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...