Race to start from Southampton

It was announced recently on the official Clipper website that the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race will start from the historic maritime city of Southampton on the south coast of England. The start gun goes off on Sunday 31 July 2011.It will be an atmospheric and colourful affair as we bid farewell to family and friends at the shore-based ceremony before a stunning parade of sail as we head to the start line.

It is the first time since 2004 that a round the world yacht race has started from the iconic sailing grounds of the Solent and promises to provide a breath taking spectacle for spectators both on the water and watching from the shore.

Southampton will be the fifth UK venue to host the race start. The Clipper Race celebrates its 15th anniversary this year; it first set off from Plymouth in 1996, 2 editions later the fleet started from Portsmouth before moving to Liverpool for the subsequent 3 races and then to the Humber on the UK’s north east coast.

This will be the 8th edition of this unique event which they say is ‘raced by people like you’. I will be one of more than 500 people from all walks of life taking part, representing more than 40 nationalities.

The race was created by British sailing legend, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world. Since the first edition in 1996 almost 3,000 people have taken advantage of the opportunity to race across oceans in a challenge unlike any other.

The countdown is on now ... can't wait!!

Recollections of Level 3 Clipper Training in the UK

Level 3 Theory 16^th to 20^th April.

Level 3 Practical 20^th to 25^th April

We came off the yacht on the morning of April 16 to start L3 Theory; there were only two of us doing the back to back stint - Tim L & myself.

We said good bye to the one group and introduced ourselves to the new group.

Justine who likes to be called Jussie is a recipient of a double lung transplant (more about her later), Tim L, Laura, Richard, Lesley & Peter (both of whom I did Level 1 with), Vanessa & Patrick, myself and our instructor James.

From the word go we knew this was not going to be a doddle. Subjects to be covered included International Rules for Preventing Collision at Sea, Definition of Position, Course & Speed, Navigational Charts & Publications, Navigational Drawing Instruments, Compass, Chartwork, Tides, Tidal Streams & Ocean Currents, Visual Aids to Navigation.

Our heads were spinning; we had heard that some students had failed only the week before so the pressure was on.

Most evenings we had up to 2 hours homework so we would order dinner as a group and swat the books before and after we were served.

The group was very supportive of one another and the further the course went, it became clear that without that support, some of us would have struggled, including me.

I’ve got to thank Vanessa & Patrick for shining the light more than once.

We all sat the two 1½ hour exams on the last day and all passed. Fanbloodytastic - another piece of the puzzle achieved.

The energy and drive that Jussie shared with us was an inspiration. We think this whole Clipper race is a challenge, put yourself in her shoes for a moment and you would really know what a challenge is. Check out her blog http://www.justinedoublelungs.blogspot.com/

All the best to you Jussie for the leg of the race that you are competing in.

What took a little while to adjust to was the fact that I was entering coordinates for the Northern Hemisphere. That just didn’t seem to be right. 

Accommodation during the 5 days of theory was a local guest house 'Spring Gardens' just 10 minutes walk from Clipper. Thirty pounds a night with full English breakfast included. I would recommend it to anybody!

Not everybody doing the theory course was going straight on to the practical, so some of us were saying goodbye again and about to meet more new potential crew mates.

Lesley, Tim L, Peter, Vanessa, Patrick & myself stayed on and were joined by Joanne, Shona, Lexi (who I did Level 1 with), Agi, Lloyd & Nick. Our skipper was Gareth and our first mate was Vicki.

From the word go we were a formidable team. We may not have got all the sailing skills off pat yet but we bonded almost instantly. We knew that the aim of Level 3 Practical was to operate under race conditions; we were split into two watches and rotated on four hour shifts.

After the first night at the marina in Gosport we were going to be at sea for the next few days. The skipper was going to give us the latest weather forecast in the morning and then off we go.

From the onset the weather/wind conditions were variable but it was decided by the skipper and first mate that we would sail down and around the Channel Islands along the coast of France and then make a loop back to Gosport after four days.
We were back to working through all the safety & sail drills we had been put through previously plus some more.

Reefing and spinnaker work was the go. Gareth &Victoria were patience personified as we coped with sleep deprivation and trying to do the sail changes in the dark. Sleeping was an initial problem because the drills were carried out day and night, but as we got more tired, we wouldn’t even stir if the crew on deck came down below to get another sail.

We were then introduced to three hour rosters. This meant that when you changed, you would only be asleep for what felt like 10 minutes before being woken up ½ an hour before your change of shift, getting all your wet weather gear back on and grabbing a cup of tea before we started. We were finding out our limits, the great thing was no one lost their cool (at least not openly); there were some rumblings as we went to bed but they were all self directed.

We saw the Channel Islands from every which way; we went around and through them, then continued along the French coast. The skipper then informed us we will be going to Dieppe. Good one Gareth; we will have some hot showers toilet and then a bite to eat. The maximum time ashore after tying up was 5 hours.

We were delighted, a break, a shower, food served, what else could you ask for?

Five hours it was; it was Easter and the port was full. We were the largest yacht there and people were gawking at the yacht and the Clipper ‘round the world 11/12 race’ logo. Momentarily we were celebrities in some peoples’ eyes. We departed at 9.30pm and our watch was active. Back to reality.

I thoroughly enjoyed the time on board for Level 3; it was the greatest challenge to date but the other crew members made it doable because of their ‘can do’ approach. Thanks crew mates.

The homework for me before I do Level 4 is to continue to revise the training manual and my notes.

Sailing is all about process, the names are part of the process obviously but knowing the process is paramount. Night sailing is the challenge at the moment because you can’t see the colours of the sheets or halyards even under a red lamp.

Safety, process & teamwork – that’s my Modus Operandi to go to the next level.

We had a couple of drinks on our last night in port and as we dispersed in the morning (after a deep clean) most of the team indicated that they would be attending the crew allocation, skipper appointments and yacht nominations in Southampton on April 30.

It will be a big day - I will let you know the outcome.

PS The big wedding is on the 29/4/11 I will let you know how I went and who I caught up with. Look for me on the box!!!

Clipper Training (UK)

April 9^th to 16^th  inclusive.

In and around the Solent off the Isle of Wight.

*Note: I was supposed to do Level 2 back to back with Level 1 in October last year but unfortunately I broke a bone in my foot on the evening of the start of Level 2 (on what is referred to as the ankle breaker on the yacht) which meant I had to reschedule for this year. So I am doing Levels 2 & 3 back to back ... and yes, my foot has healed just fine.

We are training on the 68 ft clipper yacht Singapore that will be in the race for 2011/2012. She is bigger in length and beam than the 60 footer from Level 1. The winches are different, with the primary winch being a coffee grinder style. Everything is bigger, sails, halyards and the sheets. The mast is 81 ft with a beam of 18 ft. We are carrying 9 sails including the main. From what I have read you can expect to pay about a million pounds for one of these babies, as long as you order 10 at a time. The normal race crew will be 18 in total.

Training duration is 8 days; 5.5 days on the water and 2.5 days in the classroom, with the focus on reinforcing the safety aspects and skills we learnt in Level 1. The next learning phase is to introduce key racing skills, spinnakers, boat to boat communication and fire fighting. The main focus of the week is on boat speed.

We started classroom tuition with a short range certificate for VHF radio; the course was involved a number of radios set up in the room. Background notes were provided; it was also the first day that we as members of the Level 2 got together.

11 people doing the course. We had the opportunity to quickly introduce ourselves and even at this early stage we had some humour happening.

Our new group was David, TT, Tim D, Tim L, Sean, Emmy, Emma, Joan, Chantal, Alex & me. Ben is our skipper and Jaun the first mate; they are both skippers for the 11/12 race.

We learnt the methodology of radio use including maydays, pan pan and a test at the end of the day; all who attended that day qualified for their radio license.

We slept on board that night. All well.

For the next few days we sailed from the marina either at Gosport, Cowes or Hamble on a day by day basis. The wind was variable, at times not strong enough for some of the drills especially the spinnaker. But by the end of the week we had managed to go through a number of evolutions for each sail. The setting of the spinnaker is still a mystery to me and most of the crew. Practice, practice, practice is what we need.

At times, if you were not in the sun, it was cold in the wind and a number of us discussed the gear Clipper had recommended. I was missing the “middle layer salopettes & top”; others who had already purchased it were warm as toast. Middle layer gear is now on my shopping list.

On our last night we were back in the Marina at Gosport. We had to do the deep clean and then went out to the Jolly Roger for an evening meal. The following day Tim L & I were starting our Level 3 theory so we had to be on our best behaviour, again.

In the morning we said our goodbyes and walked off the yacht to our next classroom.

Quote: Courage is not having the energy to go on, it’s going on when you do not have the energy and that’s true.     Ellen Macarthur