running backstay go slack. As I was following the line back to the mast there was an even bigger crash as the boom hit the deck and I looked up in horror to see the mast folded at the first spreader. We all set quickly to the important task of cutting free lines and debris to ensure that there was no further damage to the hull. We had a significant hole where the guardrail had been ripped out and that was letting in water, but it was well above the waterline. Within a few hours we had completed the initial clearance work and we had contacted the coastguard who came out to escort us to the nearest port.
After several days of clearance work in port we had constructed a jury (temporary) rig to enable us to set sail to Qingdao. The 30 foot of mast that remained on the boat was just big enough to accomodate the storm jib and tri sail and whilst it would not give us much propulsion, it would give us some stability in the rough seas.
We arrived in Qingdao to a heroes welcome and were warmly greeted by our fellow competitors from other boats, led by Spirit of Australia skipper, Brendon Hall. Qingdao were fantastic hosts both on the arrival day and later in the week when a welcome banquet preceded the prizegiving which was broadcast on national TV. Team Finlamd received a special award for showing spirit and tenacity over the dismasting.
After the drama of race 5 we were really hoping for a less eventful race 6 to Qingdao but that was not the case. It seems the challenge of a lifetime happens every month on Clipper 09-10 and our challenge for race 6 was without doubt the biggest and most challenging to date.
On the plus side, the team has been developing very well indeed. We left Singapore in the knowledge that the sea conditions would be the toughest yet; gale force winds on the nose of the vessel, icy conditions and waves as high as 50 feet. Despite this we had no less than 10 people who were both confident and competent to helm in these conditions.
Our strategy was clear - to finish ahead of our nearest rival, Spirit of Australia (SOA), and put as many boats between us as we possibly could. The first few days saw us shadowing SOA very closely but in light winds and with the rest of the fleet spread out ahead of us we could clearly see where the best winds were. Once we made our move we quickly pulled out a 40 mile lead on the Aussies and started to march through the rest of the fleet with impressive speed. We had taken the lead, were moving at an awesome pace as we passed Taiwan and were confident of another podium position. Oh how quickly things can change....
....at 4am there was a huge bang on deck and I felt the running backstay go slack. As I was following the line back to the mast there was an even bigger crash as the boom hit the deck and I looked up in horror to see the mast folded at the first spreader. We all set quickly to the important task of cutting free lines and debris to ensure that there was no further damage to the hull. We had a significant hole where the guardrail had been ripped out and that was letting in water, but it was well above the waterline. Within a few hours we had completed the initial clearance work and we had contacted the coastguard who came out to escort us to the nearest port.
After several days of clearance work in port we had constructed a jury (temporary) rig to enable us to set sail to Qingdao. The 30 foot of mast that remained on the boat was just big enough to accomodate the storm jib and tri sail and whilst it would not give us much propulsion, it would give us some stability in the rough seas.
We arrived in Qingdao to a heroes welcome and were warmly greeted by our fellow competitors from other boats, led by Spirit of Australia skipper, Brendon Hall. Qingdao were fantastic hosts both on the arrival day and later in the week when a welcome banquet preceded the prizegiving which was broadcast on national TV. Team Finlamd received a special award for showing spirit and tenacity over the dismasting.
January 24th 2010: Review of Race 5
In years to come people will ask me what I remember most about this race and I suspect that our involvement with Cork Clipper will be remembered before any of our podium places. The emotions will be mixed; there will be sadness at the loss of such a fine vessel, pride in the Cork crew who somehow kept their humour under very difficult circumstances, and gratitude that we were allowed to take a lead role in their rescue and recovery.
It all started pretty well for us really as broke away from the pack with Australia and Cork in hot pursuit. With a new skipper and five new crew there was considerable pressure to maintain our profile as serious contenders but as with any change, there was a learning curve to deal with. That proved to be a bit painful as we lost our jockey pole and then our heavyweight spinnaker. On the plus side, we managed without them and they will be replaced for leg 5. The new culture on board is to include as many people as possible in all of the different deck roles and in the long term, we feel this will serve us well - especially when you consider that there are 50 points up for grabs in leg 7 alone. Without that wide skill base, we feel that there could be too much responsibility on the experienced sailors and that fatigue will work against us.
During this difficult spell we dropped to 10th before heading west and rocketing into 1st place and then back to 5th thanks to an unexpected squall. 4th place was touching distance away before Cork hit the reef. As the nearest boat, our skipper led the rescue and recovery operations with other Clipper boats supporting as they closed in on the area. We rescued all 16 crew with 8 joining us on Team Finland. In the end, that meant far more to us than any pennant.
In years to come people will ask me what I remember most about this race and I suspect that our involvement with Cork Clipper will be remembered before any of our podium places. The emotions will be mixed; there will be sadness at the loss of such a fine vessel, pride in the Cork crew who somehow kept their humour under very difficult circumstances, and gratitude that we were allowed to take a lead role in their rescue and recovery.
It all started pretty well for us really as broke away from the pack with Australia and Cork in hot pursuit. With a new skipper and five new crew there was considerable pressure to maintain our profile as serious contenders but as with any change, there was a learning curve to deal with. That proved to be a bit painful as we lost our jockey pole and then our heavyweight spinnaker. On the plus side, we managed without them and they will be replaced for leg 5. The new culture on board is to include as many people as possible in all of the different deck roles and in the long term, we feel this will serve us well - especially when you consider that there are 50 points up for grabs in leg 7 alone. Without that wide skill base, we feel that there could be too much responsibility on the experienced sailors and that fatigue will work against us.
During this difficult spell we dropped to 10th before heading west and rocketing into 1st place and then back to 5th thanks to an unexpected squall. 4th place was touching distance away before Cork hit the reef. As the nearest boat, our skipper led the rescue and recovery operations with other Clipper boats supporting as they closed in on the area. We rescued all 16 crew with 8 joining us on Team Finland. In the end, that meant far more to us than any pennant.
December 30th 2009: Meet the Boss
No sooner had we arrived in Geraldton, than our new skipper Rob McInally joined us on Team Finland. He was soon making his mark by helping to prioritise the work required on the boat before we next sail on 3rd January. He has already left a very favourable impression on the enthusiastic crew by demonstrating a healthy respect for the need to balance work and rest during the stopover. We are already learning a lot from him in terms of boat maintenance as he demonstrates and delegates tasks to us. We are indebted to Eero Lehtinen for ingraining a winning culture in us and we feel confident that under Rob's guidance we can take Team Finland to an even higher level.
Southampton born and bred, Rob has the ocean in his blood. His father was in the Merchant Navy and his maternal grandfather was in the Royal Navy. Rob even spent three years as a submariner with the Royal Navy before the call of life on top of the waves proved too strong. At the age of eleven he brokered a deal with his father that was to shape his future career. “The complete truth of it is, I convinced him that sending me to private school was a bad idea and did a trade off – private school for a sailing dinghy. I threw it in the water and that was that.”
Rob began racing competitively just a few weeks after joining his local sailing club and within six months he was competing in offshore JOG and RORC races. More challenging sailing, including a Fastnet Race, followed during his three-year stint with the Royal Navy.
Since swapping a successful career in sales for sails of a different kind, Rob has gathered experience with a number of organisations. Prior to joining the Clipper 07-08 Race as skipper of the Canadian entry, Nova Scotia, he worked alongside fellow Clipper 07-08 skippers Hannah Jenner, Marcus Cholerton-Brown and Ricky Chalmers during a spell with Challenge Business. In 2007 he worked for Pindar, racing their Volvo 60 and racking up a few transatlantic crossings.
Following the completion of his first circumnavigation in Clipper 07-08, Rob has spent his time working on a 46-foot catamaran, Chicago Breeze, in Tortola as well as continuing as a training skipper on the south coast - teaching Day Skipper and Competent Crew courses..
To date Rob has clocked up an impressive 105,500 nautical miles, crossed the Atlantic Ocean seven times, the Pacific Ocean three times and has Southern Ocean experience.
No sooner had we arrived in Geraldton, than our new skipper Rob McInally joined us on Team Finland. He was soon making his mark by helping to prioritise the work required on the boat before we next sail on 3rd January. He has already left a very favourable impression on the enthusiastic crew by demonstrating a healthy respect for the need to balance work and rest during the stopover. We are already learning a lot from him in terms of boat maintenance as he demonstrates and delegates tasks to us. We are indebted to Eero Lehtinen for ingraining a winning culture in us and we feel confident that under Rob's guidance we can take Team Finland to an even higher level.
Southampton born and bred, Rob has the ocean in his blood. His father was in the Merchant Navy and his maternal grandfather was in the Royal Navy. Rob even spent three years as a submariner with the Royal Navy before the call of life on top of the waves proved too strong. At the age of eleven he brokered a deal with his father that was to shape his future career. “The complete truth of it is, I convinced him that sending me to private school was a bad idea and did a trade off – private school for a sailing dinghy. I threw it in the water and that was that.”
Rob began racing competitively just a few weeks after joining his local sailing club and within six months he was competing in offshore JOG and RORC races. More challenging sailing, including a Fastnet Race, followed during his three-year stint with the Royal Navy.
Since swapping a successful career in sales for sails of a different kind, Rob has gathered experience with a number of organisations. Prior to joining the Clipper 07-08 Race as skipper of the Canadian entry, Nova Scotia, he worked alongside fellow Clipper 07-08 skippers Hannah Jenner, Marcus Cholerton-Brown and Ricky Chalmers during a spell with Challenge Business. In 2007 he worked for Pindar, racing their Volvo 60 and racking up a few transatlantic crossings.
Following the completion of his first circumnavigation in Clipper 07-08, Rob has spent his time working on a 46-foot catamaran, Chicago Breeze, in Tortola as well as continuing as a training skipper on the south coast - teaching Day Skipper and Competent Crew courses..
To date Rob has clocked up an impressive 105,500 nautical miles, crossed the Atlantic Ocean seven times, the Pacific Ocean three times and has Southern Ocean experience.
December 20th 2009: Geraldton Prove to be Perfect Hosts
The people of Geraldton and Greenhough turned out en masse today for the Clipper Parade as the crews of all ten boats marched down Main Street sporting their national colours. Following speeches by local MPs, business leaders and the Mayor of Geraldton, the crews moved to Geraldton Yacht Club. Here they were entertained in style with a seemingly endless buffet and a selection of local wines and beers that were very much appreciated by the towns visitors. It is estimated that the local economy has received a $2million dollar boost by hosting the stopover and underlines the ecnomic benefits associated with the race. Team Finland, Spirit of Australia and Jamaica Lightening Bolt received their pennants for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places resectively.
The people of Geraldton and Greenhough turned out en masse today for the Clipper Parade as the crews of all ten boats marched down Main Street sporting their national colours. Following speeches by local MPs, business leaders and the Mayor of Geraldton, the crews moved to Geraldton Yacht Club. Here they were entertained in style with a seemingly endless buffet and a selection of local wines and beers that were very much appreciated by the towns visitors. It is estimated that the local economy has received a $2million dollar boost by hosting the stopover and underlines the ecnomic benefits associated with the race. Team Finland, Spirit of Australia and Jamaica Lightening Bolt received their pennants for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places resectively.
December 18th 2009: Three Wins in Four Races for Team Finland
Race 4 from Cape Town to Geraldton got off to a flying start for Team Finland who quickly built up a lead heading down toward the infamous roaring forties. This area of the Southern Ocean is renowned for high seas, and ferocious icy winds and the first few days of the race saw us beating into the wind making conditions above and below deck very uncomfortable indeed. In the event, we only just dipped into the roaring forties finding sufficient wind at around 39 degrees and enjoying a far more temperate climate. That it not to say that the race was not without its challenges with fickle light winds and a battle royal with our nearest rivals. Spirit of Australia went further South than us and took the lead approaching a pre-defined gate earning them 3 bonus points on the race. We similarly secured 2 bonus points for 2nd place before chasing them down for the overall lead. In one hectic night of sailing which saw all watches exhausted from sail changes, we took a marginal lead which we increased to 40 miles over the next 72 hours. The Aussies then came back at us on no less than 3 occasions, the last being just 100 miles from the finish line. In an amazing finish, we secured a well deserved victory, with Australia coming in less than 30 minutes behind us after a race covering 4,800 miles and 25 days at sea.
Two other incidents reminded us just how treacherous this race can be. About half way through the race we were caught a glancing blow from a whale and had to inspect the rudder for damage. Then with less than 300 miles to go, our steering wheel came off with the shaft thread completely sheared off. We honestly thought we may have to retire from the race but with help from our Clipper engineering team we were able to effect repairs and complete the course with a well deserved victory.
These incidents paled against the spectacular start line collision between Hull and Humber and Cork. A massive gust of wind resulted in Hull suffering a severe blow which punched a huge hole in the boat. Thankfully no injuries were sustained and both skippers returned immediately to port so that repairs could be carried out; hopefully in time for the boats to arrive in Western Australia before Christmas.
Race 4 from Cape Town to Geraldton got off to a flying start for Team Finland who quickly built up a lead heading down toward the infamous roaring forties. This area of the Southern Ocean is renowned for high seas, and ferocious icy winds and the first few days of the race saw us beating into the wind making conditions above and below deck very uncomfortable indeed. In the event, we only just dipped into the roaring forties finding sufficient wind at around 39 degrees and enjoying a far more temperate climate. That it not to say that the race was not without its challenges with fickle light winds and a battle royal with our nearest rivals. Spirit of Australia went further South than us and took the lead approaching a pre-defined gate earning them 3 bonus points on the race. We similarly secured 2 bonus points for 2nd place before chasing them down for the overall lead. In one hectic night of sailing which saw all watches exhausted from sail changes, we took a marginal lead which we increased to 40 miles over the next 72 hours. The Aussies then came back at us on no less than 3 occasions, the last being just 100 miles from the finish line. In an amazing finish, we secured a well deserved victory, with Australia coming in less than 30 minutes behind us after a race covering 4,800 miles and 25 days at sea.
Two other incidents reminded us just how treacherous this race can be. About half way through the race we were caught a glancing blow from a whale and had to inspect the rudder for damage. Then with less than 300 miles to go, our steering wheel came off with the shaft thread completely sheared off. We honestly thought we may have to retire from the race but with help from our Clipper engineering team we were able to effect repairs and complete the course with a well deserved victory.
These incidents paled against the spectacular start line collision between Hull and Humber and Cork. A massive gust of wind resulted in Hull suffering a severe blow which punched a huge hole in the boat. Thankfully no injuries were sustained and both skippers returned immediately to port so that repairs could be carried out; hopefully in time for the boats to arrive in Western Australia before Christmas.
November 17th 2009: Back to back. Back to Reality
After back to back wins in races 1 & 2 it was very much a reality check on race 3 to Cape Town. We slipped our lines ready to join the traditional parade of the fleet only to find our throttle cable had become detached so we had some last minute repairs before the race start. A hip injury restricted me to the role of cameraman at the race start (with light duties for several days) and despite the good weather we had enjoyed in Rio, there were squalls as we headed round the cans and out to sea.
We did not enjoy the best of starts and as we headed south in search of stronger winds we found the direct route of others pushing us down to 7th place. But our strategy was a good one and by simply focusing on the next boat ahead we were able to claw our way back to 4th. Two good 24 hour runs convinced us that we could make further progress but when the schedules came in it was clear everyone was flying and we had not closed the gap at all. A podium position seemed well and truly beyond us. Then came the mixed emotions of Hull’s ‘man overboard’. We were horrified to hear the story yet full of admiration for the successful recovery. We took little pleasure from the fact that the incident effectively handed us 3rd place and started to close in on Singapore. We both went into stealth mode to fool the other and hilariously then realised we could actually see each other with binoculars!
Matching each other stride for stride, it took over 24 hours to edge past them and after that it was a case of consolidating our 2nd place without ever really threatening Cork who had a thoroughly deserved win.
Cape Town is proving to be a great stopover and we seem to be getting our shore jobs completed a little quicker then previously. Maybe we will even get an extra day off this time. In just two days we have already deep cleaned the boat, the sails have gone off for minor repairs and all the winches have been serviced. We have completed our first phase of victualling and are starting to tackle the long list of repairs resulting from the last race. Morale is very good and we are approaching race 4 (Sunday) with some confidence and as overall leaders in the 09-10 event.
After back to back wins in races 1 & 2 it was very much a reality check on race 3 to Cape Town. We slipped our lines ready to join the traditional parade of the fleet only to find our throttle cable had become detached so we had some last minute repairs before the race start. A hip injury restricted me to the role of cameraman at the race start (with light duties for several days) and despite the good weather we had enjoyed in Rio, there were squalls as we headed round the cans and out to sea.
We did not enjoy the best of starts and as we headed south in search of stronger winds we found the direct route of others pushing us down to 7th place. But our strategy was a good one and by simply focusing on the next boat ahead we were able to claw our way back to 4th. Two good 24 hour runs convinced us that we could make further progress but when the schedules came in it was clear everyone was flying and we had not closed the gap at all. A podium position seemed well and truly beyond us. Then came the mixed emotions of Hull’s ‘man overboard’. We were horrified to hear the story yet full of admiration for the successful recovery. We took little pleasure from the fact that the incident effectively handed us 3rd place and started to close in on Singapore. We both went into stealth mode to fool the other and hilariously then realised we could actually see each other with binoculars!
Matching each other stride for stride, it took over 24 hours to edge past them and after that it was a case of consolidating our 2nd place without ever really threatening Cork who had a thoroughly deserved win.
Cape Town is proving to be a great stopover and we seem to be getting our shore jobs completed a little quicker then previously. Maybe we will even get an extra day off this time. In just two days we have already deep cleaned the boat, the sails have gone off for minor repairs and all the winches have been serviced. We have completed our first phase of victualling and are starting to tackle the long list of repairs resulting from the last race. Morale is very good and we are approaching race 4 (Sunday) with some confidence and as overall leaders in the 09-10 event.
October 23rd 2009: Back to Back Wins
OK the home page may not have been updated as regularly as before (because I am mainly at sea) but hopefully you are keeping up to date with things via the race viewer and the regular blogs.
Race 2 from La Rochelle to Rio started in frustratingly light winds but we took an early lead as Hull and Humber made a brave and successful tack behind the fleet to capture some coastal breeze. We could not believe we managed two trips across the Bay of Biscay without a storm but we did. Then we sailed a bit too far East near Finisterre and dropped to fourth place. In the long term though, our easterly course proved to be the deciding factor of the race and as we sailed past the Canary Islands, we managed to start building a commanding lead. Even the Doldrums were kind to us and we had very little delay there.
As we approached Rio, we hit a succession of wind holes which saw a determined Spirit of Australia whittle the lead down to 68 miles. We honestly thought we had blown it but then wind did come when we least expected it and propelled us past the finishing line.
Behind this win, there were a number of sub plots to test us including problems with our water maker, generator and gearbox. All overcome but not without considerable difficulty. This race may not have given us the high seas that some were expecting but it was a good test of our endurance. Four weeks at sea without seeing land and living in a hot and sweaty 68 foot cigar tube is enough to test anyone. Now we are determined to secure the overall lead from Australia in the next race to Cape Town which starts this Tuesday
OK the home page may not have been updated as regularly as before (because I am mainly at sea) but hopefully you are keeping up to date with things via the race viewer and the regular blogs.
Race 2 from La Rochelle to Rio started in frustratingly light winds but we took an early lead as Hull and Humber made a brave and successful tack behind the fleet to capture some coastal breeze. We could not believe we managed two trips across the Bay of Biscay without a storm but we did. Then we sailed a bit too far East near Finisterre and dropped to fourth place. In the long term though, our easterly course proved to be the deciding factor of the race and as we sailed past the Canary Islands, we managed to start building a commanding lead. Even the Doldrums were kind to us and we had very little delay there.
As we approached Rio, we hit a succession of wind holes which saw a determined Spirit of Australia whittle the lead down to 68 miles. We honestly thought we had blown it but then wind did come when we least expected it and propelled us past the finishing line.
Behind this win, there were a number of sub plots to test us including problems with our water maker, generator and gearbox. All overcome but not without considerable difficulty. This race may not have given us the high seas that some were expecting but it was a good test of our endurance. Four weeks at sea without seeing land and living in a hot and sweaty 68 foot cigar tube is enough to test anyone. Now we are determined to secure the overall lead from Australia in the next race to Cape Town which starts this Tuesday
September 18th 2009: Race 1 to La Rochelle
The send off in Hull was quite spectacular with over 150,000 people lining the banks of the Humber. Full credit to the officials in Yorkshire who spotted the potential offered by hosting the race and for organising a fantastic week of activities including the Freedom Festival.
The start of the race was understandably an emotional time but we soon got down to business. Having crossed the start line in 4th place, we were soon battling it out with Cork at the front of the fleet - sometimes so close you could step between the boats without getting your feet wet! The headwinds we thought we would meet in the North Sea and the English Channel never materialised and in the end we experienced some exhilerating downwind sailing. I did a fair bit of helming (which keeps you warm at night) and whilst we were racing at around 10 knots, it was easy to get that up to 16 knots by riding the waves. Its tough on the arms because the boat (and the waves) are tryingto pull you in all sorts of directions and after 45 minutes, you are left quite exhausted!
In the Bay of Biscay we did eventually hit head winds and although we were always in sight of Cork and Hull and Humber, we dug in and managed to secure our first win. We are absolutely delighted but equally determined to keep our feet on the ground as we have some tough races ahead.
The send off in Hull was quite spectacular with over 150,000 people lining the banks of the Humber. Full credit to the officials in Yorkshire who spotted the potential offered by hosting the race and for organising a fantastic week of activities including the Freedom Festival.
The start of the race was understandably an emotional time but we soon got down to business. Having crossed the start line in 4th place, we were soon battling it out with Cork at the front of the fleet - sometimes so close you could step between the boats without getting your feet wet! The headwinds we thought we would meet in the North Sea and the English Channel never materialised and in the end we experienced some exhilerating downwind sailing. I did a fair bit of helming (which keeps you warm at night) and whilst we were racing at around 10 knots, it was easy to get that up to 16 knots by riding the waves. Its tough on the arms because the boat (and the waves) are tryingto pull you in all sorts of directions and after 45 minutes, you are left quite exhausted!
In the Bay of Biscay we did eventually hit head winds and although we were always in sight of Cork and Hull and Humber, we dug in and managed to secure our first win. We are absolutely delighted but equally determined to keep our feet on the ground as we have some tough races ahead.
September 17th 2009: The Pilgrim Cup
Nobody was taking this warm up race too seriously it seemed. But no one had told Team Finland apparently. After a glorious send off in Gosport on Bank holiday Monday, and the occassional media interview (!) the fleet headed for the official start line in the Humber where they were due to arrive on the Friday. The start was littered with minor incidents as excited crews threw themselves into the task at hand. Fortunately, injuries were restricted to bruised fingers and banged heads - nothing too serious and a timely lesson for the race ahead. In all honesty, the strong winds would have delivered us to the Humber by Wednesday had we not stopped so in the end, the race became a time trial between two sea gates. Many boats stopped at Brighton but Team Finland saw rough weather coming and did not stop until they got to Lowestoft. It was a good decision because although we faced force 10 conditions, we escaped the 60 knot apparent winds that hit the rest of the fleet. More importantly, Team Finland finished first with an average speed of 10.6 knots. Given the conditions - amongst the worst we are likely to face going around the world - it was a great warm up for all the crews who looked both battered but happy in the yacht club of the Hull Cruising Association.
Humber turned out to be great hosts; happy to stop and talk to us in the streets and always wishing us well. We returned the hospitality with several boat tours! And Hull's Freedom Festival was quite awesome. You may have been told Hull can be a dull place but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth and if you get the chance to visit, I would certainly recommend it. How about July next year when the race finishes.
Nobody was taking this warm up race too seriously it seemed. But no one had told Team Finland apparently. After a glorious send off in Gosport on Bank holiday Monday, and the occassional media interview (!) the fleet headed for the official start line in the Humber where they were due to arrive on the Friday. The start was littered with minor incidents as excited crews threw themselves into the task at hand. Fortunately, injuries were restricted to bruised fingers and banged heads - nothing too serious and a timely lesson for the race ahead. In all honesty, the strong winds would have delivered us to the Humber by Wednesday had we not stopped so in the end, the race became a time trial between two sea gates. Many boats stopped at Brighton but Team Finland saw rough weather coming and did not stop until they got to Lowestoft. It was a good decision because although we faced force 10 conditions, we escaped the 60 knot apparent winds that hit the rest of the fleet. More importantly, Team Finland finished first with an average speed of 10.6 knots. Given the conditions - amongst the worst we are likely to face going around the world - it was a great warm up for all the crews who looked both battered but happy in the yacht club of the Hull Cruising Association.
Humber turned out to be great hosts; happy to stop and talk to us in the streets and always wishing us well. We returned the hospitality with several boat tours! And Hull's Freedom Festival was quite awesome. You may have been told Hull can be a dull place but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth and if you get the chance to visit, I would certainly recommend it. How about July next year when the race finishes.
August 29th 2009: Final Prep Week on Team Finland
The Clarence Marina has been a hive of activity this week and no one has been busier than the CV5 crew who all worked their socks off getting last minute jobs completed before the fleet sails on Bank Holiday Monday. Crew from all boats have been disappearing in all directions to attend courses on first aid, ropes, sail repair, VHF radio and engineering . Meanwhile on the boats themselves, defect lists and requisitions were anxiously being reviewed. On CV5, our efforts were rewarded today with the announcement that our boat now has the official backing of the Finish Tourist Board and will compete under the name Team Finland. It is a fitting tribute to our Finnish skipper and our mainly northern European / Scandinavian crew are happy to be honorary Finns for the next 12 months! Having said that, we take great pride in the fact that our boat represents entries from 13 different nationalities - more than any other boat in the fleet - encompassing perfectly the multinational ethos of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
The Clarence Marina has been a hive of activity this week and no one has been busier than the CV5 crew who all worked their socks off getting last minute jobs completed before the fleet sails on Bank Holiday Monday. Crew from all boats have been disappearing in all directions to attend courses on first aid, ropes, sail repair, VHF radio and engineering . Meanwhile on the boats themselves, defect lists and requisitions were anxiously being reviewed. On CV5, our efforts were rewarded today with the announcement that our boat now has the official backing of the Finish Tourist Board and will compete under the name Team Finland. It is a fitting tribute to our Finnish skipper and our mainly northern European / Scandinavian crew are happy to be honorary Finns for the next 12 months! Having said that, we take great pride in the fact that our boat represents entries from 13 different nationalities - more than any other boat in the fleet - encompassing perfectly the multinational ethos of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
August 28th 2009: Gosport Departure Details
For family and friends of crew members who are unable to see the race start in Hull, there is a fantastic schedule of events lined up in Gosport on Bank Holiday Monday. The fleet will sail to Grimsby in the Pilgrim Cup and will not return to the Clarence Marina until the end of July 2010. The Clarence Marina (excluding the actual pontoon) will be open to the public from 10:00 with a market and live music from jazz and samba bands. At 12:30 the crews are assembled and introduced to the crowd before they march as teams down to their boats. They will slip their lines boat by boat from 13:30 and will assemble in formation in Fareham Creek for sail past before the race start. The best place to view the flotilla departure will probably be Gosport Promenade (a short walk away) or Gunwharf Quay on the opposite side of the river (a 20 minute drive). The actual race starts around 15:00 - probably from a line near the Mary Rose Memorial Buoy just outside Portsmouth Harbour.
The fleet are expected to arrive in Grimsby on 4/5th September and will transfer to Hull Marina on 7th September.
For family and friends of crew members who are unable to see the race start in Hull, there is a fantastic schedule of events lined up in Gosport on Bank Holiday Monday. The fleet will sail to Grimsby in the Pilgrim Cup and will not return to the Clarence Marina until the end of July 2010. The Clarence Marina (excluding the actual pontoon) will be open to the public from 10:00 with a market and live music from jazz and samba bands. At 12:30 the crews are assembled and introduced to the crowd before they march as teams down to their boats. They will slip their lines boat by boat from 13:30 and will assemble in formation in Fareham Creek for sail past before the race start. The best place to view the flotilla departure will probably be Gosport Promenade (a short walk away) or Gunwharf Quay on the opposite side of the river (a 20 minute drive). The actual race starts around 15:00 - probably from a line near the Mary Rose Memorial Buoy just outside Portsmouth Harbour.
The fleet are expected to arrive in Grimsby on 4/5th September and will transfer to Hull Marina on 7th September.
August 24th 2009: Report on Final Training Session
Well this is it. I’ve finally packed my life into a 100 litre dry bag and have joined the ‘boat with no name’ for a final weeks training with my new team mates on board CV5. The weather was almost disappointingly calm and whilst it was nice to experience the best of an English summer, it did not bode well for some challenging sailing. In the event we spent most of Monday and Tuesday working on the boat. There are rig checks to complete, more winches to service and new sails to flake and mark up before we race. We did manage a couple of afternoon trips, often going late into the evening with the usual racing sail changes and man overboard drills.
On Wednesday things started to hot up though; in more ways than one. Our last practice race featured nine of the fleet (Edinburgh was on her way back from Scotland) and involved a race to Alderney, back to Weymouth and up to the finish line off St Catherine’s Point. The opening run down to The Needles saw some spectacular spinnaker hoists with ourselves neck and neck with Clipper Cork and Clipper Australia before the wind deserted us and left us drifting the wrong side of our waypoint. We quickly got back on track and headed out to Alderney as the wind picked up. We were working a watch system by now and the winds picked up to around Force 7 whilst I was asleep. The upwind course left a lot of people suffering varying degrees of sea sickness and I apparently emerged from my bunk looking very grey! It’s strange because I had slept well and did not feel too bad until I failed to locate my sock and then failed to locate my head torch which would no doubt have resolved the problem. When you are not feeling great such trivia works against you and it becomes a major crisis! The sea sickness symptoms quickly developed further and I only just made it up on deck in time but as soon as I was there, the fresh air helped me recover my normal composure. Work does not stop when you feel a little unwell and I was soon helping out on most tasks although feeling a little guilty that I was not pulling my full weight. That situation continued for the next 24 hours because I was not able to take on a proper meal. Unbeknown to me though, the rest of the crew were similarly suffering so we were all in the same boat. Literally!
The weather continued to deteriorate with winds peaking at around force 8 on a confused sea and conditions on deck becoming very difficult. Our sail changes were not as slick as they should be and we lost a couple of sheets (ropes) on the foresail. Other boats were reporting heavier damage and one reported a fairly nasty injury to a crew member. At the end of the race only two boats actually reached the finish line. Hull and Humber had a fantastic and well deserved win with us about an hour behind in second place. Another promising performance!
Friday saw all ten boats out in the Channel sailing in formation for a photo call. Once again, the sea was lively and since our ‘required’ sail configuration was just a little overpowered for the conditions, it made for some spectacular photography. After an hour, Singapore peeled off with rudder problems so we shadowed her past The Needles to make sure she got home safely before retiring ourselves to Yarmouth for a mooring. Our training week was completed with more drills on the Saturday and Sunday and a deep clean of the boat which is now our home for the next 11 months.
Overall a great week in the fantastic company of our skipper Eero and watch leaders Emil, Frank, Mark and Nigel. We have a really great crew and it was good to meet up for the first time with Ian, Simone, Hans, Pauline, Tarthra, Estelle, Martine, Caroline, Andrea, Julian, Carole, Dirk and Cathie.
Well this is it. I’ve finally packed my life into a 100 litre dry bag and have joined the ‘boat with no name’ for a final weeks training with my new team mates on board CV5. The weather was almost disappointingly calm and whilst it was nice to experience the best of an English summer, it did not bode well for some challenging sailing. In the event we spent most of Monday and Tuesday working on the boat. There are rig checks to complete, more winches to service and new sails to flake and mark up before we race. We did manage a couple of afternoon trips, often going late into the evening with the usual racing sail changes and man overboard drills.
On Wednesday things started to hot up though; in more ways than one. Our last practice race featured nine of the fleet (Edinburgh was on her way back from Scotland) and involved a race to Alderney, back to Weymouth and up to the finish line off St Catherine’s Point. The opening run down to The Needles saw some spectacular spinnaker hoists with ourselves neck and neck with Clipper Cork and Clipper Australia before the wind deserted us and left us drifting the wrong side of our waypoint. We quickly got back on track and headed out to Alderney as the wind picked up. We were working a watch system by now and the winds picked up to around Force 7 whilst I was asleep. The upwind course left a lot of people suffering varying degrees of sea sickness and I apparently emerged from my bunk looking very grey! It’s strange because I had slept well and did not feel too bad until I failed to locate my sock and then failed to locate my head torch which would no doubt have resolved the problem. When you are not feeling great such trivia works against you and it becomes a major crisis! The sea sickness symptoms quickly developed further and I only just made it up on deck in time but as soon as I was there, the fresh air helped me recover my normal composure. Work does not stop when you feel a little unwell and I was soon helping out on most tasks although feeling a little guilty that I was not pulling my full weight. That situation continued for the next 24 hours because I was not able to take on a proper meal. Unbeknown to me though, the rest of the crew were similarly suffering so we were all in the same boat. Literally!
The weather continued to deteriorate with winds peaking at around force 8 on a confused sea and conditions on deck becoming very difficult. Our sail changes were not as slick as they should be and we lost a couple of sheets (ropes) on the foresail. Other boats were reporting heavier damage and one reported a fairly nasty injury to a crew member. At the end of the race only two boats actually reached the finish line. Hull and Humber had a fantastic and well deserved win with us about an hour behind in second place. Another promising performance!
Friday saw all ten boats out in the Channel sailing in formation for a photo call. Once again, the sea was lively and since our ‘required’ sail configuration was just a little overpowered for the conditions, it made for some spectacular photography. After an hour, Singapore peeled off with rudder problems so we shadowed her past The Needles to make sure she got home safely before retiring ourselves to Yarmouth for a mooring. Our training week was completed with more drills on the Saturday and Sunday and a deep clean of the boat which is now our home for the next 11 months.
Overall a great week in the fantastic company of our skipper Eero and watch leaders Emil, Frank, Mark and Nigel. We have a really great crew and it was good to meet up for the first time with Ian, Simone, Hans, Pauline, Tarthra, Estelle, Martine, Caroline, Andrea, Julian, Carole, Dirk and Cathie.
August 3rd 2009: Round the Island Clipper Challenge
The Clipper Round the Island Challenge was organised as a curtain raiser to the 09-10 Round the World Race and was an opportunity for crew to sail with family and friends. It was a two day event with training and practice races on the Saturday followed by a race from Cowes out past the Needles and round the south of the Island finishing off at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. The crew was a combination of 09-10 crew, 07-08 crew and guests.
Saturday was pretty wet and miserable on land but presented some fine sailing conditions for us. We were soon out on the Solent raising our brand new mainsail and milling around Nab Tower with the rest of the fleet for our first practice race. We started well and were soon at the front of the fleet alongside Clipper Cork who has been showing some good form in these early sorties. For most of the course we were beating into the wind but with no spinnakers today (we were saving them for the main event tomorrow) we used the mainsail on the opposite side to the foresails to make progress on the downwind sections of the course. In the event we just held Cork off for a good confidence building win. After lunch we had a second practice race but found ourselves sandwiched between Cork and CV9 at the start line which really messed us up and we started around the middle of the pack. Chasing the fleet was pretty exciting and as we sailed away on opposite tacks and then converged a few minutes later it was difficult to judge how much ground we were making. Eventually we fell into a comfortable third place behind Hull and Humber and Cork but the timing of the tacks proved crucial and helped us overtake Hull and Humber about a mile from the finish line. Cork looked clear winners until the last few seconds when we took advantage of their last tack and both approached the finish line on opposite tacks. It looked for a moment that we would actually meet each other a few feet short of the finish line but in the end Cork sailed past our bow to secure first place by seconds. Close enough for both crews to applaud each others efforts!
Saturday night we moored off the Isle of Wight and took a water taxi in to savour the hustle and bustle of Cowes week. Sunday morning presented us with clear skies and light winds so we opted for the big Yankee 1 on the foredeck. As the fleet assembled for the main race of the weekend it was interesting to see that others had opted for the slightly smaller Yankee 2 which presumably indicated they expected the winds to pick up toward the Needles. The start was not quite so exciting – mainly because there was some confusion as to where the start line actually was! In the end we got away in the front half of the pack but a long way behind Qingdao and CV9 who got flying starts. Our route attempted to take advantage of the tides and most of the other boats had similar ideas so we crossed and weaved as we tacked our way down to the needles creeping from 5th to 4th to 3rd and eventually 2nd place as we rounded to the Southern side of the Island. At this point it was a straight race between us and Cork for the lead and could be decided by who raised their spinnaker first. It has to be said that it wasn’t our fastest spinnaker hoist. In fact we were convinced that Cork would take advantage of the situation but suddenly their spinnaker fell into the water and we sailed away neck and neck with Clipper Edinburgh. Hull and Humber and Cork were in 3rd and 4th place respectively. Once again sail choice was proving interesting and we appeared to be one of the few boats in view that had gone for the middleweight spinnaker. This meant the fleet was making ground on us at the start of the spinnaker run but once we gybed we had the advantage. Then Hull and Humber executed an excellent gybe off Bembridge Ledge and made good ground on us. At the final turn we dropped the spinnaker and raised the yankee again for a straight run back to the finish. With Hull and Humber only about 4 lengths behind, the 15 minute run seemed a lot longer and it needed special effort on the sail trim to hold them off and secure a thoroughly deserved win.
The Clipper Round the Island Challenge was organised as a curtain raiser to the 09-10 Round the World Race and was an opportunity for crew to sail with family and friends. It was a two day event with training and practice races on the Saturday followed by a race from Cowes out past the Needles and round the south of the Island finishing off at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. The crew was a combination of 09-10 crew, 07-08 crew and guests.
Saturday was pretty wet and miserable on land but presented some fine sailing conditions for us. We were soon out on the Solent raising our brand new mainsail and milling around Nab Tower with the rest of the fleet for our first practice race. We started well and were soon at the front of the fleet alongside Clipper Cork who has been showing some good form in these early sorties. For most of the course we were beating into the wind but with no spinnakers today (we were saving them for the main event tomorrow) we used the mainsail on the opposite side to the foresails to make progress on the downwind sections of the course. In the event we just held Cork off for a good confidence building win. After lunch we had a second practice race but found ourselves sandwiched between Cork and CV9 at the start line which really messed us up and we started around the middle of the pack. Chasing the fleet was pretty exciting and as we sailed away on opposite tacks and then converged a few minutes later it was difficult to judge how much ground we were making. Eventually we fell into a comfortable third place behind Hull and Humber and Cork but the timing of the tacks proved crucial and helped us overtake Hull and Humber about a mile from the finish line. Cork looked clear winners until the last few seconds when we took advantage of their last tack and both approached the finish line on opposite tacks. It looked for a moment that we would actually meet each other a few feet short of the finish line but in the end Cork sailed past our bow to secure first place by seconds. Close enough for both crews to applaud each others efforts!
Saturday night we moored off the Isle of Wight and took a water taxi in to savour the hustle and bustle of Cowes week. Sunday morning presented us with clear skies and light winds so we opted for the big Yankee 1 on the foredeck. As the fleet assembled for the main race of the weekend it was interesting to see that others had opted for the slightly smaller Yankee 2 which presumably indicated they expected the winds to pick up toward the Needles. The start was not quite so exciting – mainly because there was some confusion as to where the start line actually was! In the end we got away in the front half of the pack but a long way behind Qingdao and CV9 who got flying starts. Our route attempted to take advantage of the tides and most of the other boats had similar ideas so we crossed and weaved as we tacked our way down to the needles creeping from 5th to 4th to 3rd and eventually 2nd place as we rounded to the Southern side of the Island. At this point it was a straight race between us and Cork for the lead and could be decided by who raised their spinnaker first. It has to be said that it wasn’t our fastest spinnaker hoist. In fact we were convinced that Cork would take advantage of the situation but suddenly their spinnaker fell into the water and we sailed away neck and neck with Clipper Edinburgh. Hull and Humber and Cork were in 3rd and 4th place respectively. Once again sail choice was proving interesting and we appeared to be one of the few boats in view that had gone for the middleweight spinnaker. This meant the fleet was making ground on us at the start of the spinnaker run but once we gybed we had the advantage. Then Hull and Humber executed an excellent gybe off Bembridge Ledge and made good ground on us. At the final turn we dropped the spinnaker and raised the yankee again for a straight run back to the finish. With Hull and Humber only about 4 lengths behind, the 15 minute run seemed a lot longer and it needed special effort on the sail trim to hold them off and secure a thoroughly deserved win.
July 3rd 2009: Part C Training (3 of 3)
Early on Saturday morning we did get the spinnaker on deck but we never actually hoisted it. Thick fog descended on an almost calm sea and we were forced to motor gingerly along whilst watching the radar below for other vessels. This is not an option in the race itself but proved a good tactic on the day as a tanker appeared from nowhere and crossed our bow seemingly oblivious to our presence. We took the opportunity to run a couple of safety drills including dealing with a casualty on deck (although we had the real thing to deal with the previous day). We had also planned to pair up with another Clipper boat over the weekend to transfer fuel but to our surprise, as we were dealing with our volunteer 'casualty' a catamaran mysteriously emerged from the fog and asked if we could spare any diesel! So two drills actually became real exercises! We continued to motor from Portland back to Gosport but as the fog cleared we returned to sailing with a poled out head sail and then two good spinnaker runs to finish off the day.
Sunday proved another frustrating day weather wise but very productive from a drills point of view. We linked up with the Aussies on CV10 and did our crew transfer exchanging provisions - although I think we came off worse with the receipt of some very dodgy rock cakes! Then we assumed the position of an immobile vessel and accepted their tow for a short while. We also put up the spinnaker pole and everyone had a chance to climb up the to simulate the action required of the bowman at sea to release the spinnaker. With no sign of wind developing we returned to Gosport for a deep clean of the boat leaving Monday morning for one last attempt at a spinnaker hoist. It was a wise decision as we got some good winds and a great run back from Selsey Bill to Gosport including a couple of gybes.
Early on Saturday morning we did get the spinnaker on deck but we never actually hoisted it. Thick fog descended on an almost calm sea and we were forced to motor gingerly along whilst watching the radar below for other vessels. This is not an option in the race itself but proved a good tactic on the day as a tanker appeared from nowhere and crossed our bow seemingly oblivious to our presence. We took the opportunity to run a couple of safety drills including dealing with a casualty on deck (although we had the real thing to deal with the previous day). We had also planned to pair up with another Clipper boat over the weekend to transfer fuel but to our surprise, as we were dealing with our volunteer 'casualty' a catamaran mysteriously emerged from the fog and asked if we could spare any diesel! So two drills actually became real exercises! We continued to motor from Portland back to Gosport but as the fog cleared we returned to sailing with a poled out head sail and then two good spinnaker runs to finish off the day.
Sunday proved another frustrating day weather wise but very productive from a drills point of view. We linked up with the Aussies on CV10 and did our crew transfer exchanging provisions - although I think we came off worse with the receipt of some very dodgy rock cakes! Then we assumed the position of an immobile vessel and accepted their tow for a short while. We also put up the spinnaker pole and everyone had a chance to climb up the to simulate the action required of the bowman at sea to release the spinnaker. With no sign of wind developing we returned to Gosport for a deep clean of the boat leaving Monday morning for one last attempt at a spinnaker hoist. It was a wise decision as we got some good winds and a great run back from Selsey Bill to Gosport including a couple of gybes.
July 1st 2009: Part C Pit Stop (Part 2 of 3)
The mood was sombre as we crawled out of our bunks on Friday morning. Frustrations were running pretty high; not just because we had retired from the race but the problems with the rudder had been in addition to the port primary winch jamming for no apparent reason. Maybe it was as much about the light winds as the mechanical failures, but we were not happy, even though we knew that such failures can happen at any time. It is the nature of ocean racing that crews are largely responsible for keeping the boat moving. The response from Clipper was crucial and to be fair to them they did deliver - and quickly. James Allen arrived with breakfast for the crew with promises to get us sailing again and he was followed by Race Director Jonathan Bailey and Sir Robin Knox Johnston himself who took a good deal of time to listen to our concerns and reassure us that things would be sorted. Within the hour, we had evaluated and discarded the option of taking out one the 60 foot training vessels. Instead we spent the morning working on the winches and getting the barrel of the offending winch re-ground.
By early afternoon we had motored the vessel around to the Endeavour boat yard in Gosport where CV5 was lifted out of the water and the offending rudder bearings were replaced whilst we took the opportunity to give the hull a good clean. An hour later we were back in the water although this time without our 'powerhouse' Colin who unfortunately fell on deck and had to leave the boat for X-rays at the local hospital.
The plan now was to sail through the night and rendezvous with the rest of the fleet near Portland so that we could take our place in the next race due to start on Saturday afternoon. We took our time through the Solent and everyone took their turn climbing the mast for the first time on a moving vessel, carrying out rig checks where possible. It was the highlight of an otherwise very frustrating day. As night fell we soon settled into a watch system although most of us only got about three hours sleep. We awoke just a few miles off the Casquettes traffic separation scheme north of Cherbourg and turned back toward Portland in the hope of a flying the kite and getting a bit of speed up. In the event, the weather was set to provide further frustrations for a tired crew.
The mood was sombre as we crawled out of our bunks on Friday morning. Frustrations were running pretty high; not just because we had retired from the race but the problems with the rudder had been in addition to the port primary winch jamming for no apparent reason. Maybe it was as much about the light winds as the mechanical failures, but we were not happy, even though we knew that such failures can happen at any time. It is the nature of ocean racing that crews are largely responsible for keeping the boat moving. The response from Clipper was crucial and to be fair to them they did deliver - and quickly. James Allen arrived with breakfast for the crew with promises to get us sailing again and he was followed by Race Director Jonathan Bailey and Sir Robin Knox Johnston himself who took a good deal of time to listen to our concerns and reassure us that things would be sorted. Within the hour, we had evaluated and discarded the option of taking out one the 60 foot training vessels. Instead we spent the morning working on the winches and getting the barrel of the offending winch re-ground.
By early afternoon we had motored the vessel around to the Endeavour boat yard in Gosport where CV5 was lifted out of the water and the offending rudder bearings were replaced whilst we took the opportunity to give the hull a good clean. An hour later we were back in the water although this time without our 'powerhouse' Colin who unfortunately fell on deck and had to leave the boat for X-rays at the local hospital.
The plan now was to sail through the night and rendezvous with the rest of the fleet near Portland so that we could take our place in the next race due to start on Saturday afternoon. We took our time through the Solent and everyone took their turn climbing the mast for the first time on a moving vessel, carrying out rig checks where possible. It was the highlight of an otherwise very frustrating day. As night fell we soon settled into a watch system although most of us only got about three hours sleep. We awoke just a few miles off the Casquettes traffic separation scheme north of Cherbourg and turned back toward Portland in the hope of a flying the kite and getting a bit of speed up. In the event, the weather was set to provide further frustrations for a tired crew.
June 30th 2009: Part C Training Report (1 of 3)
It seemed so long since I had been on the boat that I arrived at Gosport with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. This was the first opportunity to sail with my new skipper and crew and I really did not know what to expect. My personal objectives were clear but what would others expect of me? In the event, we were all pretty much in the same position and just raring to go. I met up again with John Beattie, Alison Chabernaud and Mark Varney. I was also sailing for the first time with Rebecca Marks, John Evans, Rachel Gibbs, Andreas Sailler, Colin Keevil, Chris King and skipper Eero Lehtinen.
Our plans to head down toward Lands End were thwarted pretty early on by some frustratingly light winds and we ended up with a couple of day sails on Tuesday and Wednesday practising tacks, gybes, racing sail changes and Le Mans racing starts. The inevitable 'man overboard' drill kept us on our toes. Both days involved around 12 hours of sailing although I was 'mother' on the second day so I missed a bit of the sailing but still managed to get involved with the storm jib (a strange sight in calm conditions!) and the poled out headsail. Thursday saw everything crank up as the whole fleet of ten clipper boats assembled close to the Mary Rose memorial buoy for the start of a 36 hour race via Brighton, Le Havre, Cherbourg and finally to Portland.
With two practice starts under our belt we passed the start line around 4th and made 3rd by the first marker. It was an incredibly exciting start with Eero allowing me to take the helm and boats converging very quickly. But he led me to a position where I could hold my course and the others had to stand down and bear off. All sounds easy but when you have 35 tonne of boat coming down on you from three different directions, you have to hold your nerve a bit. No one was taking the race too seriously (really?) and with most boats heading for deep water as we left the Solent, we clung to shallower coastal waters to propel ourselves past Cork into first place. We were now hurtling along past Brighton and on our way to Le Havre when our rudder started playing up and it was clear we could not continue. There were many good wishes from the rest of the fleet as we headed back to Gosport arriving around 3am on Friday morning.
It seemed so long since I had been on the boat that I arrived at Gosport with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. This was the first opportunity to sail with my new skipper and crew and I really did not know what to expect. My personal objectives were clear but what would others expect of me? In the event, we were all pretty much in the same position and just raring to go. I met up again with John Beattie, Alison Chabernaud and Mark Varney. I was also sailing for the first time with Rebecca Marks, John Evans, Rachel Gibbs, Andreas Sailler, Colin Keevil, Chris King and skipper Eero Lehtinen.
Our plans to head down toward Lands End were thwarted pretty early on by some frustratingly light winds and we ended up with a couple of day sails on Tuesday and Wednesday practising tacks, gybes, racing sail changes and Le Mans racing starts. The inevitable 'man overboard' drill kept us on our toes. Both days involved around 12 hours of sailing although I was 'mother' on the second day so I missed a bit of the sailing but still managed to get involved with the storm jib (a strange sight in calm conditions!) and the poled out headsail. Thursday saw everything crank up as the whole fleet of ten clipper boats assembled close to the Mary Rose memorial buoy for the start of a 36 hour race via Brighton, Le Havre, Cherbourg and finally to Portland.
With two practice starts under our belt we passed the start line around 4th and made 3rd by the first marker. It was an incredibly exciting start with Eero allowing me to take the helm and boats converging very quickly. But he led me to a position where I could hold my course and the others had to stand down and bear off. All sounds easy but when you have 35 tonne of boat coming down on you from three different directions, you have to hold your nerve a bit. No one was taking the race too seriously (really?) and with most boats heading for deep water as we left the Solent, we clung to shallower coastal waters to propel ourselves past Cork into first place. We were now hurtling along past Brighton and on our way to Le Havre when our rudder started playing up and it was clear we could not continue. There were many good wishes from the rest of the fleet as we headed back to Gosport arriving around 3am on Friday morning.
June 21st 2009: Part C Training
Well, we've learnt how to be safe on the boat and we've learnt how to sail her. Tomorrow, I join CV5 and her crew of 10 for my penultimate training session before the start of the 09-10 race in September. This is where it starts getting real. Not only will the skipper be assessing our strengths and deciding in his own mind how we will best function as a team but we will be picking up new skills to use when we actually race against other yachts. The plan this week is to sail with most of the other Clipper yachts westward and get as far as we can beyond Lands End allowing ourselves a reasonable amount of time to fly back under spinnaker to arrive in Gosport next Sunday. There will be yet more exams to see just how much of it all has sunk in.
I'm really looking forward to this week, not just because I get to meet more members of the team and get to sail once again, but this week should give us some pretty special conditions. There appears to be no threat of storms lashing the south coast as has been the case with previous training weeks, so there is every chance that we will see some spinnaker work. Also, past Lands End we will, for the first time, experience the rolling swells of the ocean which simply could not be encountered in the English Channel during Part A & Part B. I still do not have an on board email account (but it will be there in time for the race) so how many blogs I can get in depends on how much time we spend in port. Very little I suspect! That being the case, I will provide a full summary of events next weekend.
Well, we've learnt how to be safe on the boat and we've learnt how to sail her. Tomorrow, I join CV5 and her crew of 10 for my penultimate training session before the start of the 09-10 race in September. This is where it starts getting real. Not only will the skipper be assessing our strengths and deciding in his own mind how we will best function as a team but we will be picking up new skills to use when we actually race against other yachts. The plan this week is to sail with most of the other Clipper yachts westward and get as far as we can beyond Lands End allowing ourselves a reasonable amount of time to fly back under spinnaker to arrive in Gosport next Sunday. There will be yet more exams to see just how much of it all has sunk in.
I'm really looking forward to this week, not just because I get to meet more members of the team and get to sail once again, but this week should give us some pretty special conditions. There appears to be no threat of storms lashing the south coast as has been the case with previous training weeks, so there is every chance that we will see some spinnaker work. Also, past Lands End we will, for the first time, experience the rolling swells of the ocean which simply could not be encountered in the English Channel during Part A & Part B. I still do not have an on board email account (but it will be there in time for the race) so how many blogs I can get in depends on how much time we spend in port. Very little I suspect! That being the case, I will provide a full summary of events next weekend.
May 16th 2009: The Highs and Lows of Training
As May draws to an end, we enter the final run in to the 09-10 race and the opportunity to train with our own team and develop race strategies. Over the last two years I have tried hard to remind myself that whilst the race is the ultimate goal the sheer enjoyment comes from all the new experiences I have encountered during training.
People often ask me what part of training I have enjoyed most and it has proved an extremely difficult question to answer. As a non sailor, every day of training has started with a mixture of excitement and apprehension but finished with a satisfying feeling of sheer exhaustion - often both mental and physical. Most people will tell you that their first stint on the helm or their first climb up the mast are memorable experiences and I would not disagree with that. But it will always be difficult to top that very first trip out of Portsmouth Harbour into the Solent.
As the skipper cut the engine I can remember bracing myself for the first ever experience of a boat heeling. To my total surprise it actually felt more natural than sailing upright. No sooner had we settled than the skipper called for the first sail change and several of us moved cautiously forward to assume the roles we had been briefed for. We lined up on the low rail to catch the sail as it fell. In the event it fell the wrong side of the rail and we had to use all our strength to pull it back in as a wave swept past completely filling my only pair of boots!. As we were making our way back, the boat bounced over a wave and two of us left the deck for a brief zero gravity experience. It was very brief but enough to put a smile on our faces that lasted most of the week.
To be honest there were few real low moments though sea sickness is something I could do without and that first change of watch in the middle of the night is unsettling, but you soon get used to it. Perhaps the minor lows are the schoolboy errors. Cutting yourself with a knife in the galley rather than looking for scissors (cuts take ages to heal at sea) or turning the wrong way to correct an error - only to make it worse. To be honest, though, you only learn by your mistakes and if we didn't make them, training would be a pretty pointless pursuit!
As May draws to an end, we enter the final run in to the 09-10 race and the opportunity to train with our own team and develop race strategies. Over the last two years I have tried hard to remind myself that whilst the race is the ultimate goal the sheer enjoyment comes from all the new experiences I have encountered during training.
People often ask me what part of training I have enjoyed most and it has proved an extremely difficult question to answer. As a non sailor, every day of training has started with a mixture of excitement and apprehension but finished with a satisfying feeling of sheer exhaustion - often both mental and physical. Most people will tell you that their first stint on the helm or their first climb up the mast are memorable experiences and I would not disagree with that. But it will always be difficult to top that very first trip out of Portsmouth Harbour into the Solent.
As the skipper cut the engine I can remember bracing myself for the first ever experience of a boat heeling. To my total surprise it actually felt more natural than sailing upright. No sooner had we settled than the skipper called for the first sail change and several of us moved cautiously forward to assume the roles we had been briefed for. We lined up on the low rail to catch the sail as it fell. In the event it fell the wrong side of the rail and we had to use all our strength to pull it back in as a wave swept past completely filling my only pair of boots!. As we were making our way back, the boat bounced over a wave and two of us left the deck for a brief zero gravity experience. It was very brief but enough to put a smile on our faces that lasted most of the week.
To be honest there were few real low moments though sea sickness is something I could do without and that first change of watch in the middle of the night is unsettling, but you soon get used to it. Perhaps the minor lows are the schoolboy errors. Cutting yourself with a knife in the galley rather than looking for scissors (cuts take ages to heal at sea) or turning the wrong way to correct an error - only to make it worse. To be honest, though, you only learn by your mistakes and if we didn't make them, training would be a pretty pointless pursuit!
March 21st 2009: Reflections on Navigation and Meteorology Course
I make no apology for the delay in posting my reflections on the recent Navigation and Meteorology course. Seven days in the classroom with lectures running sometimes from 8:30am to 6pm left me totally drained because it has been a long time since I was at school! In the event, I had planned for a week away in Cornwall this last week and boy, did I need the break!
The navigation course was really not that difficult - but it was complex. Plotting positions was not difficult; nor was plotting destinations. But after that we were required to analyse tides for departure and destination ports to make sure we had enough water to berth at each. Then we had to predict the effect of tide and wind on the boat to estimate or true position. Where necessary, we used graphs to calculate the true rate of tide within or outside of clearly defined ranges. Only when we had mastered that were we invited to predict the effect of tide and wind to calculate a true course to steer to get us to the desired destination. It all sounds quite simple when you write it down like that but with data available from a variety of sources, including charts, almanacs and pilot books, the scope for transposing data was considerable. But we all made it through the week and the knowledge (if practised!) will help enormously during the race where a single degree of error could make a difference of hundreds of miles over a single leg of the race.
As always, part of the fun was meeting up with other crew members and it was good to meet up again with Owen (far right) as well as (from right to left) Barry, our tutor John, Graham, Eloise, Simon (who was working on Durban throughout the week), Geoff and Alison (not forgetting Pat who was attending another party on the last night). A particular highlight of the week for me was meeting, albeit briefly, some of the Part A crew members from the USA and Oman - in particular Charles from San Francisco who I have been communicating regularly with over the last few months.
I make no apology for the delay in posting my reflections on the recent Navigation and Meteorology course. Seven days in the classroom with lectures running sometimes from 8:30am to 6pm left me totally drained because it has been a long time since I was at school! In the event, I had planned for a week away in Cornwall this last week and boy, did I need the break!
The navigation course was really not that difficult - but it was complex. Plotting positions was not difficult; nor was plotting destinations. But after that we were required to analyse tides for departure and destination ports to make sure we had enough water to berth at each. Then we had to predict the effect of tide and wind on the boat to estimate or true position. Where necessary, we used graphs to calculate the true rate of tide within or outside of clearly defined ranges. Only when we had mastered that were we invited to predict the effect of tide and wind to calculate a true course to steer to get us to the desired destination. It all sounds quite simple when you write it down like that but with data available from a variety of sources, including charts, almanacs and pilot books, the scope for transposing data was considerable. But we all made it through the week and the knowledge (if practised!) will help enormously during the race where a single degree of error could make a difference of hundreds of miles over a single leg of the race.
As always, part of the fun was meeting up with other crew members and it was good to meet up again with Owen (far right) as well as (from right to left) Barry, our tutor John, Graham, Eloise, Simon (who was working on Durban throughout the week), Geoff and Alison (not forgetting Pat who was attending another party on the last night). A particular highlight of the week for me was meeting, albeit briefly, some of the Part A crew members from the USA and Oman - in particular Charles from San Francisco who I have been communicating regularly with over the last few months.
January 28th 2009: B2 Training Part 2 of 2
Man overboard drills are carried out every day on Clipper - day and night and irrespective of weather and sea conditions. It's not that we expect anyone to go overboard, but we need to be sure that every crew member is confident in the various roles to ensure safe recovery under the worst possible scenario. Safety epitomises the Clipper approach to training and when you think that a casualty was successfully recovered in both the 05-06 race and the 07-08 race, the strategy is well justified. On Wednesday as we sailed towards Weymouth, we sought to ensure that every crew member experienced the different roles involved - pointing to the MOB, launching the Dan Buoy, dropping the sails, hitting the MOB button and starting the engine. Whilst all this is happening the helmsman is circling the casualty and the crew member designated to wear the harness is prepared for lowering over the side to recover the 'casualty' (in this case, Billy the fender).
On Thursday, in the safety of Weymouth Harbour, we decided to try the exercise again with a live casualty. Paul valiantly volunteered to rescue me from the icy water and we both donned immersion suits which kept us dry but not very warm. The whole crew worked hard to recover both casualty and rescuer and transfer us to the safety of the saloon. We discussed the exercise at length afterwards and concluded, by combining our experience of rescuing Billy in rough seas to a live casualty at Weymouth, that Glasgow's achievement of recovering their MOB in the Southern Oceans last year, was nothing short of heroic.
We left Weymouth and stopped at Poole Thursday night whilst yet another storm blew through. On Friday we enjoyed some spectacular seas sailing back to Gopsort and with wind speeds averaging 38 knots although the skipper later informed us that we touched gale force 9 at times. With a poled out headsail we took turns helming and under the instruction of First Mate Matt we were soon learning how to anticipate the next wave and enjoy some good surfing speeds. Neil took the honours on this day with a recorded high speed of 13.8 knots.
It was during this run back to Gosport that we experienced our first significant breakage. Not something you want to happen but looking back, it should prove valuable experience for the race itself. The winds had picked up and we had decided to put a reef in the main sail, reducing the area of sail exposed to the wind. To achieve this we headed up into the wind which took the power out of the main sail but caused the yankee to flap considerably. Normally this would not cause a problem because a reef takes about a minute to put in. On this occasion however, the sliders holding the sail jammed and the skipper had to climb the mast and try to free them. The constant flapping of the foresail eventually resulted in the steel hanks holding the sail to give way as if they were paper clips and the yankee fell less than gracefully into the sea. What was impressive was the how the whole crew rallied to recover the situation - and the damaged sail - enabling us to proceed safely to port.
Saturday was spent in much lighter winds around the Solent and gave us one last shot at the spinnaker although the fickle winds meant it did not last for long so apart from my mother watch duties, I spent a fair deal of time helping to repack the spinnaker. Saturday night saw us go for our customary last night meal (Landers in Gosport) and Sunday was spent deep cleaning the boat in readiness for the next course. Once again, a great week and confidence goes up just another couple of notches.
Man overboard drills are carried out every day on Clipper - day and night and irrespective of weather and sea conditions. It's not that we expect anyone to go overboard, but we need to be sure that every crew member is confident in the various roles to ensure safe recovery under the worst possible scenario. Safety epitomises the Clipper approach to training and when you think that a casualty was successfully recovered in both the 05-06 race and the 07-08 race, the strategy is well justified. On Wednesday as we sailed towards Weymouth, we sought to ensure that every crew member experienced the different roles involved - pointing to the MOB, launching the Dan Buoy, dropping the sails, hitting the MOB button and starting the engine. Whilst all this is happening the helmsman is circling the casualty and the crew member designated to wear the harness is prepared for lowering over the side to recover the 'casualty' (in this case, Billy the fender).
On Thursday, in the safety of Weymouth Harbour, we decided to try the exercise again with a live casualty. Paul valiantly volunteered to rescue me from the icy water and we both donned immersion suits which kept us dry but not very warm. The whole crew worked hard to recover both casualty and rescuer and transfer us to the safety of the saloon. We discussed the exercise at length afterwards and concluded, by combining our experience of rescuing Billy in rough seas to a live casualty at Weymouth, that Glasgow's achievement of recovering their MOB in the Southern Oceans last year, was nothing short of heroic.
We left Weymouth and stopped at Poole Thursday night whilst yet another storm blew through. On Friday we enjoyed some spectacular seas sailing back to Gopsort and with wind speeds averaging 38 knots although the skipper later informed us that we touched gale force 9 at times. With a poled out headsail we took turns helming and under the instruction of First Mate Matt we were soon learning how to anticipate the next wave and enjoy some good surfing speeds. Neil took the honours on this day with a recorded high speed of 13.8 knots.
It was during this run back to Gosport that we experienced our first significant breakage. Not something you want to happen but looking back, it should prove valuable experience for the race itself. The winds had picked up and we had decided to put a reef in the main sail, reducing the area of sail exposed to the wind. To achieve this we headed up into the wind which took the power out of the main sail but caused the yankee to flap considerably. Normally this would not cause a problem because a reef takes about a minute to put in. On this occasion however, the sliders holding the sail jammed and the skipper had to climb the mast and try to free them. The constant flapping of the foresail eventually resulted in the steel hanks holding the sail to give way as if they were paper clips and the yankee fell less than gracefully into the sea. What was impressive was the how the whole crew rallied to recover the situation - and the damaged sail - enabling us to proceed safely to port.
Saturday was spent in much lighter winds around the Solent and gave us one last shot at the spinnaker although the fickle winds meant it did not last for long so apart from my mother watch duties, I spent a fair deal of time helping to repack the spinnaker. Saturday night saw us go for our customary last night meal (Landers in Gosport) and Sunday was spent deep cleaning the boat in readiness for the next course. Once again, a great week and confidence goes up just another couple of notches.
January 26th 2009: B2 Training Part 1 of 2
It was blowing a hooley as I drove down to Gosport for my second stint on Part B training. It was a mixture of old and new friends as I was greeted on the pontoon by Skipper Ollie and Neil with whom I had sailed on my part A training last March. Once on the boat, I renewed my friendship with Paul, who I sailed with on Clipper Qingdao and John who I met at the boat show. Also on board were Will, Sally, Mike, Aleks and first mate Matt.
After the customary introductions in the Clarence Arms we retired for an early night. Monday was quite tough, mainly because it had been a while since my last training session but we prepped the boat and by lunchtime we were headed out into the Solent practising tacks, sail changes and man overboard (MOB) drills. The weather forecast was pretty much focused on high winds and low temperatures and I was (I think) well prepared with Icebreaker baselayers, ski gloves for helming, a selection of Buffs and a new sleeping bag. In the event they all proved their worth but my worst investment to date has probably been my fingerless sailing gloves. In conditions like this, they get wet in seconds and by holding the freezing water, they become a liability rather than an asset. Bare hands are much better working with lines - they soon harden up - but there is no getting away from the fact that in these relatively cold conditions, you soon lose feeling in your fingers. Particularly so when working on metal or above head height with the blood draining away.
Tuesday was another challenging day weather wise and we took the opportunity to round the Isle of Wight with a mixture of sail changes, configurations and MOB drills. We also tested out the spinnaker for the first time as we headed east on the southern side. This was my day on mother watch with Neil and we both survived well enough although the brie and cranberry rolls at lunch did force us both on deck briefly! By this time, I was well pleased with my cheap bivvy bag which kept the boat condensation out of my sleeping bag. Unfortunately, it did not breathe particularly well so I had to discard it by the third night. It just goes to show that you generally get what you pay for! In reality though, it will serve me well to keep the bag dry when I am not in it.
We moored at East Cowes on Wednesday night and Ollie recommended we get an early start in the morning and head west. An early start for me is anything before 9am so a 5am breakfast for a 5:30am sail was beyond my wildest fears. Still, we all made it on time and enjoyed a decent sunrise and some spectacular upwind sailing with the boat heeled hard over. It was great helming and mixed in with a few tacks, a poled out headsail and the now customary MOB drills. Make no mistake though; this was a very tough day and we were still sailing 77 miles and 14 hours later before we turned into Weymouth for the night, enjoying some excellent fish and chips and some 'local' pub entertainment..
Another early night was definately required. Strangely enough, we all slept soundly and totally unaware of the challenges that lay ahead of us.
It was blowing a hooley as I drove down to Gosport for my second stint on Part B training. It was a mixture of old and new friends as I was greeted on the pontoon by Skipper Ollie and Neil with whom I had sailed on my part A training last March. Once on the boat, I renewed my friendship with Paul, who I sailed with on Clipper Qingdao and John who I met at the boat show. Also on board were Will, Sally, Mike, Aleks and first mate Matt.
After the customary introductions in the Clarence Arms we retired for an early night. Monday was quite tough, mainly because it had been a while since my last training session but we prepped the boat and by lunchtime we were headed out into the Solent practising tacks, sail changes and man overboard (MOB) drills. The weather forecast was pretty much focused on high winds and low temperatures and I was (I think) well prepared with Icebreaker baselayers, ski gloves for helming, a selection of Buffs and a new sleeping bag. In the event they all proved their worth but my worst investment to date has probably been my fingerless sailing gloves. In conditions like this, they get wet in seconds and by holding the freezing water, they become a liability rather than an asset. Bare hands are much better working with lines - they soon harden up - but there is no getting away from the fact that in these relatively cold conditions, you soon lose feeling in your fingers. Particularly so when working on metal or above head height with the blood draining away.
Tuesday was another challenging day weather wise and we took the opportunity to round the Isle of Wight with a mixture of sail changes, configurations and MOB drills. We also tested out the spinnaker for the first time as we headed east on the southern side. This was my day on mother watch with Neil and we both survived well enough although the brie and cranberry rolls at lunch did force us both on deck briefly! By this time, I was well pleased with my cheap bivvy bag which kept the boat condensation out of my sleeping bag. Unfortunately, it did not breathe particularly well so I had to discard it by the third night. It just goes to show that you generally get what you pay for! In reality though, it will serve me well to keep the bag dry when I am not in it.
We moored at East Cowes on Wednesday night and Ollie recommended we get an early start in the morning and head west. An early start for me is anything before 9am so a 5am breakfast for a 5:30am sail was beyond my wildest fears. Still, we all made it on time and enjoyed a decent sunrise and some spectacular upwind sailing with the boat heeled hard over. It was great helming and mixed in with a few tacks, a poled out headsail and the now customary MOB drills. Make no mistake though; this was a very tough day and we were still sailing 77 miles and 14 hours later before we turned into Weymouth for the night, enjoying some excellent fish and chips and some 'local' pub entertainment..
Another early night was definately required. Strangely enough, we all slept soundly and totally unaware of the challenges that lay ahead of us.
January 17th 2009: First Crew Briefing
120 crew members assembled at the London Boat Show today to get their first briefing from Clipper Ventures. Race Director Jonathan Bailey led the briefing ably assisted by Race Secretary Lizzie Nicholas and many others. We received all the updates that were known on race sponsors, route, stopovers and equipment. We hope over the next few weeks to be able to share some of this news with you. What is known is that there will be a full fleet of 10 racing yachts taking part, that 75% of the crew allocation has now been completed and that there are only 3 or 4 round the world slots still to be allocated.
The boat show itself was huge and there were hundreds of trade stands including clothing sponsor Henri Lloyd who gave us a very entertaining presentation on the gear being provided! They were not able to compete with Southampton in terms of the craft on display which is not surprising given the location so a good deal of time was spent meeting up with fellow crew and crew members from earlier races. It was great to meet up again with people I had met through various training courses and delivery trips - even for the briefest of moments. The highlight for me was to meet a crew member from Clipper London in the 2000 race and to re-unite with Hagan who I shared the delivery trip with from Liverpool to Gosport. Hagan had come over from Austria specifically for the reunion and to share his knowledge and experience with Clipper 09-10 crew.
120 crew members assembled at the London Boat Show today to get their first briefing from Clipper Ventures. Race Director Jonathan Bailey led the briefing ably assisted by Race Secretary Lizzie Nicholas and many others. We received all the updates that were known on race sponsors, route, stopovers and equipment. We hope over the next few weeks to be able to share some of this news with you. What is known is that there will be a full fleet of 10 racing yachts taking part, that 75% of the crew allocation has now been completed and that there are only 3 or 4 round the world slots still to be allocated.
The boat show itself was huge and there were hundreds of trade stands including clothing sponsor Henri Lloyd who gave us a very entertaining presentation on the gear being provided! They were not able to compete with Southampton in terms of the craft on display which is not surprising given the location so a good deal of time was spent meeting up with fellow crew and crew members from earlier races. It was great to meet up again with people I had met through various training courses and delivery trips - even for the briefest of moments. The highlight for me was to meet a crew member from Clipper London in the 2000 race and to re-unite with Hagan who I shared the delivery trip with from Liverpool to Gosport. Hagan had come over from Austria specifically for the reunion and to share his knowledge and experience with Clipper 09-10 crew.
January 6th 2009: On the 12th Day of Christmas...
...my skipper said to me, get below and make some tea, I've had enough of your stories!
Our final guest website comes from fellow crew member Elisa Jenkins who lives in Nova Scotia. Her wesite can be found at http://capebretonclipper.net/.
Elisa Jenkins, who is a qualified physiotherapist and lives in Westmount, Nova Scotia, is sailing in Leg 1 of the Clipper Round the World Race 09-10. She hopes to commit herself to further legs as and when funds permit. Competing in the Clipper Round the World Race is a tremendous challenge, not just raising the finances but the physical and mental preparation and Elisa's determination epitomises the commitment and dedication of many crew members. Elisa started sailing at University and has over 5 years experience of ocean sailing including a trip from Hobart to Sydney across the infamous Bass Strait. When the 07-08 race stopped in Nova Scotia last June, she was so inspired by the challenge that she signed up there and then. Since then she has completed her Part A & B training and will be returning to the UK next August for Part C.
...my skipper said to me, get below and make some tea, I've had enough of your stories!
Our final guest website comes from fellow crew member Elisa Jenkins who lives in Nova Scotia. Her wesite can be found at http://capebretonclipper.net/.
Elisa Jenkins, who is a qualified physiotherapist and lives in Westmount, Nova Scotia, is sailing in Leg 1 of the Clipper Round the World Race 09-10. She hopes to commit herself to further legs as and when funds permit. Competing in the Clipper Round the World Race is a tremendous challenge, not just raising the finances but the physical and mental preparation and Elisa's determination epitomises the commitment and dedication of many crew members. Elisa started sailing at University and has over 5 years experience of ocean sailing including a trip from Hobart to Sydney across the infamous Bass Strait. When the 07-08 race stopped in Nova Scotia last June, she was so inspired by the challenge that she signed up there and then. Since then she has completed her Part A & B training and will be returning to the UK next August for Part C.
January 5th 2009: On the 11th Day of Christmas...
...my skipper told me the race countdown has started on www.clipperroundtheworld.com who have this week relaunched their website to focus on the 09-10 race. Between now and May, the website will provide an ever increasing amount of information about the race and the proposed route. From May, when the teams are announced, there will be even more detail on boats, skippers and crew. Finally, from September you can follow the fleet as they race around the world using Clipper's unique and exclusive race viewer.
...my skipper told me the race countdown has started on www.clipperroundtheworld.com who have this week relaunched their website to focus on the 09-10 race. Between now and May, the website will provide an ever increasing amount of information about the race and the proposed route. From May, when the teams are announced, there will be even more detail on boats, skippers and crew. Finally, from September you can follow the fleet as they race around the world using Clipper's unique and exclusive race viewer.
January 4th 2009: On the 10th Day of Christmas...
,,,my skipper said to me, 27 countries were represented in the 07-08 race including Brunei, Pakistan and Costa Rica. So today we cross the pond to look at the first of two North American crew member websites. Shana Bagley's website can be found at http://www.sailcharisma.com/
Shana is a Deputy Attorney General living in Walnut Creek, California. To say she is keen on sports would be an understatement as her CV includes half marathons, rugby, highland games (national finalist), strongwoman state champion and Bavarian Curling (Eisstock) at World Championship Level. Her love for sailing comes as part of her heritage; her Great Grandfather was a Barque ship captain who sailed from Genoa to San Francisco at the end of the 19th century to settle in California. Shana married a keen sailor and it was Bob that introduced her to ocean sailing. Over the last three years they sailed to the British Virgin Islands, the Grenadines and Hawaii and she now sails regularly in the bay on board the family boat, Charisma (Tayana 37) or racing out of the San Francisco Yacht Club on Elusive (Olsen 911).
Shana and Bob plan to sail the South Pacific together but since Bob has been sailing since he was 14, she thought she that maybe she had some catching up to do. Entering the Clipper Round the World Race is sure to do that and, like so many crew members, the race is starting to take over her life. Having originally signed up for Leg 1 (Hull to Brazil) she is now also committed to Leg 7 returning to Hull and would definately do the whole race if she got the chance.
,,,my skipper said to me, 27 countries were represented in the 07-08 race including Brunei, Pakistan and Costa Rica. So today we cross the pond to look at the first of two North American crew member websites. Shana Bagley's website can be found at http://www.sailcharisma.com/
Shana is a Deputy Attorney General living in Walnut Creek, California. To say she is keen on sports would be an understatement as her CV includes half marathons, rugby, highland games (national finalist), strongwoman state champion and Bavarian Curling (Eisstock) at World Championship Level. Her love for sailing comes as part of her heritage; her Great Grandfather was a Barque ship captain who sailed from Genoa to San Francisco at the end of the 19th century to settle in California. Shana married a keen sailor and it was Bob that introduced her to ocean sailing. Over the last three years they sailed to the British Virgin Islands, the Grenadines and Hawaii and she now sails regularly in the bay on board the family boat, Charisma (Tayana 37) or racing out of the San Francisco Yacht Club on Elusive (Olsen 911).
Shana and Bob plan to sail the South Pacific together but since Bob has been sailing since he was 14, she thought she that maybe she had some catching up to do. Entering the Clipper Round the World Race is sure to do that and, like so many crew members, the race is starting to take over her life. Having originally signed up for Leg 1 (Hull to Brazil) she is now also committed to Leg 7 returning to Hull and would definately do the whole race if she got the chance.
January 3rd 2009: On the 9th Day of Christmas...
...my skipper said to me, Wow, what an amazing story. The story is true. It comes courtesy of todays guest website and my nominated charity, the Rainbow Centre for Conductive Education.
The story concerns Summer Jones who was referred to Rainbow at eighteen months of age. At that time, hemiplegic cerebral palsy left her unable to co-ordinate one side of her body with the other and prevented her from walking or even crawling. She was a very frustrated little girl whose only mobility came from sliding around on her right hip and elbow. Her parents had feared that she may never walk and without the help from Rainbow she would almost certainly have been confined to a wheelchair. Within weeks of arriving at the Rainbow Centre she was taking her first tentative steps and now, fifteen months later, she is running around like any three year old and clearly enjoying a very fulfilling life. The best Christmas present her parents could have wished for was to watch her opening her own Christmas presents.
Summer's progress is the direct result of conductive education. This is an educational system that has been specifically developed for children and adults who have motor disorders of neurological origin. It is based on the premise that a person who has a motor disorder does not only have a medical condition requiring treatment, but very importantly a problem in learning that requires education. During the past two decades, Conductive Education, increasingly known simply by its initials, CE, has emerged as a potent and dynamic force that benefits children and adults who have difficulties in controlling their movements (motor disorders).
All donations received through Justgiving, are passed on the the Rainbow Centre at Fareham. Since this website was launched in October 2007, we have raised nearly £3,000 toward our target of £10,000.
...my skipper said to me, Wow, what an amazing story. The story is true. It comes courtesy of todays guest website and my nominated charity, the Rainbow Centre for Conductive Education.
The story concerns Summer Jones who was referred to Rainbow at eighteen months of age. At that time, hemiplegic cerebral palsy left her unable to co-ordinate one side of her body with the other and prevented her from walking or even crawling. She was a very frustrated little girl whose only mobility came from sliding around on her right hip and elbow. Her parents had feared that she may never walk and without the help from Rainbow she would almost certainly have been confined to a wheelchair. Within weeks of arriving at the Rainbow Centre she was taking her first tentative steps and now, fifteen months later, she is running around like any three year old and clearly enjoying a very fulfilling life. The best Christmas present her parents could have wished for was to watch her opening her own Christmas presents.
Summer's progress is the direct result of conductive education. This is an educational system that has been specifically developed for children and adults who have motor disorders of neurological origin. It is based on the premise that a person who has a motor disorder does not only have a medical condition requiring treatment, but very importantly a problem in learning that requires education. During the past two decades, Conductive Education, increasingly known simply by its initials, CE, has emerged as a potent and dynamic force that benefits children and adults who have difficulties in controlling their movements (motor disorders).
All donations received through Justgiving, are passed on the the Rainbow Centre at Fareham. Since this website was launched in October 2007, we have raised nearly £3,000 toward our target of £10,000.
January 2nd 2009: On the 8th Day of Christmas...
...my skipper said to me, it's time to think about getting your jabs programmed in ahead of the race. Todays website comes courtesy of fellow crew member Lois Bickerton and can be found at http://www.ocean2ocean.co.uk/.
I briefly met Lois at the inaugural Clipper Crew party in Liverpool last July and we have been following each others progress ever since. Lois lives in Dorset where I spent 12 happy years myself. Like me she has always been keen on watersports but despite living next to some of the UK’s best sailing waters, neither of us ever learnt to sail. My passion was diving whilst Lois could be regularly found windsurfing in Portland Harbour.
Lois is a physiotherapist by profession and is committed to Leg 1 of the Round the World Race which leaves Hull on September 13th. Her ambition though is to complete the full circumnavigation and is organising a number of exciting fund raising to help achieve her ambition and to raise funds for her nominated charity, Pan Atlantic which is dedicated to raising the profile of conservation through sporting endeavour.
...my skipper said to me, it's time to think about getting your jabs programmed in ahead of the race. Todays website comes courtesy of fellow crew member Lois Bickerton and can be found at http://www.ocean2ocean.co.uk/.
I briefly met Lois at the inaugural Clipper Crew party in Liverpool last July and we have been following each others progress ever since. Lois lives in Dorset where I spent 12 happy years myself. Like me she has always been keen on watersports but despite living next to some of the UK’s best sailing waters, neither of us ever learnt to sail. My passion was diving whilst Lois could be regularly found windsurfing in Portland Harbour.
Lois is a physiotherapist by profession and is committed to Leg 1 of the Round the World Race which leaves Hull on September 13th. Her ambition though is to complete the full circumnavigation and is organising a number of exciting fund raising to help achieve her ambition and to raise funds for her nominated charity, Pan Atlantic which is dedicated to raising the profile of conservation through sporting endeavour.
January 1st 2009: On the 7th Day of Christmas...
...my skipper said to me, this is a BIG year for Clipper Crews. Todays website comes from my race partner the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation at www.irrv.org.uk. You can also read the clipper articles that have been published in their journal by downloading them from the Management Articles page of Meridian360.
When I joined the IRRV as a new entrant to local government, the Institute was mainly concerned with the valuation and collection of general rates. Since the abolition of domestic rates, community charge and council tax has seen a greater reliance on welfare benefits and a greater opportunity for fraud. The Institute has kept pace with these changes well by influencing Government thinking on the subject and supporting the many professionals employed to administer the various functions. The Institute additionally supports a vast range of professionals who deal with the valuation of commercial properties and who administer the complex appeals systems associated with non Domestic Rating and Council Tax banding. Their national conferences are now supported by gala awards ceremonies that recognise excellence in service delivery and international symposiums that ensure there is a global approach to improved customer care.
...my skipper said to me, this is a BIG year for Clipper Crews. Todays website comes from my race partner the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation at www.irrv.org.uk. You can also read the clipper articles that have been published in their journal by downloading them from the Management Articles page of Meridian360.
When I joined the IRRV as a new entrant to local government, the Institute was mainly concerned with the valuation and collection of general rates. Since the abolition of domestic rates, community charge and council tax has seen a greater reliance on welfare benefits and a greater opportunity for fraud. The Institute has kept pace with these changes well by influencing Government thinking on the subject and supporting the many professionals employed to administer the various functions. The Institute additionally supports a vast range of professionals who deal with the valuation of commercial properties and who administer the complex appeals systems associated with non Domestic Rating and Council Tax banding. Their national conferences are now supported by gala awards ceremonies that recognise excellence in service delivery and international symposiums that ensure there is a global approach to improved customer care.