Level 1 Training

WOW!!

 

CV7
Our boat for the week

I have just returned from a crazy week on a 68 ft ocean racing yacht with all the luxury down below of a 'ghetto'.  There were 11 of us, plus skipper and his mate, from all around the world; USA, Holland, Norway, Eire, France and the UK.  An eclectic mix of wonderful people who all brought something different to life on board.

 



My space - the bottom bunk
so I didn't have far to climb

Sleeping arrangements were 'cosy' with only the privacy of the blue lee cloth which was carefully hooked on before going to sleep.  Contrary to the information I had been given before, there was room to lie on my side in the bunk but if I sat up I hit my head on the mattress above me.  The noise from 11 people, some of whom snored quite loudly, was cacophonous, but having spent many years in various boarding schools the noise was quite familiar.  One of the crew, a singer, likened his experience to being at a choral concert where there were bass, baritone, soprano and alto singers all singing different tunes at the same time.  I'm glad I was asleep.

'Mother Watch' came into being for the first time.  Two people, one from each watch, are allocated domestic duty for one day.  This involves cooking, cleaning and keeping the boat tidy.  The food was excellent with enormous portions to keep everyone's energy levels up and I have to congratulate the two skippers for their menus though one of the crew wanted to put garlic in the scrambled egg at breakfast until it was hidden away.  Guess the nationality of this crew member - yep, you're right, French!!  All meals were eaten out of large bowls, on laps, as tables are superfluous to requirements on racing yachts.

 

Learning knots

The first three days were based at Gosport with days out into the Solent where the winds were relatively light.  Lots of drills and learning to be done, including the dreaded bowline which some of us found totally confusing as 12 other people tried to give their own instructions on the best way to tackle it.

 

 

Hanging of the bow

 



View of the Spinnaker Tower
on a very foggy morning 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday morning we woke to no wind and thick fog.  We continued with MOB (man overboard) drills with the casualty lying on the pontoon, a couple of mast climbs and some winch maintenance before heading back out into the Solent.  All fixing and the maintaining of equipment is down to the crew for the entire race so getting a handle of where cogs and bolts go is an important element of the whole trip. 

 

We eventually left Gosport Marina and headed out into the Solent for three days.  But where was the wind?  The day was spent motor sailing as we headed west to Portland - but we got no further than anchoring off Osborne House on the Isle of Wight  By this time it was a beautiful and warm spring day, but useless for sailing.  The fog came back in the evening and as we took it in turns to keep anchor watch during the night the noise from the foghorns of the enormous ships, cruise liners and car ferries sounded eerie as the boats slid silently past us, while we lay only a few hundred yards to the south in shallower water. 

 

After the fog and mist cleared it was a lovely April day.  For one of the Americans on board this was his first visit to Europe and we had to convince him that this balmy weather was not always the case and that when he returns in July for Levels 3 and 4 it may well be cold and stormy.

 

 

Lying at anchor with Osborne House on the IOW in the distance

Another day of drills and this time I took the opportunity to go into the water to recover an MOB.  Difficult, as I had forgotten to take the air out of the immersion suit so my feet kept rising to the surface.  It wasn't easy, and that was with no wind and no waves, so a totally unrealistic situation.  'Bob' the MOB dummy was tethered to the boat so I didn't have to struggle for too long but I was certainly shaking when I got back on board.

Sunset as we sailed back to our
mooring on Tuesday evening

 

 



 

 

Wednesday morning saw another windless day so we took the opportunity to revisit various evolutions including racing headsail changes, reefing practice and, for me, a trip up the mast.  It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be but as the sea was flat calm there wasn't any lateral movement up at the top.  I certainly had to trust the guys on the winches down below as my life was literally in their hands.  One slip of the winch .....  I was tied on with 2 halyards so a perfectly safe exercise!!

 

 

 



The view from 25 metres above the deck





Wednesday night was spent in Cowes where we enjoyed a pub meal at The Anchor.  Lots of singing and drinking and I think a good time was had by all.  The showers were certainly appreciated though only 3 days without showering is nothing compared to the weeks that we'll remain dirty for during the race.

A chance to helm

Thursday saw us heading back into Gosport where we had to deep clean the boat before getting to leave at around 4.00 pm.  Everything moveable and immoveable has to be washed or wiped, and anything that could be put on deck to clean was put on deck.  An onerous task but with 11 of us taking part it wasn't too bad.  I landed up having to clean the galley which was an arduous task as it was hot and humid down below, but worse when the floor boards were removed to be washed down and I had to balance on the fresh water tanks.

What a wonderful week I had and I have come away even more excited about my upcoming trip.  We were lucky with the weather in that it was warm, but it would have been nice to have experienced some stronger winds and to get an idea of how the boat can move through the water.  As the sailor of a 14 ft. dinghy I could really appreciate the power of the clipper yacht.  Everything was bigger and longer, and the amount of power that is exerted on equipment is phenomenal - and we only experienced light winds.  On the positive side the light winds gave us the time to go through different drills (evolutions) without the added difficulty of trying to stay upright and tied on.  Hopefully we all have a good grounding on what is needed and can move forward to our Level 2 courses confident of a firm foundation.
  

The next thing for me is going to be 'Crew Allocation' on the 25th April - next Saturday.  This is where I find out which boat I'll be on, who the skipper is, and who the other crew members are.  This is when the race starts as we all start to prepare for departure on the 30th August.

 

My Level 2 training then starts the following day on the 26th with an 8.00 am reporting time to the 'Sea Survival' course for the first day and then five days offshore trying to get to grips with the watch system and living on a boat with everyone else while unable to get of.

 

And YES I really am going to sail around the world!!