The calm and gentle 40's!!!

So, Leg 3 of the race is done and I can't believe its going so quickly! We've now sailed all the way from Hull in the UK over to Geraldton in Australia, covering circa 14,500 miles in the process! This leg of the race though didn't quite live up to the expectation!!

When I originally signed up for the Clippers race it was only to this leg, across the infamous Southern Ocean. The reason I signed up is because of all the oceans the race crosses this one had the potential to be very very quick downwind sailing with some big seas and big waves! However, despite diving well into the Roaring Forties, going down as low as nearly 44 degrees South, the strongest winds we saw were sailing on the final day directly into Geraldton!!!

So, 4,400 miles away and nearly 4 weeks before in Cape Town we had the most interesting start and hardest 24hrs of sailing we've done so far. With the count down to the start in full swing the wind was easily hitting 30 knots, calling for reefs in the main and the smaller headsails. Whilst all this activity was going on we had to think about getting our start-line approach right. Whilst on the foredeck I heard what I thought was the cannon firing from Cape Town yacht club to signify the 10 minute start gun. It was only when I looked up I realised that Cork had collided full on into the side of Hull and Humber right on the way up to the start line!!!! Fortunately no one was hurt but both boats were seriously damaged and headed straight back into Cape Town. Cork cracked the front of the hull open, right down the bow, but Hull and Humbers damage was far worse, requiring some serious work to repair a huge hole in the side of their hull. It was worrying to think this could be anyone of us as we're all so close sometimes at the start line. Our thoughts soon turned to racing though and the remaining 8 of us were off to Australia...

Only an hour later we were caught entirely in the wind shadow of table mountain and were doing exactly zero knots with the windseeker sail up. In only another hours time we were back to 30 knots of wind as we came out from behind the mountain. In the dead of night it was a shock to all of us and the hardest watch i've done. Changing sails in a pair of shorts getting hammered by waves over the bow was fun - in retrospect!!!

So it was not long before we were all back into the swing of things on the boat - we're all getting used to it quicker and quicker after each stop over which is good. Again there wasn't much option with this leg for tactical options, so most of the boats were closely placed for the first week, only after that did we begin to spread out a little. We were consistently in the top half of the pack which was good but most of the crew, myself included were a little disappointed that being well away from the coast of Africa now and making a significant dive south, that we weren't experiencing some tougher conditions. Personally I was of the opinion that you never wish for horrific weather but if ever we were going to get some we were all ready and in the right frame of mind to deal with it.

An added bonus on this leg was having the camera man on board from North One TV studios. We had cameras set up all over the boat and were regularly giving interviews about our experiences so far which was really good, and exciting as well to think that the end programme will be going out to over 60 countries around the world.

And so it was that the supposed 'roaring' forties lulled us right into a false sense of security. We had been sailing consistently under spinnaker for almost 24 hours, just north of the Kergulen islands when I was coming out on watch for my six hour day shift. Pete our skipper fortunately was helming at the time the wind went from around 10 to nearly 35 knots. The spinnaker was way too much and we would have to act super quickly to get out of this situation safely. Before we'd even moved though the boat broached, lying sideways in the water with most of the boom in the water and the end of the mast only a few feet off the surface. The wind was howling, the sails were flogging themselves to the point of ripping, especially the spinnaker and everyone was hanging on to whatever they could wondering if Jamaica would flip back up. Fortunately she levelled out but only for a minute before Pete shouted 'All hands on deck' as we broached for a second and third time.

Its scary when the boat broaches - i've read about this so many times in all kinds of books and magazines but when its actually happening it makes you realise how powerful the boats are in too much wind! In the midst of a near deafening sound from the sails and everyone trying to shout above the noise the spinnaker pole was released forwards. A huge 20 foot metal pole snapped like a match stick against the inner forestay. The halyards for the spinnaker were then cut in an attempt to get the sail down as quickly as possibly, but it was too late. The sail was ripped nearly clean in two with the space of about 5 minutes as we tried desperately to get it back on board - not an easy task when the majority of it is now 50 feet behind the boat, in the water and the boat is heeled right over and still travelling at 10 knots!!!

Anyway, eventually we got the sail back on board, lowered our shattered spinnaker pole and cleared away all the snapped and cut lines. It was our most 'out of control' moment so far on the race and not one any of us would wish to repeat, especially considering we will most likely lose a hard earned point in the overall race for the damage.

Following a de-brief from Pete and a bit of a re-group we focused on trying to regain some positions as we were not approaching the last 1500 miles and lying in 7th place. The wind was fairly consistent and for the first time in almost a week it was in the perfect direction that we could steer a course almost directly to Geraldton. Whilst we were all excited about sailing quickly towards Australia (most of us onboard were very keen to get there by now!) it was not lost on us that all of the other boats were experiencing similar weather, and so our position wasn't changing. Our only hope lay in a huge high pressure system that was building up between us and the coast of Australia. With around 750 miles to go the boats in front of us, slowly but surely, one by one, ground to an absolutely halt. This would allow all 8 of us a second bite at the cherry and would bunch us right up for an exciting finish into Geraldton.

Not surprisingly several of the boats played their stealth cards. Whilst in 4th place on a good run, we were very confident that we were coming close to overtaking Cape Breton Island, only to find that on getting the next position report in, they had entered their 24hr period of stealth. Having come back from 7th place we were desperate to get a podium place and so the mood on board was so anxious at this time. Unfortunately Team Finland and Spirit of Australia were too far ahead at this time for us to seriously challenge them, but we would do all that we could to get the remaining podium spot.

And so as we entered our last day of sailing Cape Breton popped out of Stealth only 2 miles behind us!!! It was great to be in third but we would have to sail well and sail hard to keep our lead. In the end, as we arrived into Geraldton, with nearly 40 knots of wind, and after 4400 miles of sailing, the top 8 boats were separated by only 6 hours. Fortunately we hald on to our third place which we had worked so hard for!!! It was a truly nail biting finish and it was a shame that Cork and Hull and Humber could not have been part of it. I suppose though it is a benefit for us in the overall standings, although Hull and Humber at least are likely to be given a points redress and so may move up the field.

And so, after and eventful, but somewhat unfulfilling Southern Ocean leg on the whole, we're all relaxing now, enjoying time in Australia for Christmas and New Year. Its nice to be away from the boats for a while, especially as I am seeing family and my girlfriend this stop over for the first time since the race start.

A full set of photos will be uploaded before I leave Geraldton, including those from leg 2!!!

Happy Christmas and New year to all!!!

The Atlantic finally rears its ugly head...

CAN'T UPLOAD ALL OF MY PHOTOS OR VIDEOS AT THE MOMENT UNFORTUNATELY. THEY WILL BE ADDED RETROSPECTIVELY SO PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON AS THERE ARE SOME GREAT SHOTS FROM THE SOUTH ATLANTIC. For the moment, here is the leg 2 report...enjoy..

So having had a great stopover in Rio, a somewhat luxurious one it might be said after conditions on the boat, we found ourselves reconvening again to do final boat prep and get ourselves ready for what would undoubtedly be a harder race, with faster downwind sailing and bigger seas. We were joined by our new crew members, Mark Davies, Marc Scrimshire and Michelle Henderson replacing Greg Bond, Tom Reddaway and Ed Carley. Sad to be saying goodbye to those guys after a great first leg but it was important for all that we make sure the new crew were as welcome as possible so it was great to have a beers together on the last night before leaving.

Soon enough though the time had come to slip lines and say farewell to Brazil. We motored out underneath the fabulous Christ Redeemer and Sugarloaf mountains for a short course race round the cans before pointing Jamaica towards Cape Town, trimming sails and sailing as quickly as we could. We had a great start, out-foxing some boats that took a course further inland and got stuck in light airs from shadow of the coastline.

With only California and Edinburgh ahead of us we were confident it was a leg where we could really excel again and hopefully go one or two places better than last leg. Although the leg was not set to offer as many options tactically to the fleet there was soon a split of boats with

ourselves, Edinburgh and California making a more Northerly course, another 5 heading further South, with Cape Breton Island between the two groups. It was an early decision that was

to pay off as within 48 hours, despite being in the same wind system as Edinburgh and California, we were taking consistent miles out of them and leaving the southerly group even further behind. It was the first time in the whole race where we have been in first place for a consistent period and we were well places to pick up a full 3 points at the North-South gate 700 miles away.

It was a constant source of discussion on board as to how far south we should sail to be well placed between the South Atlantic High and low pressure systems that circle above Antarctica. Alas, one period of 24 hours, where we got that balance slightly wrong was to be our undoing; becalmed, 4 of the boats further south overtook us and we were left settled into the middle of the fleet as we got further and further offshore. It was a real wake up call as we had gone from a great start to a position now where we would potentially not pick up any gate points!!

Sure enough our route did begin to take us further and further south east and as expected, conditions soon deteriorated and we began a period of very strong winds, peaking at nearly 50 knots. Unfortunately this was not a happy time on board Jamaica as a stomach bug was going round the crew, and before long it was my turn to be ill - not pleasant when the heads are crashing round heeled over at 30 degrees! Whoever said this ocean racing was glamorous!

So I was disappointed to miss 72 hours of the last leg with a combination of sea sickness and a stomach bug. It was during this period that Hull & Humber, Singapore and Cork crossed over the scoring gate ahead of us, and so morale on board was not the best!

As mentioned there were to be few, if any, tactical decisions this leg, so gaining places would come down to a combination of good sail trim and accurate helming and we were more determined than ever for a strong finish into Cape Town after the disappointment of the gate. So with new found determination I slipped back into my watch system and role as one of the key helms and it was absolutely amazing to be sailing Jamaica along at speeds of over 20 knots! The only way I can describe it is like water exploding all over the boat. Needless to say

everyones foul weather gear was getting a true test of what the ocean can conjure up.

No sooner had a really got back into my watch system than I was back down below doing motherwatch duties!!! Not something I looked forward to in Force 8 winds and the boat crashing all over the place. Within 5 mins there was coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cuppa soup all over the floor as we bashed right through a wave and the trend was set for the next 24 hours! With pans, plates, the kettle, endless pieces of cutlery, food

, sauces, drinks, absolutely anything thats not fixed down flying all over the place it was a great relief to have a good nights sleep. Mark and I headed off to our bunks just trying not to think about having to repeat the whole performance again for breakfast.

The one benefit I had of being on Motherwatch is that when I did have a break I could catch up on the navigation side of the race and find out where we had got to in the last day or two. It was great to know that just as I was serving my last cup of tea, aqua-vaccing my last bilge and heading out on deck that we were about to break the 1000 mile barrier.

We had 1 more day of lighter winds before the next Low pressure system caught up with us and we were off again surfing up around the 20 knot mark. Its amazing how quickly the miles get eaten up at these sort of speeds and before long we were only 3 days from Cape Town, having nearly crossed the Atlantic for a second time!!! Each of us were daring to dream just a little of the creature comforts that awaited us. It had been a rough leg, with one of the other boats having a man overboard to serve as a constant reminder and we were all looking forward to a break.

But there was still sailing to do and we were driven into a final push as we closed on Hull and Humber and overtook into 4th place approaching South Africa. Similar to the first leg it was weird to be able to see another Clipper boat having sailed thousands of miles from the last stop, and when we could see Hull and Humber behind us we should have done more to cover them and get ourselves into a match racing mode for the finish. Ultimately not flying our lightweight spinnaker during the final night meant we crossed the finish line only 55 minutes behind them, in a solid 5th place.

It was great to arrive on dry land after what was a very different leg to the first. There was a different dynamic on board as I was with a different watch and so it was interesting to be sailing with new crew on board. There was rough weather, fast down wind sailing, breakages and illness so it really feels like we've earned our stopover in Cape Town. Over the next 72 hours the remaining Clippers arrived, California doing so in a phenominal 67 knots of wind under emergency steering. We were to learn that despite not finishing on the podium that we were one of the only boats to arrive with virtually no damage. Several of the other boats had destroyed sails, lost wind instruments, lost steering capability and crash gybed several times. The Jamaican strategy of looking after the boat to make sure it gets us all the way round the world had paid off.

Leg 3 over to Australia is set to be more of the same, if not an even more extreme version as we head down to the roaring forties, and I can't wait!

Hopefully there'll be some more photos and videos to follow.

Pete

Leg 1 and Rio photos....

I was hoping to have uploaded photos from the first leg and of the stopover in Rio but everytime I try to upload them the internet here crashes!! I didn't get round to uploading these when I was actually in Rio as it was a little dangerous to head out with a nice new camera. So rather than risk a mugging I thought i'd add them up now whilst i'm at my next stopover in Cape Town and that plan seems to have been thwarted as well!

Will be trying to find a solution before I leave on leg 3 otherwise it might have to wait till Australia!

Pete

Leg 1, Race 2 - It ain't over till the fat lady sings...

Sleep deprived doesn’t come close. I’m utterly knackered, beaten and bruised. Physically my body is aching and I have a host of small injuries too great in number to count. My hands are slowly but surely just falling to pieces before my very eyes and I now have pressure sores to add to the list from sitting on the high side of the boat. Mentally the last 4 weeks has been so far removed from almost anything I’ve done before; we have spent time barely moving for hours and hours on end as well as time in excess of 1000 miles from the nearest help if anything major were to happen onboard. But this is ocean racing after all, and its everything I imagined and more. Call me a glutton for punishment but I want more of this. For now though the story starts as we leave La Rochelle early on the morning of 22nd September.

It was an early 7 o’clock start full of mixed emotions. We had had a good, if somewhat busy, stopover in La Rochelle but most of us were now keen to get going. After such a good run down to France and having heard stories galore about the ferocity of the Bay of Biscay, we had all been coming to terms in our own minds with what we were about to undertake. The folklore winds failed to materialise however and we found ourselves crossing the start line for race 2 with all ten boats in the fleet doing less than half a knot of boat speed at best. In fact it was such light winds that some boats pointed back towards the town of La Rochelle in an effort to find some more wind. We were lucky enough to be joined for the start by the boat Joshua, sailed by Bernard Montessier in the very first solo non-stop circumnavigation race featuring non other than Sir Robin Knox Johnson and Donald Crowhurst. It was a shame that we could not have had a more exciting start for such an esteemed follower.

Still, onboard Jamaica Lightning bolt we had a good start and found ourselves in second place for the first half a day of the race. Within 48 hours however it was a different story and a tactical error meant that we began to fall back down the fleet as we left Biscay – we were one of the last boats to start flying a spinnaker, a decision in hindsight which we lament as it would have meant a lot less catching up heading towards the Canary islands.

After a slow few days we began to settle in to our watch systems again and the winds gradually began to build. It wasn’t long before we were well and truly into the North East trade winds with the Canaries in our sights but by this point we were lying in 10th place. It would be lying if I said the role of bringing up the back of the fleet did not have an effect on morale. We were however buoyed by the undeterred spirit of our skipper who still had faith that we were competitive – it was after all a 5000 mile race and there was a long long way to go.

So the Canaries was the first of a number of tactical decisions to be made that would ultimately lead, not that we know at this stage, to us building a significant lead over the trailing group of boats. Due to us still being far down the pack at this point, we made the decision not to go for the scoring gate on the South West side of the islands, instead hugging the west coast of Africa, avoiding as well any wind shadow from the islands. Careful consideration of the weather routing information meant we avoided falling into a big wind whole and suffered only an 18hr period of being becalmed. By shifting sails around below deck, sitting on the leeward side of our Jamaican Lightning Bolt and using water from the high side tanks we were able to induce just enough heel in the boat to keep us moving slowly but surely past the islands. Needless to say it was a welcome relief when the trade winds began to reappear and I was further boosted by a short lived phone signal allowing me to call Lisa.

And so our daily mileage slowly began to creep back up to over 200 miles a day which kept us extremely competitive, and on several occasions the quickest boat in the fleet. 10th, 9th, 8th and then 7th. Slowly but surely we were creeping up the fleet.

From here it was an 800 mile drag race to the Cape Verde islands where good sail trim, correct sail plan and meticulous helming would keep us very much in contention and start our serious assault on a podium position. By this stage the boat was hitting good speeds again and feeling well powered up, so all of our weight distribution was shifted again to the high side to keep the boat flatter. By the time we reached Cape Verde we were only 17° North of the equator (having started at 53°!!) and so work below deck, whether it was spinnaker packing, sail repair, or motherwatch duties was so hot it inevitably left us exhausted and sweating profusely with the disparaging thought that it was only set to get hotter and hotter.

And so slowly the first leg began to roll on and on and before we knew it we had been at sea for 2 weeks. We were getting used to the midnight and 4 o’clock wake up calls and sleeping during the day became easy as the conditions continued to provide us with idyllic sailing. We had spotted our fair share of dolphin and a whale or two by this stage and it was a welcome feeling knowing that we are not alone out here – it is the first time for many of us that we have spent so long offshore not in sight of land. Our most frequent visitors however were flying fish that have an amazing ability to glide gracefully along the ocean’s surface during the day keeping well away from predators, but are dumbly attracted the lights of our boat at night. The deck is inevitably covered with them in the morning having followed a hilarious night or two where people were hit by them landing. It was only a matter of time and sure enough I was hit flush between the eyes (literally it could not have caught me squarer if I had had a bullseye painted on my face) to everyone’s amusement, and I spent the next hour or so trying to wash the scales and stench off my face. Little did I know this was not to be my last encounter and the following night a particularly determined kipper flew perfectly through the forward hatch as I was sleeping and slapped full on into the side of my bunk. Waking up not knowing what had happened, the smell soon cut through me like smelling salts and following a few curses I launched the offender back to the night time ocean.

It was not long however until we had our first bit of drama! We were flying our medium weight spinnaker during the off-watch and snap – the snapshackle at the end of the guy rope had snapped on our pole and it was a race to get the spinnaker dropped before it ripped and became a much bigger problem for us! Fortunately the on-watch were very on the ball and many of us from down below grabbed life jackets to help out as well. We checked the medium weight for rips, packed it up and had the heavy weight up in no time, minimising the time sailing without a full downwind sail plan.

So, when all had returned to normal, it was now time to start concentrating on our strategy for the Doldrums. They were sitting roughly around 9° North of the equator and our GRIB weather files that we were getting through were changing every day, making route planning through this notorious part of the leg extremely difficult. Squall watch and radar checks became a regular feature of life on board as getting caught with the spinnaker up as a 60 knot squall approached would only result in a bad broach, the mast in the water and god knows what damage to equipment. So after a few days/nights being slightly tense at what the outcome might be, it with a wry smile on my face that I can say my first crossing through the doldrums was not nearly as bad as it could have been – indeed we had virtually no period of time where there wasn’t atleast some breeze blowing us further and further South. We were part of the top 5 group that had a quick crossing through. We were ecstatic to see in fact that one of our Scheduled Position Reports (or skeds as they are known on board) showed us in second place for a while in a race within the race with Cape Breton Island and Spirit of Australia. Our ‘every 6-hour’ reports became more and more important to us all each time they came in, to the point now where virtually everyone on board races to crowd round the navigation station to see where we are positioned and our gain or loss to the other boats around us. Its become an obsession that will no doubt stick all the way round the world, especially when the racing is as close as it has been this leg.

Our next major milestone was the equator, where we had a boat party and made all our toasts to Neptune. It was the first time in a few weeks that we’d had any alcohol so the dram of whisky we had had some interesting effects on most crew!

By this stage the fleet had divided into two clear groups, with H&H, Singapore, Qingdao, Edinburgh and California falling further and further back every hour as the doldrums were a lot less forgiving. It was at this stage that the leadgin group got to over 500 miles ahead of the nearest trailing boat.

By this stage of the crossing. It was so hot that sleep had become virtually impossible – indeed it took so much effort just to get into my bunk on the high side when the boat was crashing along through the waves that it was sometimes best to stick to dosing in the saloon area and conserving energy. Having now had a proper nights sleep in Rio, I’ve only just realised how tired I’ve become!

Over the next few days we passed over the point where we were closer to South America than Africa and our winds had progressively switched round to the South East as predicted. It was the first time in over two weeks that we had seen the yankee and staysail headsails, having been lucky enough to fly one of our 3 spinnakers almost non-stop up to this point. So our focus changed again from down wind sailing and trimming to working on shaping our headsails upwind to get maximum speed down towards Rio. Our race position was however not helped by the strop snapping again on the end of the guy rope just before we dropped the spinnaker. Fortunately after a little while wrestling the sail it was dropped without any major dramas.
It was not long before we found ourselves match racing with Cape Breton Island and Spirit of Australia for the two remaining podium positions. After so many thousand miles of sailing it was unusual to say the least for them to both be in visible range on a number of occasions. It was tense and not uncommon for people on the off watch to get up in the middle of the night during their precious hours of sleeping to check our sched results!

As we continued on our approach to Rio, not only was the weather just not playing into our favour, but the strop on the end of the guy failed for a third time. We thought that this would be the end of our podium challenge since we were now nearly 30 miles behind Cape Breton with only 150 to go. Despite our anti-wrap net we wrapped our spinnaker badly round the inner forestay and there was a real struggle to unwrap it. Several hours later there was no real damage to the spinnaker but we had lost major miles to our competitors. It was a real shame to think that having come so far and spent so much time in the top three that we would now finish outside the podium places..

Within 120 miles of Rio there was a huge barrier of no wind between the leading fleet and the finish line. Race organisers decided at this point to shorten the course however it was still not enough to stop us all becoming becalmed at some point. We were therefore left to rue our loss for a little while longer as we bobbed at a very slow rate of knots towards Rio. It seems the race would finish just as it had begun 4 weeks earler in La Rochelle. It was however due to a combination of hard work and also genuinely not giving up until the fat lady has sung that we took over 40 miles out of Cape Breton Island over the last 24 hours. We were all so elated to have finished leg 1 of the race in 3rd place!!!

What a spectacular sight Rio is after so long away from land and I am sure its going to be a great stopover. For now though there is plenty of maintenance work to be done on the boat and then sleep. Hopefully, the first of a few long deep sleeps to feel fully recovered before leg 2. There’ll be more from Rio in a few days.

A beaten but not broken Pete, congratulations to Team Finland and Spirit of Australia.

Farewells, fast sailing and a strong run to beautiful La Rochelle

So, after literally years in the making, 11 o'clock on Sunday 13th 2009 arrived. It was a moment I was looking forward to so so much, however saying goodbye to friends, family and my amazingly patient girlfriend Lisa was a the one thing about the whole experience I was not looking forward to. It may be a long time till I see some of them again, but we'll keep in touch and hopefully meet up somewhere along the way.

Hull was a spectacular send off, there must have been well over 100,000 people there over the course of the weekend, peaking on race start day, Sunday. The crews from each team had their moment of glory on stage to their boat songs, before we made our way to the boats and slipped mooring lines. We were quickly into the routine and activity on the boat began almost straight away.

Prior to the race start we made some final waves to the crowds on shore and posed for some sponsor photos, before a final crew brief from Pete our skipper. The time seemed to be passing in a blur before I knew it the ten minute start gun sounded. Four minutes. One minute. Ten, Nine, Eight..... Bang the start cannon for the Clippers 09-10 race fired and we were off. Leg 1 to Rio via a stop in La Rochelle where I'm writing this blog from.

It was a close and fiercely competitive start as you can see from the photo here, with most boats very close until we were well out the Humber. On board Jamaica Lightning Bolt we had a pretty good start, hovering around 4th or 5th, all the time trying our best to trim sails to track down those ahead.

Before long we were into our watch system and we would begin the process of gel-ing into our individual teams. I was assigned the position of bowman for our first leg, and I hope this continues for a long time to come. Its the high adrenaline position on the boat, but a crucial one at the same time. We didn't get the spinnaker out on this first race but I worked with the rest or our watch to get poled out headsails setup and keep the yankee and staysail well trimmed. Throughout the day and night your role is to check the sail trim every 20 minutes or whenever there is a wind shift or tactical change. Many massive waves came right over my head even in this first leg where the weather was relatively calm. Its going to be a hardcore job for the next few months but one i'm really relishing.

During our first night we peaked, a little to soon as it turns out, as we reached 3rd place pushing hard to track down Spirit of Australia in second.

There was soon a tactical decision then to be made. The wind conditions were pretty well set up for a spinnaker run, but being our very first race we decided to take the more conservative approach of a poled out headsail. It has since paid dividends as we have found out here in La Rochelle that Finland, the winning boat, has snapped their spinnaker pole and there are a few others that are not in as good a shape as Jamaica.

We had a run then of about 12 hours where we were the quickest of any boat in the fleet by quite a way and things were looking really good for a strong result in the first race. A later tactical error of taking a more offshore route round a wind farm in the North Sea undid a little of our hard work unfortunately as we slipped back to 5th.

We then had a sustained period of really close racing with Cape Bretton Island (you can see some of these photos on my google account at the end) which was great fun considering we were so close after several hundred miles of sailing. 5th then 6th then 5th then 6th. Positions were changing at every position update and it was some of the most exciting sailing i've done.

Eventually we found ourselves rounding Ushant and making our approach to La Rochelle. It was close all the way but we finally finished just behind a quick Cape Bretton Island in a respectable 6th place. We arrived at La Rochelle at about 7 o'clock on Wednesday night, a few hours too late unfortunately to get through the lock into the part of the harbour where the Clippers boats would be moored. So after a night on anchor with a few other Clippers we made out way into the harbour at the next high tide at 3 the next morning.

I've since spent the last 2 days working on the boat and had a great surprise when my father turned up on the pontoon. The plan nearly didn't work out when it looked like I would be snowed under with work to do, but I was really pleased when I managed to free myself up to spend a night out catching up before I next see him in San Francisco.

I now have a few free days in beautiful La Rochelle before we head off into the wild Atlantic. I'm so excited about doing what I hope will be the first of many major ocean crossings. Anyway, must head off now, things to organise before we have our next briefings, prize givings and send off. Will blog again from the next port but in the mean time you can check out the rest of my photos here: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/collinsoceanracing/Race1HullToLaRochelle#

Don't forget as well that you can get the race positions here: www.clipperroundtheworld.com

Until next time,

Pete

Fever pitch...

So the final morning has come around!!!! As I sit here, highly unorganised and with a little still to pack into my bag, I am an hour away from leaving home and heading to join the boats in Hull.

A weird weird feeling, but a really exciting one at the same time.

Jamaica's official naming ceremony is at 2 o'clock this afternoon so am hoping to make it over to that in time. I'll be blogging from each of the stop overs, so the first one will be up here when I arrive in La Rochelle in about a weeks time. I'l stick some photos up of the whole start debarcle then.

Well I better go adn finish packing, have some breakfast and hit the road, not going to happen on its own!

Sorry this has been a short and rather lame attempt at a big send off blog, some what lacking in expressing how exciting it all is. Thanks to all for the various send offs from work/london/home, much appreciated.

Keep in touch and keep your fingers crossed - we have alot to live up to now we've been named after the fastest man on earth...

Pete

Don't forget you can sponsor my barnardos fund raising efforts if you fancy - its a great cause and would be really appreciated. Just follow the links on the left hand side...

So close I can smell it...

So the clock is about to tick down into single figures in terms of days to race start and the emotional roller coaster is coming to a climax.

I’m about to set off on a ten month Round the World Yacht Race, and so naturally 99.9% of my mindset is being super excited about the coming months, to the point where I can’t really fathom the correct words to explain it. I’ve already said goodbye to a few people that I know I may never see again, depressing as that may sound I suppose its just reality when you go away for a long time. That’s the bit that makes up the other 0.1% unfortunately.

That’s not to belittle friendships that I have made by any means, (I will or course genuinely miss people, I am human!!!) but the race has been so long in coming for me, long before I knew some of my friends in London in fact. I first heard about the Clippers race when I was 18 maybe 19, so nearly 7 or 8 years its been lurking in the back of my mind. I’ve been incredibly lucky to do some great adventures in the interim (climbing trips to the Alps, Dolomites, Andes, cycling trips, overland travels aplenty etc.), but the 2920 days since I heard about the race is now about to become just a single digit – 9!!!! (I can tell even as I’m writing this article my excitement is rocketing)

As I write this the 10 68ft stripped out Clippers racing yachts have departed Gosport on the South Coast of the UK, where all of our training has happened and many a good beer shared in the Clarence pub. Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, Jamaica Lightning Bolt, Uniquely Singapore, Cork, Team Finland (the latest and final entry into the race), Qingdao, Cape Bretton Ireland, Hull & Humber, Spirit of Australia and California won’t be returning for just shy of a full year having complete a full circumnavigation in the mean time…

As for me, I’m finishing work this Friday which brings its own set of mixed emotions. Turner and Townsend have been incredibly supportive and I’ve met some great people here. From London I then head home to see family on the Wirral and on from there to the North East, each move signifying a step closer to the 2 o’clock start gun on Sunday 13th.

I’ll be blogging from each port about what we’re up to and of course writing about the events of each leg and posting photos back. On board, I’ll have a GComms account via the Satellite to send very short emails to a select group of family and friends.

I’ll make sure I blog again before I leave to say a final farewell. Thanks for following

Pete

Jamaica Clipper!!!

And so, finally after a fairly lengthy wait (no doubt thanks to the credit crunch), we onboard CV2 have been officially confirmed as Jamaica Clipper. The boat, endorsed by Usain Bolt will be called Jamaica Lightning Bolt.

How we are going to fair in keeping Jamaica's name in the headlines as the fastest nation on the planet I don't know, but I can assure you we will be giving it our best shot. Pete our skipper seems to be getting pretty keen on the idea of going all out for the race.

It also means that we will get a home port on the race which is great. This will mean that unlike one or two of the other boats, we'll have our stop in Port Antonio at the end of Leg 6, where hopefully we should get a good reception and welcome from the Jamaicans.

Not sure what the design for our boat will be yet as the one in the picture above is the 07-08 design. Still remains to be seen but I'm really genuinely pleased to have been given Jamaica as a sponsor - will be great fun!

The race is really creeping up now, to say i'm excited is the under statement of the year - 20 days to go! I'm sincerely hoping we get to meet old Usain in Jamaica. I reckon after 8 months away at sea by this point, there might be one or two of us that could give him a run for his money in a sprint to the bar...

A very happy Pete, Jamaica Clipper!

Barnardos Fund Raising...

So its time to get my fundraising efforts off the ground for my charity that I'm racing for. I've decided to go with Barnardos for this adventure, one of the UK's leading Children's charities.

They do some really fantastic work and have over 400 projects in the UK now, helping with situations ranging from
drug misuse to disability, youth crime to mental health, sexual abuse to domestic violence, poverty to homelessness..

I'm really proud to be representing them so please give your support if you can! I've set up a justgiving page, which you can get to by clicking here.

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Pete

Oil Skins - Check. Boots - Check. Shorts -Check. Socks....hmmmm how many pairs to take??!!!!

So prep for the race is really beginning to take off (its just over 30 days before I set off) and I'm getting to the stage where I am faced with the usual conundrums of previous trips - what kit to take!

I'm beginning to buy the last bits I think I'll need to take with me and questions of cotton vs. synthetic, heavy weight vs. light weight, 3 pairs or 4 pairs are going round and round my head on an almost daily basis!

Training for a few weeks on the Solent gives you a fairly good idea but that is after all, only a week. Packing a bag for ten months has had me scratching my head a little, since the weather will change so significantly during the race. We'll encounter the full spectrum from freezing temperatures with snow and rough weather for weeks on end, right through to being so hot down in the galley on the way to Singapore that it becomes almost unbearable!

Planning for the trip swings almost always in favour of making me super-excited, but very occassionaly to the mind-bogglingly complex, making me crave the simplicity of adventures where you sling a bag over your shoulder and set off from your front door. This time around though it would be folly in the extreme to head out to the world's oceans without the right kit and preparation.

So while the kit debate is still in full swing, the good news is that atleast I have chosen what book I'm going to bring on the boat! Its called 'Kiss or Kill' by Mark Twight, a climber from North America. Hopefully in times of plight it will give me the mental resolve i need - no matter how bad I think I have it the suffering this guy went through to achieve his goals is epic in comparison...

Until next time...

Last training, done. Next sailing, RACE START.

So the last of my training is now complete!! We had a great week again out on Solent and in the English Channel. A real mix of weather again provided us with some good experience for the race.

Its actually quite scary to think that the next time I sail will be the race start in just 7 weeks time!!! On the one hand I feel ready and prepared and feel like we are really beginning to gel as a crew and have a skipper that will get us safely and quickly round the world.

On the other hand I try and think through the sequence of events needed to gybe the spinnaker in the middle of the night in the Southern Ocean doing over 20 knots and it all seems a bit overwhelming...

The other unfortunate news I had from this week is that I was sea sick for a period of about 24hrs. You might find this a little surprising to read on the blog of someone who is sailing round the world, but its actually quite common and there were fellow sufferers on board. I stupidly stopped taking my anti-nausea tablets and before too long a rolling sea on a downwind leg got the better of me.

Still I am not in the least bit worried, this is something I will get used to and it doesn't put me off achieving my goal of a circumnavigation.

No word on the sponsor of the boat, could be anyone - Liverpool, Cardiff, Jamaica! Who knows. Whilst its nice that we still have the surprise to come it does mean now that we have run out of time to have our boat taken out the water for our hull design. This means that the great looks of Cape Bretton, Uniquely Singapore, Hull and Humber etc. are likely to be in a different league to ours which is a shame...

All of the crew I have now met are fantastic and I'm really pleased to be sailing round the world with them, it'll make the adventure even more special sharing it with this group.

The week ended with a one on one debrief with my skipper which went well. He reckons i'm one of the stronger crew and so a leg or two as watch leader is hopefully still on the cards.

Will keep you posted. There will be plenty more general thoughts and musings over the next few weeks in the run up to the race but please keep checking back, am keen to share the trip with as many of you as possible!

Pete

PART C Training...

So I've returned, slightly battered and bruised, from a week of strong winds and rough sea conditions on my PART C training.

This was the first time I sailed with Pete Stirling, our skipper for the race, and also my crew that i'll be competing in the race with. My overiding memory i'll take from this week is that i've ended up on a great boat. Our skipper is quietly confident, extremely experienced and is pushing for a podium finish in the race. The crew is mix of people from all walks of life, some Round-the-worlders and some leggers, but all equally enthusiastic about the challenge ahead.



The week started with the Solent lulling us into a false sense of security, with blue skies and moderate winds, easy miles and everyone familiarising themselves with the boats again. The mid-week picture began to look very different however, and by the fourth day, after 48 hours of non-stop racing gybing spinnakers in the dead of night and dodging on-coming shipping we were hit by over 40 knots of wind and waves up to 15ft.

Needless to say we had a tough time of it, but it was probably ideal preparation for what is to come on some of the legs.

Watch systems were split as usual, spending 4 hours on and 4 hours off during the night and 6 on and 6 off during the day. Watch leaders weren't assigned though this week and we are still yet to see how roles on board will be assigned for the actual race.

We finished the week doing some man over board drills whilst at the same time practising what to do if the steering on the boat fails! Made for some interesting sailing and unfortunately for the fender that was thrown over the side in simulation, it would have been extremely lucky to have got him back alive. Still, practice makes perfect...

3 pints and a shower later and I completely crashed! I didn't realise just how tired I was until we were moored up and a decent nights sleep was available. I know i'll get used to this on the race but excuses like 'not being a morning person' are definitely going to have to go out the window for sure!

One of the other boats was also confirmed as being sponsored by Edinburgh and you can read about the sponsorship here. No news yet unfortunately for us, we're still known as the CV2 crew, although a rumour on the grapevine this week suggested we might actually end up being sponsored by Jamaica! Will keep you posted...

Next PART C training in 1 week and counting. Can't wait. Until then...

78 days to go....

If seems a lifetime ago that I started the countdown timer on my website. I remember it started at about 475 days.

Well as you can see, nearly 400 days of having itchy feet have passed since that point. Sure I have kept myself busy with running a marathon, a climbing trip to Northern Peru, walking the entire length of the Thames and of course my training towards the race, but I just cannot WAIT to get going now!

Currently reading a book by an ultra marathon runner called Dean Karnazes that is absolutely incredible. Some of his feats are beyond comprehension (running 350, yes thats right 350 miles NON-STOP) and it has really inspired me! I did my first run again in about 3 months this morning and I plan on keeping that up right up until race start now to get myself as fit as possible.

No news on the boat sponsor yet unfortunately, hoping to bring you some news on that soon and still hoping it will be Liverpool.

Off on my PART C training next wednesday night - really looking forward to sailing with my crew for the first time and heading out into the Atlantic...

Some photos from the last race...

I was looking through the 07-08 race website the other day, and found some great photos from the last race which I thought i'd put up here.

There will be a specific person on each yacht that is responsible for media communications, video footage, still photography etc. This is a hugely important role as it communicates our story with all those back on land, particularly race sponsors and partners.

It is not a role which I myself am keen to pursue, as there are undoubtedly people that will be more skilled at this than me, however I do hope to be able to get some great photos and videos to be able to send back to Turner and Townsend, friends and family whilst I'm away.

It also holds another importance for me. I sincerely hope this is not the last major yacht race I do, so having a documented account, be it video, photography, text etc. will serve as a good reminder to continue pursuing ambitions in the world of ocean racing...

Anyway, there are a whole host of images on the 07-08 site, which you can get to through clipperroundtheworld.com, so go check them out! We've also found out that our PART C courses (both of them) are likely to head as far out as possible into the Atlantic. Will be our first taste of ocean sailing together and obviously a great chance to sail with our new skipper and to start working together as a crew! Only two and half weeks to go - can't wait....

Hoping to be a Watchleader...

I'm still hoping that for some, if not all the race I can be a Watchleader for CV2. Here's my list of responsibilities if I get selected;

• Will provide leadership, motivation and encouragement to their watch crew whilst
ensuring the yacht is safely sailed at the optimum speed on the optimum course at
all times.
• Will ensure that the yacht complies with IRPCS, the racing rules and the sailing
instructions at all times.
• Will undertake navigation and log keeping duties whilst on watch.
• Will take part in the tactical, navigation and meteorological discussions and planning
at any time along with the skipper and other watch leader including prior to race
start.
• Will ensure the smooth running of their watch including dealing with any personal
issues, disputes and sea sickness etc.
• Will ensure all of their watch crew are on deck at least 5 minutes before their watch
is due to start.
• Will ensure the cockpit and deck is kept clean whilst on watch.
• Will undertake tasks identified by the skipper and comply with any temporary
standing orders.
• Will be responsible for organising their watch during stop over deep cleans.

It will go a long way to getting my practical Yachtmaster Ocean at the end of the race so fingers crossed!

The lo-down: Nav & Met and Crew Allocation!

So lots has been happening in the world of Clippers since my last update. We had a great week doing Nav and Met, although we were slightly jealous of all the PART B courses heading out into the Solent every day!

We covered the IRPCS (International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea), as well as Meteorology and Chart Work. To begin with the general consensus was that it’s extremely presumptuous of Clippers to call it a ‘Round the World’ yacht race – we would have been lucky to make it round the Isle of Wight! However by the end of the week it all began to fall into place and the prospect of getting round the globe seemed a little bit more achievable. Still, I am wondering how easy it will all be when the boat is heeled over in a Force 9 in the Southern Ocean?? I’ll let you know how I get on with the plotter and dividers when I’m out there….

Still, I met some great people and passed the exams for my Yachtmaster onshore, so all in all a good week.

The big news however is from Crew Allocation!! Didn’t end up on Hull and Humber, although apparently there were over 80 requests for this boat from people much more local to the area than myself. I have however ended up on a boat which has an overwhelming presence from the North West! Its looking likely it will be sponsored by Liverpool! Unfortunately there’s not much more of an update I can give you on that, except that until its confirmed in a few weeks time, I’m officially a member of the CV2 crew!! Anyway, more news on that as we find out…

I also got to meet my skipper and crew for the first time. I’m really pleased that we’ve ended up with one of the most experienced skippers doing the race who has sailed the Atlantic no less that 18 times already!! There also seems to be some very good experience within the crew as well, so as well as having a lot of fun on the way, we should be able to be a seriously competitive boat! The demographic seems quite young and as with most of the boats we have a good balance of males and females and a few different nationalities thrown in as well!

I’m now back in London, where I will be resuming working with sponsors. It has now been confirmed that the race will be stopping in Cape Town, and its 90% likely to be Perth. As soon we know this I can start organising my client events!

There are loads more events coming up over the next few months as well – 2 PART C courses, additional specialist training courses, crew weekend away etc. so I’ll be kept busy.

Until next time…

A taste of things to come...

This is a great video I got shown when I was away on my Nav and Met course. Its taken from the BT Global Challenge race, which is extremely similar to Clippers except their route took them round Cape Horn. Anyway, enjoy...

I'll put a full update of the course and Crew Allocation on soon....

Pete

Navigation & Meteorology

Only two days now until my Navigation & Meteorology course down in Gosport...

I've spent the week covering as many topics as I can from the Day Skipper Shore based courses, although I only need to know the International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea as a pre-requisite.

If it all goes well then we should all end up getting our Yachtmaster shore based certificates which will be great. This, combined with a logged 36000 miles should go along way to completing all my qualifications when I return. Our course will then be finished next Friday, just in time for crew from all over the world to invade Portsmouth for Crew allocation. Looking forward to catching up with some of the people i've already met in my training...

Skippers Announced for the race...

Today the skippers for the Clippers 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race were announced. Really pleased to see that some of the skippers i've done my training with have made it onto the race.

There seems to be an incredibly wide range of experience, from Mini Transat racers to those involved in America's Cup campaigns, and from all over the world too!

Its a little under two weeks now before I find out which boat i'm on, and which of the 10 skippers i'll have. Getting really excited now, can't wait for Crew Allocation, to meet everyone i'll be sailing with and start planning our race...

Whilst i've been enjoying learning about Navigation and Meteorology (I know it'll be incredibly important in determining who wins), i'm just really keen to start relating it all to a course across the great oceans and to see how our strategy plays out. I know we'll probably have a mix of people on board aswell - some will want to really race, where as others might not have this as their sole focus. Starting to balance all these elements from Crew Allocation onwards will be really great fun.

Still really hoping to get selected as a watch leader as well. Watch this space...

Pete

Working with sponsors...

Apart from my Clipper training courses on the South Coast, I am also working with my Corporate Sponsors here in London.

For Leg 3 of the race, I am pleased to welcome Turner & Townsend, a multinational project management and cost management firm, as a corporate sponsor. I was recently able to take them along to visit one of the yachts, Hull and Humber, in St. Katherine's Dock in London. This is the Clipper 68 that I have requested to be on for the race, so it was great to see her with all the new branding finished!

I'll also be doing work with Turner & Townsend by writing articles for Trade publications and doing client events in both South Africa and Australia...

My first blog...

Welcome to the collinsoceanracing blog!

I'm just in the process of setting this up at the moment, but it will mean that you'll have a much more interactive way of following my race. I plan on getting it properly up and running over the next week or so, integrating it into my main website, http://www.collinsoceanracing.com/.

Not long to go now till the race, 118 days in fact. I've got most of the admin stuff sorted now - visas, kit, injections etc.

Just got my Nav & Met course and then my two PART C courses in July before the big race start...

Well, until next time..

Pete