The final countdown: Delivery and final prep

What a crazy week! Straight from work to the boat and then straight out sailing the next morning - busy busy.

The delivery was a lot more relaxed than training, as we were in watches the whole time and not doing lots of drills just for the sake of it. Having said that, we sailed so quickly in the first St few days we would've been about 2 days early so we spent a lot of time pootling around Dublin bay and the Isle of Man running a couple of drills and working on our lines and improving our seamanship (I am now a queen of whipping (lines)!)

Some highlights:

- Dolphins playing on the bow and Roy trying to train them with a banana in his pj's

- Having Sunday pancakes with nutella (thanks David L!)

- Getting more confident in my knowledge and instincts, especially at night

Some low points:

- Getting seasick for two days and feeling so miserable I was thinking about quitting the whole thing and not sailing to Uruguay. Luckily when the seasickness faded my spirits lifted, which was definitely helped by some of my crewmates saying they'd had similar feelings themselves

- Trying to cook fish and chips in the terrible Clipper ovens - there just isn't enough room (or heat) for 19 portions!

Final prep in Liverpool has been pretty full on but a great experience. I think it'll pay off too - our seamanship is definitely up there, with our bilges being complemented as the best in the fleet by the maintenance guys, and our new Kemp Method for milking lines (patent pending ;-)) has given way more effective results than any of the other boats. Our dedication as a team is really high as well - we started the deep clean before 8am after partying late on arrival when the other boats didn't start for quite a while after us, and we've started earlier every day all week. The team is really gelling too which is great, and we had an awesome mass crew dinner last night with 40 of us and our friends and family.

A calm-ish day today and tomorrow with family before setting sail on Sunday - watch this space, as my next update will be from the boat!!

Diary of a Level 4 Clipper trainee

Thursday 13th -

Train down to Portsmouth straight from work. Revised like mad on the train (as usual) and a quick chat with Nigel S on the way to the Gosport ferry as it turns out he was on the same train!

Headed over to the marina to get my berth (Roy very kindly let me stay on the boat even though I hadn't been able to help with prep day) and bumped into some Team Roy crew camped outside the Castle! Went down to the boat to claim a bunk (engine topside again) and say hi to Roy before heading back to the Castle for a few drinks. Fish and chips on board the boat for dinner - yum!

Friday 14th -

An early start to make the most of having a shower, then a quick trip into town with Holly for a breakfast croissant and orange juice before collecting my shiny new foulies from New Stores (I definitely did not get my smock stuck on my glasses, and certainly did not need Peter's help getting free). More crew started to arrive, and we set the boat up ready to sail - me and Ben got the staysail hanked and rigged, the foredeck dream team! Remembered to get the sheets under the jackstays but forgot stopper knots, luckily Roy spotted that before we left. Doh! 1st day brain blip.

On deck brief for the week and safety overview before lunch (Trevor and Stian made sandwiches and pea soup). A quick final trip back into town for a hairbrush having left mine at home before slipping lines in formation with the rest of the fleet. We were last out so no-one was watching - a few crew's had trouble getting out of their tight berths.

Chilled afternoon tacking around and sailing to get a feel for the boat again. Anchored at Swanage Bay with Team Sanya ready for paired emergency drills tomorrow.

A rotten cold and a bashed knee (knelt on a butterfly screw on the coffee grinder on the exact spot of my L3 injury) meant I was excused from anchor watch and drugged myself up for the night. Spinach and potato curry for dinner - delicious.

Saturday 15th -

Good night's sleep but still feeling rotten with a very sore knee. I'm on Mother Watch with David G and made boiled eggs and toast for breakfast - tasty but very messy for the crew to eat!

Started the day with emergency steering practice. Weighed anchor and pootled around the bay around a series of buoys. I may be biased (!) but my steering team was definitely the best - we picked it up very quickly. Ship-to-ship transfers next and Andre sent over the heaving line for our first transfer (a bag of kitkats) and got it there spot on first time. They sent us some chocolate digestives back :-) Poor Bob/Ruth was sent over on the dinghy next, and I was the lucky volunteer who had to go the side over to get him back on board after his adventure. Typically the calm sea suddenly turned into a large wave just as I got into the dinghy with Bob, but managed to get him back okay. Towing drills next, then we headed our separate ways.

Fish finger sandwiches and soup for lunch (which I cooked while fishing Bob out of the dinghy!) but I didn't find all of them in the cool box so slightly short rations all round (oops). I had leftover egg from breakfast with some mayo - tasty.

MOB and more emergency drills in the afternoon before heading back to Swanage Bay to anchor for the night around 6. Chicken and chorizo jambalaya for dinner which was very well received by the crew and made up for the short lunch rations (phew). Must get the recipe for myself because the quorn version was tasty! Added leftover spinach which was delicious.

Still feeling rotten despite a drive of energy throughout the day (probably biscuit-fueled) so I got the 10pm anchor watch. Uneventful, although we drifted a little on our kedge so I woke Roy to check he was okay with the wind shift, which he was.

Sunday 16th -

Really good night's sleep and feeling a bit better in the morning - knee wasn't *quite * as sore either.

Disgusting salty porridge for breakfast which I didn't realise until after adding nutella and banana and taking a bite - blergh! Managed to eat the lot but not happy.

Our skipper-free navigation challenge (12 hours without his navigational input) so we split into watches to plan the passage (Starboard - my watch) and check tides and weather (Port). Weighed anchor and fell into watches at 10am. Starboard was off until 2pm so I headed to my bunk for a nap. Cheese toasties for lunch.

Spinnaker hoist as I came on watch, then spinnaker MOB a little after - our best one yet, Roy said it was textbook! Only about 4 minutes from alarm to recovery.

Pretty straightforward watch, we made great speed so ended a little time pacing the Isle of Wight. I volunteered to help for a little while to get some practice in, and somehow ended up helming the spinnaker hoist! Very nervous (I really hate helming) but apparently I'm actually pretty decent - who knew! Left the drop to Port watch just as we went off (hehe).

Monday 17th -

Nice night watch 12am to 4am - just a few tacks, nothing very eventful. Good entertainment on the VHF radio in the form of a PanPan from a stuck Dutch vessel. Warm night - no foulies needed.

Out of the watch system from 10am for the day all on together.

- Went up the mast at last - such an amazing view! I spotted a couple of others going up as well
- Practice abandon ship
- Fire hose / flooding drills
- Practice le mons starts - lots of repetitions to get us super slick. I manned the staysail active sheet
- Crazy hot day
- Halloumi wraps for lunch - so good! Speedy bol for dinner
- Anchored off Cowes ready for the practice race tomorrow - almost the whole fleet assembled! We were definitely the fastest time pick up the mooring buoy though, we sent Nigel S over straight away to stand on it and pass the line through
- Bowl overboard... Washing up on deck I may not have checked the bucket before sending it over the side...it floated past Team Rob next to us before sinking
- Volunteered for a 3am anchor watch as I've got off lightly the last two nights

Tuesday 18th -

Race day! Early morning start to motor to the start line off Pembridge for 9.30 - we were the first to slip the mooring lines. The boats all did a practice le mons start (it took forever to get everyone in line, it was like herding cats!) which we did pretty well on - I think we were first over the line. Then lined up for a practice parade of sail and a practice line start. It was pretty amazing watching all the boats sailing together, it really made it all seem very real. We struggled a bit on the practice line start - I think the excitement went to our heads a bit! Did pretty well on the real thing though.

On watch 2pm to 8pm running down to France. Came through a thunderstorm with lighting all around and force 7 winds - my first proper weather! Great learning opportunity and reassuring that I am skilled enough to hop to any task sharpish and what needs doing quite instinctively. Took the helm towards the end of the watch to have a go helming in rough seas (it had calmed to force 5/6) but absolutely hated it. I was good at it and got to grips with it quite quickly but I really did not enjoy it - my first teary moment on board when I got into my bunk.

Leftover bol for dinner with much awaited garlic bread (holly had gotten our hopes up yesterday) theb straight to my bunk for some sleep before coming back on watch at midnight.

Wednesday 19th -

No-one from Port watch got us up for our watch at 12am and then got annoyed we were late - their fault! Holly defended us to her watchmates well though which was nice. Trailing the fleet now sadly, but hoping to catch more wind round the next mark to catch up.

Thankfully quite a quiet watch after the excitement of the thunderstorm. Great stars but not much wind as we headed parallel to France to the second race mark. Dozed a little on deck during my watch stretched out in the cockpit.

Finally shaken the sniffly cold and my knee is very sore anymore - hurrah!

Back on watch at 8am for a proper porridge breakfast by Ally and Martyna with a fresh fruit salad. Got the Code 3 up and I trimmed for a while - once I got the knack of looking for the curl of the luff it was quite instinctive knowing when to grind and ease. Nigel S took over for a while while I manned the grinder and we had a good bit of banter about all my pleases and thank-yous - looking forward to racing with him!

We managed to pick up a lot of speed and we got into 5th of 9 and 1st of the white boats (we haven't had the bottom cleaned like the branded boats have so we're a fraction slower). The wind picked up a bit and we got the Code 2 out. Tried to be really quiet wooding while the other watch were all asleep (except for Daren who gallantly offered to help as the 6th Wooler).

We had about 15 minutes left on watch before we were due to come off at 2pm, and lunch was late, and we thought Port would drop the kite and hoist the Yankee 2 but we ended up being drafted in to help. The wind got up even more around 2.30pm so we had to stay on even longer to help (still without lunch) and I got drenched by a big wave while riding the rails trying to help speed us to the finish line. Got sent below around 3.30pm to warm up as I was shivering and damp and ended up staying down to help wool the spinnaker so we could finally have lunch(/dinner!). Finally rounded the ever-elusive mark at 4.30pm-ish, coming 5th overall and 1st of the white boats. Great time cheering on deck as we finished in thw sunshine.

Finally had some lunch and motored back to Gosport as fast as we could - we had a table booked at the Castle for 8pm! Got into harbour to drop the main while Roy radioed in for our berth only to find we weren't meant to be in until 10pm (it was 6.30pm at this point)! Luckily since we were right there thy let us in meaning we were first to showers!

After flaking the main Roy sent Starboard off to shower while Port put the boat to bed for the night (only fair since we'd ended up doing more on-watch hours) - best shower ever! Starting to smell myself was not at all pleasant.

In the pub by 8pm for a lovely crew meal and then some drinks as the other crews started to file in. Saw Jenny, Helen and Malcom which was great. Back to bed around 10.30/11pm

Thursday 20th -

All up and breakfasted by 7.45am so we just cracked on with the deep clean. Roy put me in charge so I did lots of running around with a list answering questions about what to do next. I scrubbed in with cleaning down the Port saloon and sail locker - the sail locker is now a sparkling thing of beauty! Annoyingly fell into a deep bilge by not checking where the soul boards had been taken up and twisted my ankles a bit and badly bruised my hip and side - typical clumsy me!

All done by 12.30pm after some faffing around checking everything was done and sorting final bits so headed to the Castle for a debrief and a drink. Train to London with Ally.

A great final week of training!




Stats -

- On-watch hours x 85.5 / Off-watch hours x 45
- 453nm sailed, including crossing the English Channel twice in 24 hours
- 12 hours night sailing
- 66,361 steps / 28.13 miles walked
- 82 bruises

Highs -

- Climbing the mast
- Helming a spinnaker hoist
- Helming a F5/6 at the tail end of a thunderstorm
- Leading a staysail hoist
- Leading two Y2 flakes and a main flake (I like flaking)
- Leading the deep clean

Lows -

- Helming a F5/6 at the tail end of a thunderstorm - although in reflection I am pleased I managed to do it well!
- Salty porridge
- Falling into a bilge

Team Building

It's been a whirlwind since Crew Allocation - the Team Weekend, Level 4 training and prepping to sail off into the sunset for two months has kept me pretty busy!

With only 3 and a bit weeks notice, pulling together a residential team building event was always going to be a challenge, but thankfully it all came together and worked out perfectly in the end. I have to say though, I have a whole new respect for the skippers having to herd so many people - corralling 30 of them into one place at the same time and getting their payment, dietary requirements and suggestions for activities was much like what I imagine herding cats to be like!

We spent the weekend at a wonderful 4* hostel by Stonehenge that had everything we could possibly want and then some (think licensed bar, tree-top walkway, zip-wire, two large garden areas, a classroom for race planning, large conservatory/dining room...) Self-catering was the perfect choice for us as everyone pitched in without being nudged, even to the extent of having too many helpers (an excel sign for the Race), and it gave our Leg 1&2 victualler Julie a great opportunity to practice menu planning and shopping for 30 people on the Clipper budget.

On the Saturday we went on a gorgeous 11-12 mile hike around Amesbury, past Stonehenge and across to Woodhenge in the blistering heat (we only lost our skipper the once), before we settled down to an afternoon of race planning and discussions. We managed to get a Q&A session with 13-14 RTWer Sophie Hetherton as well which was handy for crew fund questions.

Thanks to Quizmaster Nigel A (one of THREE Nigel's in TeamRoy!) we spent a great evening in the garden doing a pub quiz. While my team didn't win, we did at least ace the Clipper round! Our "I'm only as competitive as you all want to be" skipper was in the winning team...

Sunday morning started off with a trip through the forest as we explored the on-site tree-top walkway (including a run-by from a wild ferret), zip-wire (hilariously Roy couldn't undo his own knot for a couple of minutes) and playground. A few big kids had great fun on the swings (Andre, Stian, I'm looking at you!) which got us in the perfect silly mood for the event of the weekend - Sports Day!

When I asked the team what they wanted to do, I have to admit I was surprised by how many of then came back with suggestions that all came together to mean we were having a sports day. Just goes to show, we're all just great big kids wanting to play! Activities included an egg and spoon race, relay race, bucket toss, and sack race. After a very competitive battle for points, the Green Team emerged victorious to claim their medals and chocolate orange prizes - interestingly, the skipper's team! The Grand Finale tug-of-war (Yankee sheets are good for more than just trimming sails you know) was hotly fought over three rounds and much discussion of the angle of the slope in the orchard we were playing in.

All in all an excellent weekend of team bonding, race planning and generally getting to know each other that bodes well for the real thing - I can't wait to sail with these guys!

Level 4 run-down to follow soon.

"And your skipper is..."

What a weekend!

The long awaited Crew Allocation truly lived up to all the hype - nerves, excitement, and much partying.

After a long and nerve-racking morning waiting for my name to be read out, I am thrilled to announce that I am part of Team Roy / TeamCV28 / Team ThreePointFive (we've been officially a crew for all of three days and we already have in-jokes - amazing!).

Skipper Roy's Bio

I'm also super happy to be crewing with not one, not two, but SIX of my training crew mates from Levels 1 and 3 (including five who helped look after me when I had my accident), and the rest are shaping up to be a damn cool bunch.

We spent a great afternoon getting to know each other and thinking about what we believe makes a good team, how competitive we want to be and other crew business, during which I somehow volunteered myself to be Social Secretary (Roy asked who *might* be interested, and I was the only one who put my hand up!). The first test was sorting out dinner after the initial drinks - luckily the wonderful Fran stepped up and sorted out enough tables for all 40 of us while I herded everyone in the right direction. The next test will be organising a residential team building weekend away with only 26 days notice...watch this space!

As well as all the excitement about finding out our crew, at long last the Race route was revealed to us, and although I can't say where I'm going just yet, I can say that I'll be seeing these cuties!

Magellanic Penguins

Exciting times ahead!!

P.S. In a burst of productivity I've set up a Supporters Group for friends, family and fans (!) - please join to become part of Team Roy's journey and show your support

A week at sea and a trip to A&E

Level 3 training? Check!

After talking to Level 3 veterans and frantically cramming the Crew Manual in Wagamama's the night before training, I was worried that the whole "spinnaker thing" was going to be a confusing, tangled nightmare looming over the whole week, when actually I had a blast and a lot of "eureka" moments! (Gybing finally makes sense to me now, hallelujah) 

The awesome Easter crew of CV23! Thanks to Lars for the photo

Highlights

• Finally "getting" gybing
• Hanging off the bow unhanking the Yankee as fast as Carol was easing the halyard (trickier than it sounds)
• Being called "the tough one" by a watchmate - a good boost when I was knackered and doubting whether I could manage to grind up the Yankee!
• Leading lots of tasks with my watch - talking through the process really helped stick things in my head and asking for everyone's input helped us gel as a team and make sure everyone knew what to do and why
• Having a full crew gave us a good taste of what life will be like on the race - it was strange how little I saw of the other watch once we got into the watch system though - apart from the deck handover, we didn't see them at all

Lowlights

• Only getting 45 minutes sleep on one off-watch because of a spinnaker wrap
• Slipping on a hatch and winding up in A&E
• The pervasive smell of bacon - as the only veggie on board a boat where bacon seemed to feature in every meal I spent a lot of time on deck while meals were being cooked!

Life at an angle - the cooker is actually level!  Thanks Matt N for the photo

With a full crew of 17, plus Skipper Matt Mitchell (ClipperTelemed+ skipper in 15/16) and First Mates Carol Eccles and Alex Laline, CV23 was a pretty busy place! We split into watches right from the beginning with 8 in Port (my watch!) and 9 in Starboard. After spending the day studying ISAF theory in a stuffy little classroom it was a relief to be getting on with the boat walkthrough, checking life jackets on deck and settling into our bunks. Amusingly, before we went into the watch system full time and those in the forward bunks started hot-bunking, we had one person too many for the crew bunks so Lars ended up locked in with the sails for a couple of nights on the spare bunk tucked in there.

After some creative acrobatics (a few of us got a top bunk for the first time and didn't quite get the knack of climbing in straight away) and a fair few bumps to the head, we rounded of the night with a trip to the Castle. 

Tip: grabbing the edge of the cave locker by your head helps give you a lift as you launch yourself up - just remember to make sure your lee-cloth is fully loosened so you don't get your legs tangled in it as you swing them over...

Days 2 and 3 followed the usual routine - safety brief below and on deck, pontoon MOB (I was 'swimmer'), and sailed over to West Cowes where we put the boat to bed and headed off to the pub for a drink, then a long day sailing across to Portland reminding ourselves how to do everything and getting used to the layout of the 70's (plus another MOB, where I was swimmer again!).

Thanks Jonny for capturing some of the action!

Once we left Portland we headed east and fell into the watch system properly on a 4 on, 4 off rolling pattern. Saturday saw us hoist the spinnaker for the first time, which went very well, and then drop it and wool it. To the uninitiated and clueless (as I was until I was handed a ball of wool), "wooling" the spinnaker means rolling it up in a very specifically odd way, and then tying strands of yarn all along it and folding it. Sounds easy? Ha! The sail fills the entire below decks, gets tangled, has coloured tapes you need to "run", and the wool likes to break at annoying moments. We're told we'll learn to love it.

Tip: don't ask an ex-race RTW'r (Alex) how many times a day they did this on the race, it will only drive you to comfort eating brownie bites and chocolate bourbons while sobbing into your tea 

After merrily sending Starboard watch down below, the Port watch decided we wanted to hoist the spinnaker again (undoing all that lovely wooling). Sadly, it did not go as well the second time round. The wool broke free part way up the hoist, filling the sail and wrapping it around the forestay. Oops. After trying to untangle it for about an hour, we decided to head to a sheltered spot out of the wind to sort it out, just in time for Starboard watch to come up on deck. 

I was on mother watch with Felicity and in charge of getting dinner ready, so we headed down below with the instruction to have it ready in 45 minutes while everyone else went to sort out the Port watch mess. We duly cooked the pasta and pesto bacon for the appointed time (8pm), only to hear that the spinnaker situation was taking a lot longer than hoped and we'd need to hold it a while longer. The weary and hungry Port watch finally started stumbling down below around 9.30pm where they scoffed a miraculously still warm dinner and threw themselves into their bunks - we were meant to be off watch at 8pm and had to come back on at 12am. As mothers Felicity and I stayed up with the Starboard watch until around 10.15pm or so to make sure everyone was fed and watered and the galley was cleaned up before trying to snatch what sleep we could in the 90 minutes we had before we had to get up again. Who says Clipper is a holiday?!

Tip: don't plan meals involving cooking pink food under a red light - its blooming hard to know when bacon is cooked if the whole galley is bathed in red! 

Happily the next morning dawned brighter, with the Easter bunny visiting the crew during the 8am watch change on Easter Sunday. I'm very impressed that the little smarties filled eggs I'd brought with me had managed to survive intact despite being in my kit bag shoved and kicked at the end of my bunk with my boots being chucked on top of them every 4 hours. Another good day sailing with some stronger winds driving us home, and everyone falling into the 4 on/4 off pattern a little more easily.

Unfortunately with just 2 hours left on what was expected to be my final watch, disaster struck. We were speeding along nicely at 10-11 knots with 3 reefs in and an angle of around 40 degrees when I went to have a turn helming. As I went to grab the guard by the helm a wave shifted the angle of the boat and I slipped on a hatch landing heavily on my nose and right knee. Luckily I was clipped on, so I didn't slide very far down the deck, but it was clear pretty much instantly that I had done some serious damage, potentially breaking my knee, and I needed to get to hospital.

Within about 30 seconds Matt was on deck and assessing my injuries while Carol did a great job of keeping me calm while checking my head and neck over. Their training really showed, and I had absolutely no doubts about their ability to look after me. Handily, there was also a retired GP and nurse on board to help out and get me splinted up using gaffa tape and a wooden stick they found in the sail locker.

While I can't say I enjoyed being the subject, the accident did offer my crewmates an excellent opportunity to practice dealing with a real emergency, and I think they did marvellously! They rallied round, handing over their sleeping bags to wrap me in and keep me warm on deck, sitting with me and including me in the ongoing game of "would you rather" Port watch had started the day before, and generally keeping my spirits up during the long motor back to Gosport and help. They even wrapped me in a sail bag to keep me dry (or so they say, I think they just wanted to get a picture of me pretending to be a sail!).

After a painful few weeks stuck at home on crutches being sent from hospital to hospital and doctor to doctor, I was told that my some miracle I hadn't broken my kneecap or damaged my cartilage as everyone thought, but "just" impinged my intrapatellar pad which should heal in plenty of time for Level 4 training in July and won't need surgery. 

I'm so lucky it wasn't worse, and for once in my life I'm doing as I'm told and resting up so that I can heal quickly - my eyes are firmly on the prize: crossing the Atlantic in August!

P.S. During all the drama my boots had to get cut off - if anyone has any decent size 7's going spare, let me know!!

The cat is out of the bag

Well I guess my (admittedly weak) attempts at pretending to be a normal member of the workforce have failed - a birthday pirate landed on my desk today from the awesome HE team at Cambridge University Press! Have to say, if this is meant to be me, she looks pretty badass with her sword and hat - totally capable of sailing across the Equator and meeting King Neptune toe-to-toe.

Family reunion

What better way to start 2017, my Year of Adventure, than by having a massive Clipper crew briefing?

Now we've all done a week or two of training, had a couple of smaller scale briefings and descended en masse onto St Katherine's Dock for the 15-16 Race Finish, we've made lots of friends which turned the briefing into a giant reunion of all the wild and adventurous black sheep in the family.

Inspirational as always, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston gave a fantastic description of why we're doing something as crazy as sailing across an ocean:

Clipper for me is all about adventure, doing the why not's and living now instead of 5, 10 or 40 years in the future, so this really struck a chord - I absolutely want to live in bright colours.

Lots of interesting info was shared about our race, including the introduction of a new Joker card each team can choose to play in one race only for the chance to double their points for that race. Cape Town, Qingdao, New York and the Sydney-Hobart were all confirmed, but the other ports are still in negotiation. Rumour has it though that Hull is out of the running for Race Start/Finish...fingers crossed for London! Great news as well that personal AIS beacons will be provided with each life jacket.

One strange thing about the Clipper world is that while you may know a person's entire life story after standing watch together at 4am and hauling them out of the water after a MOB drill, you rarely know their surnames. If you forget to ask for contact details in all the excitement, that makes it pretty tricky to reconnect on Facebook or arrange to go for a catch-up drink (or three). Lucky for me I bumped into a buddy from my Level 1 last March (can't believe it has been 10 months since then) who I'd lost touch with and so finally manage to exchange info and arrange to catch-up soon.

Can't wait for the next big get together in May - the long awaited Crew Allocation!



Great snapshot of the briefing (plus a glimpse of yours truly at 2:11 - Hi Mum!)

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas everyone!

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday and making the most of the dry weather to get out and enjoy yourselves.

Now that I'm enjoying a temporary lull between the mania of hosting Christmas for 6 people and partying the new year in, I'm finally studying for my RYA Essential Navigation certificate (a mere 2 1/2 months after signing up for it...). So far, so good! Thanks to a few on board lessons from First Mate Paul Atwood during my Level 2 training, I was already pretty familiar with buoys which has definitely helped me on my way.

Flipping my hikers brain from plotting map co-ordinates longitude-latitude (along the corridor and up the stairs) to latitude-longitude (up the stairs and along the corridor) is taking some definite mental flexing though! Why oh why does it have to be a different way round for land and sea? Maybe I'll just have a little more cheese to help power the old noggin...

A week in the life of a Level 2 Clipper trainee

At long last, the story of my Level 2 training has been translated into intelligible English from my awful boat scrawl - enjoy a look into the life of a Clipper Race trainee!

Sorry all for the hiatus and thank-you so much for sticking with me - the last couple of months have been insanely busy and I've barely had time to breathe. The next few months are likely to be just as hectic, but I'm determined to make time to chart my Clipper journey more regularly in the new year! Coming up next on my Clipper journey - I'll be completing my RYA Navigation certification over the next month which I'm super excited for, and Crew Briefing/Party in January down at the London Boat Show - watch this space!

P.S. Feeling full of the Christmas spirit? Please support the amazing work of the Red Cross and help push me over the £1500 mark in time for Christmas: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RedShoesCaitlin

Thanks to Emily Woodason for this great snapshot of life on CV8!

Friday 26th August - The journey begins! 

Travelled with a friend to Waterloo after work and grabbed a sandwich before boarding the train to Portsmouth Harbour. I felt rather like a turtle carrying my sailing life on my back across London, and I was definitely as ungainly - a steady stream of apologies punctuated the journey.

Plenty of room on the train south, so I revised my notes and the Crew Manual a bit. The ferry was late so I got a taxi to the AirBnB - good thing too as it was a lot further from the marina then it said it was! The host was nice and we chatted for about 40 minutes before I headed up to my room to repack my clothes in much more logical outfit rolls (underwear, base and mid layer top and bottoms rolled up together) and revise some more vocab.

Saturday 27th August - Sea Survival

What a crazily hot building! I know it’s August but it was like being in a sauna all day. We split the day into theory in the morning and practical in the afternoon - the theory was interesting but quite scary, and we had a great instructor. Worked through a short lunch to do the practice early and finish a bit early.

The practice wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be - I could actually do everything, even climbing into the very slippery life raft from the water. Hurrah! It was nice as well that if anyone struggled they got lots of cheers of support and a round of applause when they managed it - the true Clipper spirit right there. Swimming in a life jacket is very strange, especially when you’re rescuing someone you don’t know as you end up with your legs wrapped around them rather closely and splashing your arms around behind your head trying not to drown them. Fortunately, we all got the hang of it quite quickly and it definitely broke the ice!

Got a lift to the race office with Faith and had an hour break before we got assigned to our boats for the week. Headed into Gosport with Emily and Faith for crew sweets and a snack (Homity Pie and a chai latte at Coffee1 - yum!). When we got back to the race office we got split into two seven man crews and went to our boats - I got assigned to CV8 with Skipper Chris Kobusch and Mate Paul Atwood. 

After picking our bunks (I picked the forward bottom on the other side to last time - my favourite bunk on the 68’s!) we did crew/skipper/mate intros and covered the below decks safety brief. Fajitas for dinner then flare chat and knot practice - who knew there were three ways to tie a bowline?! Feels unnecessarily complicated to me… Headed to the Castle to meet the other L2 crew for a drink. Slept really well despite how hot and quiet it was. Woke up at 6.30 for a 7.30 breakfast and was the last up!

Sunday 28th August - Bunk yoga is totally a thing!

I’ve been assigned to the Odds watch (the larger of the two with four crew) and am a deckhand today. We’re all rotating roles each 24 hours - deckhand, mother watch, engineer, navigator/watch leader - so we get to try everything thoroughly for a whole day which is great.

On deck safety brief, pontoon MOB with Bob (apparently Ruth is called Bob by everyone outside my awesome Level 1 crew, very strange), readied the staysail, yankee and mainsail to hoist. Slipped lines after lunch at around 2.30pm and motored into the Solent and hoisted the main - I helped sweat it up. Unfortunately there was a hole in the main fairly high up so we immediately had to put two reefs in - good job we’d done that before in Level 1 because we hadn’t prepped for it given the very light airs we were sailing in! Hoisted the staysail. Dinner at 6pm - feeling quite queasy and the creamy mushroom pasta definitely didn’t help matters (mushrooms = slimy little devils). 

Started our first night watches and Odds were on 6-10pm and 2am-6am. Did lots of night tacking in the first watch - we didn’t use head torches so had to let our eyes get used to the darkness and learn what to do by touch. It was quite strange not being able to see the colour of the line I was easing or grinding and having to trust that I knew which one was which by touch and position. Nighttime solo sheeting on the staysail was quite fun!

Came off watch at 10pm and went straight to my bunk - did 2 minutes of bunk yoga (happy baby, cobra and child pose all work well in such a confined space and really stretch out the back and joints) then managed to sleep for two hours. Woke up feeling really seasick for the first time in my life and had to rush to the heads and then the saloon where I spent a good part of the rest of my off-watch lying on the floor feeling like hell. 

Monday 29th August - A taste of the English Channel

Back on watch at 2am still not feeling great but the fresh air, conversation and no tacking for the first hour helped quite a bit. Helmed for 10 minutes in the dark - I did not like it at all! I am definitely not a helm junkie. Off watch at 6am for 6 hours but was engineer duty for the day so had to clean and do the engine checks with my Evens counterpart Marek before I could go to sleep (couldn’t face breakfast after sticking my head in the diesel engine and generator).

Anchored while I was asleep - not sure how I managed to sleep through that when the anchor locker was right next to my head! - and woke up to the main sail being repaired. I was still off-watch so managed to force down a jam sandwich made by the wonderful Jenny and brush my teeth before heading back to sleep until the afternoon watch.

Back on watch around 2 to slip anchor (that thing is damn heavy) and hoist the main (I was on the main sheet and coffee grinder). Had a bit of trouble with the mainsail and had to move it up and down a little a few times - exhausting! Hoisted the staysail and yankee one after the other (on the staysail sheets then the coffee grinder). 

MOB drill in the afternoon, and I volunteered to be the rescue swimmer - seasickness be damned! Unfortunately, as it was our first run at a sea rescue, it didn’t go quite to plan…but we did get Bob back in the first pass and manage wrestle him on board.  My harness was loose so it kept pulling me to one side, I didn’t blow up my lifejacket (the automatic release is disabled on the rescue jacket to prevent it going off too soon) so I kept getting mouthfuls of the English Channel (really not good for sea sickness), and the immersion suit leaked down the front so my toasty warm layers were soaked! A quick change and a biscuit before debriefing soon sorted it all out though.

Lots of tacking for the rest of the afternoon with us all rotating position so we really got to grips with what we were doing anywhere on the boat. I was last on helm thanks to my dislike for it, which unfortunately meant that I got stuck there for a while during the debrief...really should have got it over with sooner… Sausage, mash and gravy for dinner then know practice for a watch competition. Dropped the stay and yankee sails (tailing the stay halyard and bowman for the yankee), then the main. I was on the topping lift for the main, and eased too quickly in VMT - fortunately everyone was fine but it really did bring it home what a dangerous place the boat can be if you’re not careful and alert every second. 

Helped flake the main, which was so much easier with an older sail than it was with the brand new one we had in Level 1. Motored to to the mooring lines at Yarmouth where I was manning the searchlight to find the buoy. It took a lot of passes to get it as it was a very small target and it was very dark (around 10.30pm) making it tough for Marek and Emily to hook the line in, but they managed it eventually. Quick cuppa and some pomegranate love sweets from Emily (we found them absolutely hilarious - not sure if it was the exhaustion or the sudden sugar high) then the knot competition. Our watch won all but one round! Need to work on my slip knot and be careful with the double sheet bend but I was one of the quickest on all of them so I’ve got good speed. As we won we got to choose our watch times - I chose the 6am-7am duty as I'm on Mother Watch the next day. Headed straight to bed at 12 and slept right through.

Tuesday 30th August - Gybe, gybe, and gybe again

Up, dressed and on watch by 6am. Marek is staying up after the 5am-6am watch to help prep for Mother Watch with me. Porridge for breakfast - seems to be my staple on board! Despite worrying about making it good enough that everyone liked it, everyone had seconds, and one person (I’ll name no names) even had thirds! 

Hoisted the main and staysail, then put in a reef and shook it out and did a racing headsail change. I was on Bow 1 - YAY - with Marek on Bow 2 to hank on the Yankee 1 below the Yankee 3. Dropped the Yankee 3 and I had to communicate with the Pit using handsigns as well as voice commands to control the yankee halyard speed. The hanks were really tough to get off - salty and stiff.

Jacket potato, beans and cheese for lunch on deck (nice and easy to make while at an angle) followed by rigging a gybe preventer and lots and lots of gybing. I was really confused at the first position in my rotation, the dreaded helm, but it started to make sense after moving around a few positions - it’s like tacking with an extra bit (centring the main). As someone who really likes to understand exactly what I’m doing and why, not understanding at the beginning was pretty hard to deal with. Everyone was really supportive and kept explaining it until I got it which was really great.

In celebration of Julie's birthday, Chris bought her a birthday cake which we had all kept carefully hidden from her all week until our little birthday party on deck. Great fun and a fantastic example of the Clipper family spirit - plus delicious cake!

Another MOB drill in the afternoon while sailing downwind - our best one yet. We were much quicker at our tasks although we were still a little hesitant  to take a task. I was on the mainsheet to start to centre the main before moving forwards to take a halyard back and leading the drop/hoist of the rescue swimmer (Jenny this time) and Bob. Apparently I was very clear and did a good job - hurrah! More gybing then headed below to make chilli for dinner. Ended up serving cake and custard for dessert - so much washing up! 

Back on deck to rig the mooring lines at the buoy at Cowes where I was right up at the bow rigging the lines. I really love it up there! Another knot competition for watch choices on deck in the dark. Sadly us Odds lost (just) so we got second pick and I wound up with 12am-1pm. Really need to practice my rolling hitch! Slept well from 10pm to just before 12am. Early morning ahead with breakfast at 6am for a full day sailing. On Navigator and Watch Leader duty tomorrow - can’t wait!

Wednesday 31st August - Bob makes a break for it - yet again!

Led a racing sail hoist - staysail and yankee right after each other - without my wet notes! Went really well and I remembered all of the steps. MOB upwind this time and I ended up controlling the halyards again, and apparently did very well. As we did the racing headsail change yesterday, today we just practiced a change from Y3 to Y1 - I led on the bow (yay) and led the Y3 flake. Marek and I put in a 2-man reef before a lot of tacking and gybing practice. 

Another downwind MOB - surprise this time - while taking down the yankee. Had to think quickly to secure the part we had unhanked and move it aft so it wasn’t in the way and didn’t unflake itself over the side. Was manning the staysail halyard this time while Julie went over as rescue swimmer. 

Tried a Le Mons start which was great fun although we were a bit slow - it was our first time after all! Was on the mooring lines as we came into moor at the marina in Gosport, then helped Georg lead the Y1 flake once we were secure in port and led on the staysail flake. Went below to help Julie make dinner as she didn’t have a watch partner, then a quick shower and off to the Castle for a drink with the crew.

Thursday 1st September - The end of a great week

Up and ready by 7.10 waiting for the others to pack and eat breakfast to start the deep clean by 8am. Powered through to finish for 12.30pm. Bit of a problem with the Y2 when the sail bag disintegrated at the clew end so we had to flake it inside the sail locker - less than ideal!

My review chat with Chris went well - apparently I know everything, I just need to know that I know it! Calling the halyards in the MOB drills was spot on which is great although I hope I never need that particular skill for real. Amusingly he held me up as an example of how to self-study after I told him about my flashcards (available to download free here) - quite flattering! 

Lunch on deck, followed by a *small* problem overfilling the water tanks leading to 150l sloshing around the crew bilges needing to be bailed out. Manned a halyard with Georg while Chris did the rig check and then popped next door onto Clipper Telemed+ with Julie - absolutely love the 70’s! They have a great deck layout - so clear on the bow and fore deck and great setup below as well. Took our gear to the office then popped to the Boathouse for a final crew drink before getting the ferry to Portsmouth and the train back to London with Marek and Emily. All in all, a great week and I can’t wait until Level 3 in April!

A few of our crew in-jokes...

• The Log joke
• Hair & make-up
• Pervy Bob
• TMI

Life saving

After a long day in London at the end of a long week (I just started a new job),  today I was officially qualified as a First Aider by the RYA - HURRAH!

Basic first aid is such a simple skill, I really recommend everyone go out and do a course. Sailor or not, through the RYA or not (the British Red Cross offer local courses for very reasonable prices), it's just one day out of your life that may help you save the life of someone you care about.

Go save a life - get qualified too!

P.S. Full run-down of my Level 2 last month to follow soon, I promise!

What if...? The Level 2 Fear

With only 6 days left to go until I head down to Gosport to start my Level 2 training, I have to admit, I'm equal parts incredibly excited and utterly terrified.

The excitement part is fairly obvious - I've been desperate to get back out on the water since I disembarked for the last time at the end of Level 1, and can't wait to learn more and really get to grips with being at sea for more than just a day at a time, plus meet more Clipper Crazies. Kit-wise, I've been packed for a week already (I got a wee bit over-excited by the arrival of my new Musto holdall...) so I'm looking forward to trying out my new thermals and dry-bags (a sentence I never thought I'd say a year ago!).

On the other hand, I am pretty scared. In my head I know that I can get through training - after all, I got through Level 1 just fine and even managed to shake out a reef on my own, I hiked 110 miles across the Scottish Highlands in June, and there'll be a whole crew in exactly the same position as me and a first class Skipper and Mate to guide us through.

My stomach is a completely different matter! 

What if I've forgotten everything? (I'll probably remember more than I think I will)  

What if I suddenly hate sailing? (like that could ever really happen)  

What if I can't manage physically? (if I can drag myself plus a 17-18kg pack 110 miles while climbing 6000m over rough mountain terrain with various injuries, I can definitely manage a week on a boat with crewmates and winches to help carry the load)  

What if my cold turns into full-blown flu? (it's pretty unlikely if I'm sensible (!) and wrap up warm and hydrate) 

What if...?  

What if I just go for it and have an absolute ball of a time?

Bring it on Level 2!

The Clipper vs Paid Holiday balancing act

A few people asked me at Crew Briefing recently about how I'm managing my work holiday allowance with all the training I need to do for Clipper as well as the thru-hiking I did earlier this year for British Red Cross.

To answer them and anyone else who is struggling with this, here are my tips for getting the most out of your paid holidays!

Bank holidays are your new best friend

You may have avoided them like the plague before now for fear of being attacked by swarms of hyperactive small children on holiday being trailed by exhausted parents, but they are your new BFF - time to embrace them. I've got my Level 2 booked for this August bank holiday weekend, and that's saved me a whole day of holiday that I can use to relax at Christmas or have a long weekend with a friend. Pretty nifty, eh?

Plan ahead

Back in November 2015 I booked my Level 1 and 2 training for March and August 2016, and recently I booked in my Level 3 for April 2017. While to some this may seem like crazy levels of organisation, actually by doing this I could plan around bank holidays (remember: you're now BFFs) and have worked it so that for three weeks of training, normally 15 work days, I've only had to take 10 holiday days. That's a whole extra week of paid time off hanging around for other Clipper activities or for less exhausting holiday options (long weekend in Paris anyone?).

Planning ahead also means that you're much more likely to get on the course you want when you want - bank holidays are training hot spots!

I hope this helps anyone who has been struggling a bit :) And if anyone else has any great tips for making the most of your holiday time, please let me know!

Is it just me? Or, Kit Madness

Does this ever happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

Earlier this week my brand new Musto Evolution 60l waterproof holdall* arrived at work and I was so excited I had it out of its packaging and was brandishing it around the office showing it off in about 10 seconds flat (lucky for me my office is infected with Clipper Fever so they were at least vaguely interested in the appearance of a giant dry bag).

But hey, it was in the sale (my favourite thing) at a mere £57 instead of £115! And it has a nifty valve feature to remove excess air to save space! And an adjustable shoulder strap! And an easy-to-spot-at-night-using-a-red-light colour!

That wasn't the worst of it though - today my excitement reached a whole new level when I went to put it away in my kit cupboard (thru-hiking and sailing seems to come with a whole load of kit that demands its own space) and noticed a few things I knew I wouldn't be using until my Level 2 training in two weeks (sailing boots, sleeping bag etc). So obviously it made total sense to put those things inside the holdall to save space and having to pack them next weekend anyway. Twenty minutes later my entire kit is packed into dry bags within the giant drybag and is ready to sail.

Oops.

*Full kit review to follow after its inaugural use at Level 2 training later this month

Current Crew Q&A - July 2016

A few weeks ago at crew briefing we had a great Q&A session with some of the 15-16 leggers and a 13-14 RTW, and I was quite annoyed at myself that I got so into the session that I forgot to take notes. Fear not though, because the lovely people at Clipper HQ recorded the session and wrote everything down! Enjoy :)

• Jennifer Day - Clipper 2015-16 Race crew, Legs 1 and 7, Garmin
• Sue Pither – Clipper 2015-16 Race crew, Leg 4, Garmin
• Deio Jones – Clipper 2015-16 Race crew, Leg 1-4, Derry~Londonderry~Doire
• Neil Bennett – Clipper 2013-14 Race crew, Leg 1-4, GREAT Britain
• Michelle Porter – Clipper 2013-14 Race crew, Circumnavigator, Derry~Londonderry~Doire

Race Finish is tomorrow, what was going through your mind as you sailed back up the Thames on completion of your race in July 2014?

Michelle: When we left Den Helder in the Netherlands it was strange, we had this experience of our lives, eleven months of sailing around the world and all of a sudden it was going to be over. When you realise that it’s pretty overwhelming and sad as your crew are your friends and you don’t want it to end.  

Neil: It was the weirdest feeling, you meet everyone at the beginning of the race but then everyone does their own leg so there are some crew you see more than others. As a legger I joined our team spectator boat at Race Finish so all the crew were back together again, it was amazing despite having been back for six months I was still very much part of the race but when the fleet comes up the Thames, you then realise it really is over. 

What did you do at the end of the race?

Michelle: You live in the Clipper Race bubble for the duration of your race and when you get back you are adamant you are not going to get back in the rat race but I live in London so I guess it was inevitable, I am working long hours like I did before the race. You never forget the Clipper Race and we are still experiencing it today. 

Neil: It’s definitely a shock when you first get off the boat. I got off the boat in Australia, I flew home on the Friday and was back at work on the Monday. My boss told me it took six weeks for me to focus at work - he was a very understanding boss! It is tough but you do get back into it and as Michelle says you are always a part of the race, like today, when we are standing here sharing our stories. 

What goals were you were looking to achieve from the race?

Jenny: Crew Allocation is a really exciting day. When your name is read out it’s like being at a school assembly and off you go with your team mates and skipper to discuss what sort of team you want to be. For us on board Garmin, we decided quite early on that we wanted to be in the top six on the overall leaderboard and as the race progressed and we achieved more podiums we changed for the new goal of being on the overall podium at Race Finish. The goals do shift and change as you go through the race, as a team, as well as individually. 

Deio: I couldn’t make it to Crew Allocation but I know that my crew mates scored themselves as to how competitive they were and we seemed to be quite a competitive team. We did come up with some personal goals too and for me, my goal was to get a podium once and to try being a watch leader and helm in big seas. We got more than one podium, I got to helm and I became assistant watch leader during my race so I was very happy with that.  

Sue: I signed up two years before my race started so I had an incredibly long lead up to it which is great in some ways but also strange to be looking forward to it for so long. I remember our skipper explaining what being competitive meant and he was good at explaining what you had to give up to achieve it, it really made you think about what it is you really want from your race and sometimes that can change. I think our boat was great at working on the team and individual crew members’ goals, we pinned our objectives up on the wall to keep in the back of our minds.  

How does the mix of circumnavigators and leggers on board work in reality?

Michelle: I was Team Coordinator for my team, we had ten circumnavigators and 45 leggers.  As a team we agreed early on that there would be a shore side contact crew member and we coordinated weekly emails to and from the boat to the whole team to keep in contact with each other while racing. We also ensured that crew joining their race were involved in the stopover and preparation of their race in advance, helping out with jobs in port such as finding the local supermarkets for us to victual, finding hotels for the team to book into and so on. They were always one step ahead of us when we got into port and this shore side support really helped the efficiency of our team and our integration with everyone as a whole.

Jenny: I did two legs independently, not back to back, and I really enjoyed doing it that way. It makes more sense financially to stay on the boat than keep flying back and forth but those were the races I wanted to participate in and I was happy I did it. For Leg 1 there is no integration needed really, everyone is starting out new together, it’s everyone’s first experience together. The transition coming back for Leg 7 to see how everyone, especially how the circumnavigators had developed was fantastic and you are looked after by everyone on board. A big thing within our team was the communication as well, we had a team facebook group that we plugged everyone’s comments into, crew, family and friends and it’s a great way of connecting with the team and help you join in too. 

Deio: We had a weekly email and shore side support too on the boat, the circumnavigating crew were split evenly between two watches and we looked after one another and helped one another out. It happened naturally and after a few days you are immersed, you get to know your strengths and weaknesses as a team and individual, and it’s in everyone’s interests to make an effort with one another and get up to speed as quickly as possible.  

Sue: I joined in Australia, there were quite a few of us joining and it was challenging to come onto a slick watch system. Unfortunately I received a minor injury on the first day that required me to sit out for 24 hours, doing this I was able to observe how the team performed and see how I could contribute to that. We also had a buddying system, if you ask anyone on board they will help you and the little things really help.  

Neil: We hot bunked on our boat and I shared my bunk with a circumnavigator. We figured out a
nice way of sharing our bunk together. When one of us got up to get onto our watch we would roll our sleeping bag up, put it on the bottom of the bunk, get the other person’s sleeping bag out and unroll it to allow your bunk buddy to get straight into their bed readymade. It was a small thing that made such a difference, we didn’t quite go as far as putting chocolates on each other’s pillow though! 

Did you plan to get back to work as normal or did you have other ideas?

Michelle: When I took part in the race I was on a sabbatical from work, by the time I had gotten to San Francisco after the Pacific Ocean race I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to my old job so handed my resignation in. I had realised I didn’t care for lots of money or materialistic things but slowly you do get back into London life but you never forget what you did. The race has changed me completely as a person but I think ultimately if you live in London, the London life will creep back in but I don’t regret it at all.  

Jenny: It’s a good question but I think it comes back to what you personally want to get out of the race. If you are using it as a vessel to make change in your life back home, it certainly is a great way to do that. Some people don’t put pressure on the experience and themselves and wait to see what happens before making decisions about what to do afterwards, and sometimes you just naturally get back into the swing of life.  

Deio: I stayed in Australia after my race and I have only been home for two weeks, I am flying back out to Australia to try and work as I now have a year’s visa. That was not planned, the race has helped me make a change in my life, what I was doing, where I was living – I am now renting out my house back home and working in sailing in Australia – which really is something considering I had never sailed before my Clipper Race adventure began. 

Sue: The race gives you time to think about what you want and how you can make your life different, so sometimes it can change things.  I did realise that I want to be closer to my family so moved nearer to them but for me personally I wasn’t looking for change specifically.  

Neil: I knew I was going to go back into the rat race, I had six months off work and my plan was to do the first three legs and then take a month off to ease myself back into work. When the race announced the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race as part of the route I knew that wasn’t going to happen and I ended up doing the first four legs and going straight back to work. I knew I was returning my job and I realised on the race that I actually really liked my job more than I thought I did rather than wanting to change it afterwards. I wanted to take some time off, my boss said I went away fairly relaxed and chilled and now my boss says I am very relaxed and chilled which I think is good. It has made me want to look at other adventures but nothing like the race, it’s a once in a lifetime experience. 

Can you tell me more about the watch system and how that dynamic works as a team as a whole?

Deio: In the first leg they manned the watch systems by sailing experience and then when we got into Rio we were asked if we wanted to change the watch system at all. The two watches were quite different and we liked that it worked well, the whole way around the world we only had two or three crew that asked to change watches just to have a bit of variety and see what the other watch was like. You don’t tend to see the other watch very often and that is the reality of the race and how it is but it’s important to make an effort with one another in port and whenever you can.  

Sue: Like anything in life not everyone gets on with everyone else all of the time but if there are any niggles on board generally you work that out. On board our skipper and team coordinator would think very carefully about what watch they would allocate a joining legger to, based on many things including experience. For me personally I really enjoyed the watch I was on and interestingly we were all very different. I was glad but each team does it in a different way.  

Neil: We mixed it up quite a lot as much as we could, there is the hour or so before the watch changes where you can go up on deck early to chat to the other watch, find out how the last six hours racing went as they hand over. There are different ways of engaging with each other. 

Jenny: On board Garmin if the spinnaker was up and the weather was good, we would all eat lunch or dinner together as a whole crew which was really good. It meant you got to have conversations with the crew and a bonding experience which helped keep team morale high. 

What one item could you not live without on board?

Sue: My daughter made me a book to take on board with me and I had to read a page a day. In it there were pictures of her and my grandchildren and messages from them all - so I cried everyday looking at that but it was wonderful. The more practical thing is sandwich bags to put all of your little items in to help keep them dry and clean.  

Jenny: Mine is a bit more practical for the ladies which is a really good sports bra or two. I did the hotter legs and it was 45 degrees below deck, so trying to sleep or do anything was hard and you have to feel comfortable. On the hotter legs you aren’t going to be wearing much clothing so it’s important to be comfortable in what you are wearing socially and physically - you aren’t going to be changing very often! 

Deio: I think on the third leg I had a normal sleeping bag which was fine, but when someone left I borrowed their proper ocean sleepwear bag and that was the only dry thing I had. If you are on a cold, rough leg a proper warm waterproof sleeping bag is a must.  

Neil: I took a kindle with a whole load of books uploaded to it, you will eat, sleep, sail for up to a
month if not longer so to have something to escape to during your down time is a great idea. It also helped me to sleep, not that I needed much help.  

Michelle: Mine would have to be my tablet for the times I needed to switch off and watch a film. If you have had a tough night watch sometimes it’s nice to take some time out and put the headphones in. 

After all the training what was the challenge that you had when you started the race that you weren’t expecting? 

Michelle: I think when you do the training you get into the routine of doing the man overboard drill. You do it so many times and you don’t think that you will ever need it, but you shouldn’t think that. We had a man overboard in the North Pacific and an hour and 40 minutes we got Andrew back, you realise that all the times you did man overboard it is for a reason but it felt like a drill until we got him back on board, which took me massively by surprise.  

Jenny: When you complete all your levels of training it’s quite a smooth transition sailing on board the race. On Leg 1 it was in some ways easier than the training - weather dependant of course - but you work yourself so hard in the training to learn everything, when you have longer and more varied conditions it falls into place.
I surprised myself that everything had clicked into place and I can now sail and here I am speaking to you about my experience, it’s great.  

David: I did most of my training back to back and did the delivery from Gosport to London which I recommend. It’s a great way to get to know the boat and other crew, how everything works and prepare it for the race. Another thing is that you do get more tired than you think you are going to get, it’s amazing how your body falls into line, you can be down below and asleep in 15 minutes if you want. The forces that go through the boat, the waves and the wind, were also a challenge the Solent doesn’t prepare you for, the boats are massively powerful when you get the big storms it’s immense but it is a surprise. 

Sue: Joining Leg 4 we had 50 knot headwinds for two days and the inability to get out of your bunk or trying to cook something when the boat is being thrown around, I knew it was going to be like that but until you do it you are never prepared. Another thing that surprised me was that I was never frightened or scared which I thought I might be, I had total trust and confidence in my skipper, crew and the boat. 

Neil: You are surprised at how well prepared you are for the race and for me, the challenge and the surprise was living in a confined space with 23 other people for a month at a time. Trying to maintain relationships and trying not to get angry about stupid things was hard and you don’t get that on training, when you are 14 days in and have 14 more to go to dry land, training did not prepare me for that but I learnt.