That's it, all done. All the training has been completed. Now wait until 31st August to put it all into practice for real, for the very first time. Am I ready for this? Well yes, I believe I am. I'm not scared, just perhaps buoyed with nervous excitement.
The Level 4 training week was a bit of a mixed bag to be honest. Clipper billed this week as being at sea for the whole racing against other boats along with a few exercises such as boat to boat transfers. Being at sea all week just meant that we weren't allowed to go into a marina, which meant we spend three nights at anchor. This was not well received by the crew, exasperated by the awful procedure for lowering the anchor. As the 70 has no bow roller, the anchor and chain have to be lowered over the guardrail. This is not only difficult, but also has a huge potential for an accident.
The first day was spent getting familiar with the boat again as well as getting to know some of the people we will be sailing with. Luckily we were all ClipperTelemed+ crew on our boat, whereas most of the other were a mixture of two different crew. This lead to our first night at anchor!
Next day we were unable to retrieve said anchor as the warp had got wrapped round the keel. In the end our only option was to let the warp go, but we tied a floating line to the end so that we could retrieve it. Unfortunately, the floating line didn't do the one thing it was supposed to do!
However, things got better as we rendezvoused with the six other boats and practiced Le Man and standard race starts before heading off the Le Harve. I had noticed on the second day that my scopoderm patch had fallen off, so I started taking Stugeron tablets, however, as soon as I got up on the third morning seasickness got me. I struggled to get on desk, but even that was no good, so I ended up on the saloon floor with a bucket. Luckily, by the afternoon the sea state improved and I came back to life.
The boat was sailing well and we could tell she was a fast boat. In the last race she was GREAT Britain, which probably would have won if it wasn't for the number of penalties they got! Then as we were on our way from Weymouth back to the Isle of White, we snagged a lobster pot. We then spent the next couple of hours trying to shack it loose. Ironically, this was only achieved by drifting over another pot, which dragged the first one off!
The following day we started another race down to Weymouth and back. It was a bright sunny day with light winds all the way down. As my watch started, the skipper asked to the Code 1 to be brought up on deck ready for hoisting after we round the mark. As we rounded the mark, the wind went from 5 knots to 25 knots in a matter of minutes! This resulted in the skipper screaming for the Code 1 to be put back below before it got blown off the deck.
A little later I took over the helm. By now it was pitch black and we were healed over doing 12+ knots - what fun! Then I looked up the mast to see the windx and saw the stars and I was just in awe at their beauty. After my shift on the helm, I just lay on the deck for 5 minutes just looking at the stars.
The wind did some funny things over the next 24 hours, ranging from nothing to a good old blow! The following day we finally manage to get the kit up with a struggle, only to have to bring it straight back down!
The next day was our last. The morning was scheduled for the boat tow and other exercises. This started well, with us being the towed boat. When it was our turn to get ready to do the towing at became apparent that everyone had drained their main water tanks. However, as we had three fully Jerry cans of water. We prepared to do a transfer with the boat with the least amount of water. Their first attempt at heaving a line fell short. Their second attempt landed on one of our instruments cracking the screen!
Once the transfer was completed, we restarted the towing exercise, which is when it all started to go horribly wrong. As we were maneuvering round the other boat we ended up smashing into their stern quarter and as the skipper was trying to prevent this happening the throttle/gear selector broke with the engine full-throttle in reverse!
The team lept into action with Doug shutting
down the throttle and putting the drive into neutral. We then spent the next hour working on a jury rig to get us back to Gosport. This was achieved be creation of a speaking tube and Nick controlling the throttle and gear selection from the lazarrete. Once the Clipper maintenance team had fitted a new lever, we return to the Solent to complete our exercises before finally anchoring (however, not before suffering loss of steering) for the last time.
It was a very eventful week!
The next day was our last. The morning was scheduled for the boat tow and other exercises. This started well, with us being the towed boat. When it was our turn to get ready to do the towing at became apparent that everyone had drained their main water tanks. However, as we had three fully Jerry cans of water. We prepared to do a transfer with the boat with the least amount of water. Their first attempt at heaving a line fell short. Their second attempt landed on one of our instruments cracking the screen!
Once the transfer was completed, we restarted the towing exercise, which is when it all started to go horribly wrong. As we were maneuvering round the other boat we ended up smashing into their stern quarter and as the skipper was trying to prevent this happening the throttle/gear selector broke with the engine full-throttle in reverse!
down the throttle and putting the drive into neutral. We then spent the next hour working on a jury rig to get us back to Gosport. This was achieved be creation of a speaking tube and Nick controlling the throttle and gear selection from the lazarrete. Once the Clipper maintenance team had fitted a new lever, we return to the Solent to complete our exercises before finally anchoring (however, not before suffering loss of steering) for the last time.
It was a very eventful week!
