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!!

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!

Level 1 training Part Two: Highlights, Good to Knows, and Learning Curves

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!

Skipper Paul

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!)

Photo of the week!

Blue Steel

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!

Level 1 Training Part One: Top Tips and Kit Chat

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!

Paperwork

Since returning my Crew Contract, paying my deposit and becoming an official member of the Clipper Race 17-18, I have been bombarded with a mountain of paperwork to fill out before I can take part in my Level 1 training next March -

• Crew biography
• Medical report and assessment, with GP approval
• Insurance application (who knew this would be so expensive!!)
• Onshore contact form
• Passport photos
• Copy of passport

I also need to think ahead about which vaccines I'll need (Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Diphtheria, Polio and Yellow Fever) and which visas I'll need for which countries (Australia, China, USA). My to-do list just keeps on growing!

Time to delve in - see you on the other side...

"But what about your career?"

Since announcing that I'm a signed up crew member for the Clipper Race 17-18 the question almost everyone asks is "But what about your career?" In response I tell them that taking part in the Clipper Race 17-18 will test my physical and mental strength in extreme conditions, when I'm sleep deprived, too  hot, too cold, sore all over and cannot take a break. This is no holiday - more people have climbed Mount Everest, than have sailed around the world. 

To me the Clipper Race represents a wealth of opportunity to test myself to my physical and mental limits (and find out where those limits are), learn new skills, and explore the world in a truly unique and exciting way. Taking part in the Clipper Race is also a chance for me to be part of something bigger than myself – working to support the invaluable work of British Red Cross and Official Race Charity UNICEF, and inspiring others in my local community and company to push themselves to take on new and exciting challenges every day.

Many of the skills I'll learn out on the world's oceans are transferrable and I hope will make me a better Editor. 

• Innovation and creative problem solving - when you're 2000 miles from the nearest land and something crucial breaks, you have to learn to think creatively about how to fix it
• Developing team tactics and strategy - it is a race after all!
• Dispute resolution - when you're stuck living in the bunk below someone for weeks or months at end, there is no room for lingering arguments or holding grudges
• Leadership - I hope to take on the role of Watch Leader for part of my circumnavigation, which involves taking responsibility for all the crew in a Watch and working closely with the Skipper
• Teamwork and collaboration - it is impossible to sail the yacht if you don't work together as a team and collaborate to achieve your collective goals
• Communication skills - in order for a crew to function effectively and safely, all crew members need to communicate clearly, well, and often
• People skills - living in close quarters with 20 strangers for weeks at a time with little contact with the outside world will certainly improve my people skills

These are all transferable skills that I will have for life. I believe that the lessons I learn out on the water will help me to improve how I do my everyday work and, ultimately, they will help me develop my career in publishing. That's why I'm happy to take time out of my career now - the investment I make now will pay dividends for the rest of my life.

If you or a company you know would like to join as one of my Crew Supporters and take advantage of being associated with this global event with a viewership in excess of 900 million people then please contact me for more information about the rewards I am able to offer my supporters and the types of support sought.

Learning curve

I haven't even begun my Level 1 training yet, but the Clipper learning curve is already pretty steep. This time last week I had no idea how to build a website, or code in HTML to customise widget features (I didn't even know what a widget was), or write a sponsorship proposal. Now I've done all three, I'm starting to realise that being part of Clipper 17/18 will help give me skills I never expected it to - and I can't wait to dive in further!