This is the second of two blogs talking about my Level 1 Clipper training, and looks at my highlights of the week, learning curves, and list of Things That Are Good To Know. For the super keen, I've also included the syllabus at the bottom as well. Part One covered Top Tips and Kit Chat.
We were pretty lucky with the weather - light airs for most of the week, but much better than Storm Katie which the guys after us had to deal with! Despite the sunburn and Force 0 wind for a few days, at least we managed to get out on the water every day. It did make taking the forecast pretty predictable though - "force zero, variable, smooth, fair..."
Massive thanks go out to my Skipper Paul Hopkins and First Mate Emily Caruso - these guys were incredible teachers and really made the whole week a fun experience and a great intro to sailing and Clipper. Emily dancing around to Danger Zone to warn of the dangers of the Cockpit Cautionary Zone will stay with me for a long time!
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| Skipper Paul |
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| First Mate Emily |
Highlights of the week
- Shaking out a reef - on my own! Crazy hard (really need to work on my core strength) and I thought I'd fall over at one point while grinding the main up, but a totally amazing experience that helped prove to me that I really can do this sailing malarky
- Cooking tasty porridge for 11 (so tasty in fact, that everyone had seconds, and one person even had thirds!)
- Clambering around the bow hanking on and off the Yankee sails like a monkey - definitely one of my favourite jobs on board
- Being watch leader for putting the boat to bed after our second day out on the water
- Making friends with such an amazing group of crewmates - the Wincanton Over-60s have nothing on us! (crew in-joke - it made sense on the boat!)
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| Photo of the week! |
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| Blue Steel |
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| Team Porridge |
Learning curves
- I'm definitely a fan of bow work - I felt totally at home in the pulpit
- Factor 30 is absolutely useless at sea
- Putting your hand up for everything may end up being hard work, but it is totally worth it as you often get first shot at trying new things (even if you don't realise that that thing is shaking out a reef on your own...)
- Even if you're fun sized and not super strong, you can still do everything on board if you take your time, use the tools around you and work with your crewmates
- I'm even more competitive then I realised!
- Land Sickness is a real thing and can last quite a while after getting back on dry land. Hint - avoid alcohol while recovering. However fun it is at the time, it'll just make it a hundred times worse the next day (especially if you're camping in the middle of Storm Katie)
- Clipper bunks are surprisingly comfortable and are way better than my camping mat
- Lightbulb moments may take a while (the running backstay for me was particularly tricky) but they do come eventually - just keep working at them
- New mainsails are very hard to flake
- I'm actually a competent sailor! Hurrah!
Good to know
- The most useful knots to practice in advance:
- Bowline - used for practically everything. Practice this upside down, back to front, blindfold, and most definitely tie it around things otherwise your brain will get confused when suddenly its perfect bowline routine is muddled by the massive sail attached to it!
- Round turn and two half hitches - useful for keeping your leecloth upright and securing open hatches
- Admiralty - stops lines and sheets running through jammers or through your hands too quickly!
- It's worth buying a RYA logbook to track your sailing time and miles - £5.84 from the Marina shop in Gosport with the Clipper Crew discount, and your Skipper will talk you through filling it out and signing it off for you at the end of your course
- Carry your wet notes with you at all times. They will become your bible. I cannot stress this enough
- You'll have to row a dinghy at some point in order to pass your RYA competent crew certificate. If your Skipper has you do this in pairs, try to pick someone roughly the same height so you're not leaning at strange angles trying to avoid capsizing while doing a handbrake turn with an oar
- Your last day will be the Deep Clean - if your crew is efficient and works hard, you can leave after lunch rather than at 4pm. Hint - blast the radio and provide plenty of sweet treats and you'll get through it faster and in good spirits
- You'll probably go to The Castle pub for a quick drink on your first night to get to know each other. The Castle is basically the Clipper local and you'll spend a lot of time here over the course of your training in Gosport. Likewise for The Anchor in Cowes
- It's traditional on Level 1 for the crew to take their Skipper and Mate out for dinner on the last night. Unless your Skipper/Mate really want to go somewhere else, you'll likely be going to the 'Clipper Clubhouse' that is Hardy's (http://www.hardys-catering.co.uk/) - great food, but a little pricey so if you're not planning on going all out for three courses with wine, maybe have a word with your crewmates before you go so there's no awkwardness at the end of the night about splitting the bill 100% evenly when your portion is a fraction of the cost of everyone elses
- Last but not least, it's an AMAZING experience
Level 1 Syllabus
For the super keen/interested, here's a detailed outline of the Clipper Level 1 syllabus:
Day 1
- Introduction to Clipper and familiarisation to Gosport Marina and facilities
- Comprehensive down below safety brief
- To include detailed explanation of use of bunks and lee cloths
- Moving down below and use of grab rails
- Actions to be taken in event of fire, flooding and gas leak
- Knot practice
- Figure of eight
- Admiralty stopper knot
- Clove hitch
- Round turn and two half hitches
- Single and double sheet bend
- Reef knot
- Rolling hitch
- Bowline
Day 2
- Comprehensive above deck brief
- Action to be taken in the event of abandoning ship
- Set a Clipper Training Yacht for sailing
- On water training
- Hoisting Mainsail
- Hoisting Yankee
- Hoisting Staysail and use of running backstays
- Upwind helming and tacking
- Man overboard under power including recovery and use of harness
- Evening lecture
- Points of sail
- Rules of the road
Day 3
- Reefing Mainsail
- Racing headsail change (changing up to bigger sails only)
- Downwind sailing
- Use of preventers
- Gybing
- MOB downwind including recovery and use of harness
- Evening lectures
- Flares and their use
- SART
- VHF and Mayday call
- Basic meteorology including weather forecast, and how to read a synoptic chart
Day 4
- Refresh
- Reefing
- Headsail change (changin up to bigger sails only)
- Long triangular course
- Sail trim
- A flappy sail is an unhappy sail
- If in doubt let it out
- Use of tell tales by the helm and trimmers
- Introduction of car positioning to create twist/different headsails
- Interaction between traveller/vang/mainsheet/preventer
- MOB under sail with recovery
- Evening lectures
- Proper use of log book
- Plotting GPS position on to a chart
- Manners and customs (as per RYA competent crew syllabus)
Day 5 and 6
- Refresh and strengthen any weak areas of above syllabus
- Offshore challenge
- Overnight passage to include an early morning arrival at anchor
- Introduction to the watch system
- Preparing the anchor to drop
- Dropping and setting the anchor
- Importance of anchor watch
- Safe recovery and stowage of anchor
- Storm sail drill
- Emergency steering drill
- Rig climb (if conditions allow, at anchor or alongside)
- Use of dingy
- Evening meal
Day 7
- Deep clean
- Individual crew debriefs
Thanks to Fran Baker for being resident Pap on board and taking such great photos!
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