A few of us 15/16'ers arranged a private charter of one of the retired Clipper 68s - CV7 Uniquely Singapore as it happens. We did this for various reasons; some because they have never actually sailed before and others like me, because waiting until October to do the Level 1 training is just too far away.
What a machine! Previously, the biggest boat I've sailed on was 46'. Initially that was a bit daunting, but after a few hours it felt no different than my lovely little Westerly Centaur. However, the Clipper boats are in another league. Being cutter rigged (two sails in front of the mast) adds to the complexity. The size of the boat also means that the loads on all the rigging, sheets and halyards are really big.
Tacking in my Centaur involves zero drama, thinking and very little effort and can quite easily be carried out single handed. To tack a Clipper requires, well an orchestra of people all operating in perfect harmony.
How did we do? Well, not bad really. We shown how to rig the boat on Saturday morning, had a quick lunch and headed out into the Solent. Dawn had broken gloriously on Saturday morning, but by the time we got out, it was blowing F8 with rain and fog. We had a blast!
On Sunday, having over nighted in E Cowes, we were left unguided to re rig the boat. We did this really rather well with only one minor error. The wind had eased on Sunday and the sun broke through the clouds and all too soon we were back in Gosport.
What a great weekend and two days later we are still posting pictures and videos on our Facebook group. I've suggested to Clipper that they might want to offer this to people that are interested, but unsure. Having tasted it, you will be signing on the dotted line!
The next event to look forward to, is meeting up again at the 13/14 start, wherever that is going to be?
