Hurrah! A week, countless bruises and much hilarity later, I am officially a Clipper Race Level 1 qualified sailor with a RYA Competent Crew certificate to boot!
This is the first of two blogs looking at the various aspects of training, and will focus on my top tips for future crew about to embark on their training, as well as taking a good look at kit. Part Two covers the (many) skills we mastered and my list of Things That Are Good To Know.
My Top Tips
- Try to learn the vocab before you get to Level 1 - even just knowing the difference between port and starboard will help you focus on the practical skills and not get all tangled up in learning a new language. You can print out my vocab flashcards for free here.
- Practice your bowlines backwards, forwards, blindfold and upside down. They are easily the most commonly used knots on board the Clipper yachts and are often tied in a 'pressure bowline' situation with everyone watching you.
- For those who are thinking about going gloveless - stop moisturising your hands at least three weeks before you set sail. Your hands will be battered and bashed constantly by wind, salt, seawater, heavy ropes, lifting sails, climbing the mast, operating corroded hanks...you name the task, your hands will bear the brunt of it and the softer they are, the harder it'll be on you.
- Take Factor 50 suncream and remember to wear it! Even if you aren't usually susceptible to burning, the combination of sunshine (if you're lucky) and light reflection off the sails and sea will render Factor 30 practically useless. Don't forget to apply to the backs of your hands if you're going gloveless!
- Use a high SPF lip salve religiously. Between the wind, salt and light glare, your lips will feel like you've been grating them. If salve doesn't help, try a little bit of Savlon to encourage healing.
- Knee pads will help save your knees from the worst of the abuse you're going to put them through by learning to sail with Clipper. I didn't take any, but will definitely taking some for Level 2 and I know at least 3 of my training crewmates will be as well. Especially important if you suffer from sore, stiff or generally painful knees.
Kit
Starting to think about packing for Clipper training can be pretty intimidating. Here are some essential things to think about when pulling together your kit:
- How warm is your sleeping bag? Is it 4 season? If not, why not? Getting a good night's sleep, even when you're absolutely physically and mentally exhausted, is really hard if you're cold. If you don't have a good sleeping bag already, it's definitely worth investing in one now. You don't have to go all out and get an Ocean Sleepwear, any good quality 4 season will do (hint: go for synthetic fill as it dries faster in case your bag gets wet (which, let's face it, it probably will)).
- Do you really need to buy new gear for training? Do you hike or camp? If so, you probably already have a lot of the kit you need anyway - most of my gear has been repurposed from my thru-hiking and camping kit and worked just as well as some of the expensive sailing-specific gear my crewmates had on.
- If you like dry feet, it is probably worth getting a pair of sailing boots for training. They don't have to be crazy expensive - as long as they keep the water out your quality of life will be improved by 100%. I bought a £45 pair of Gill Marine Tall Yachting Boots and loved them (full review to follow).
- When choosing a head torch, it's worth making sure you go for one with a separate button for the red light. Having to cycle through the white lights will blind everyone around you which, let's face it, probably isn't going to go down too well when they're coming on watch at 3.30am, can't see where they're going, and they fall over an ankle breaker.
For those who're interested, here's a complete list of the kit that I took, and what brand key items are:
- Large rucksack
- Sleeping bag (5 season down, Field & Trek)
- *Bivvy bag (Quechua)
- Cotton sleeping bag liner (Mountain Warehouse)
- Clothes
- 1 x long sleeve merino base layer (Orvis)
- 2 x legging base layers (M&S)
- 2 x mid layer trousers (Mountain Warehouse)
- 1 x fleece mid layer (Mountain Warehouse)
- 1 x waterproof shell jacket (Mountain Warehouse)
- Pyjamas x 1 set
- Underwear
- Thick dual layer hiking socks (Mountain Warehouse) x 3 pairs
- Thin cotton socks x 2 pairs
- Wooly hat
- Neck buff
- Gloves
- *Sailing boots (Gill Marine Tall Yachting Boots - review)
- *Deck shoes (Musto Dynamic Deck Shoes - review)
- *Head torch (Geonaute Onnight 200+ Headlamp)
- Multitool (Mountain Warehouse)
- Laundry bag
- Glasses retainer
- Toiletries
- Personal toiletries & medicine
- Spare glasses
- Quick drying travel towel (Mountain Warehouse)
- Suncream
- Lip salve
- Flashcards of key terms
- Crew treats (Magic Stars, chocolate raisins, Skittles)
Impressively (I think), I only took four items that I didn't use:
- Sleeping bag liner - my sleeping bag is so warm and cosy (especially with a bivvy bag covering it) that the liner was more of a tangled annoyance than a help and was quickly abandoned after the first night
- Gloves - this was a personal choice as I felt I could handle the lines and sheets better without gloves, almost everyone else wore them
- Multitool - I think this was due to chance of circumstance, as I did use a crewmates during the deep clean as it was closer to hand
- Glasses retainer - the weather was very calm so I didn't feel the need to use this
Thinking forward to training for Level 2 and beyond, there isn't much kit that I think I need to add. I'll definitely be getting another merino base layer top as I really appreciated how (relatively) fresh smelling it stayed after a week of some pretty heavy wear, and it kept me toasty warm when everyone else started to pile on their mid-layers and foulies. In a similar vein, I'll be trading in my M&S synthetic leggings for merino leggings for longer lasting freshness and cosiness. I'll also definitely need to take more stuff bags for separating out my kit into easily grabbable piles. Hot tip - I laid out my clothes for the next day each night before bed and wrapped them in my waterproof shell jacket so that I could quickly grab them when I woke up without having to rummage around looking for a missing sock or fighting to find the other end of my leggings. Keeping your toothbrush and toothpaste close to hand is also pretty useful!
I might switch my cotton sleeping bag liner for a silk one for training in the summer months when my sleeping bag is too hot (although England being England, I'll probably only end up using it for one night...).
And that's all on kit from me for now - specific kit reviews of asterisked items will follow soon. Any questions, just ask in the comments section below!
Part Two on Things That Are Good To Know and what sailing skills we covered to follow soon!
