Deepest Blue

Just off the Portuguese coast, near Lisbon

I noticed during the heavy weather in Biscay that the wind felt warmer, the water was not as chilled as that of the Channel. As we left the Bay of Biscay the water colour changed from a grey-green to light aqua blue. Absolutely beautiful!

Now we are sailing down the Portuguese coast, and entered true deep water sailing. The water colour is the most amazing deep blue. After being ‘knocked about’ for 48 hours in the Bay of Biscay, it was a welcome respite to have some nice cruising weather. We are of course racing, but under these conditions ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ almost sails herself!

It was a great opportunity for the crew to take off our soaking heavy weather ‘oilies’ and put on some shorts and t-shirts and enjoy the warm rays of the sun! We all still did our duties (cooking / engineering checks / bilge emptying).

The field of yachts has now formed into three elements. ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ is currently in a battle with ‘Derry-Londonderry’ and ‘Singapore’ in the middle element. The leaders are now about 100 miles ahead, and we ourselves are ahead of the 9th / 10th place by 116 miles! We are very much remaining competitive, and hunting down the pack leaders.

Madeira is only a day or so away, and we are hot on the heels of ‘Derry-Londonderry’. It’s hard to focus on our own game plan when we have such a prominent ‘target’ taunting us, just in front! It’s amazing to think that after just over a thousand sea miles, we are all still very close. At this point the race will be won by whoever concedes the least errors! A delayed sail change or incorrect course can cost a boat the lead, or the ability to overtake those in front.

Spirits on board are very positive. Each day we have a crew meeting where our Skipper Rupert gives us the latest update on the race and the weather for the next 24 hours. It’s also an opportunity for us as a crew to raise any issues that have upset anyone. It’s easy in this tight environment to upset people! The tiredness and watch routine can cause the simplest little issue to become a serious one. So we conduct our ‘group therapy’ on a daily basis to ensure that we enter port with the same amount that we left Southampton with!

Fat bottomed girl

5th in the fleet / South Biscay, just off Cape Finisterre

Since the high emotions of the race start, the ‘Weather Gods’ have given us a very gentle introduction into the race. This all changed when we entered the Bay of Biscay. Unusually calm to begin with, the weather came up and before we knew it we were beating into a Force 8 gale, and rolling in heavy seas. Not expected really as this was the image on the Clipper Ventures poster that drew us all to being involved!

The last time I had been in Biscay I was a very ‘green’ rookie at sailing, and had even questioned my involvement with the race. Since completing my training I’m happy to report that I survived the rough conditions and thoroughly enjoyed witnessing the most powerful force of nature I have experienced so far!

It was an incredible experience to see our boat ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ (and her crew), weather the storm so well. It wasn’t until the next day that we learned that one of the other boats in the fleet had had to redirect to a French port due to a serious injury to one of their crew. Most of us have sailed with the injured crew member and it brought home the reality of Ocean racing. Our friend had been injured during a sail change and had been on the foredeck. Not the most stable place on a yacht in a pitching sea, with wind and water coming across the deck! A number of us had undertaken similar sail changes at the same time and fully appreciate the dangers involved. It certainly isn’t a place for the faint hearted!

On the same evening I had been asked to adjust the leach line in the mainsail. This involved climbing the first 18 feet of the mast, and tugging a cord into a tighter position. The only way to move around the deck is on hands and knees, so one of my team mates (Richard) accompanied me and he acted as my back up by positioning my feet on the climbing steps. As I made my ascent, I looked down into the ocean that was racing by at about 12 knots and thought about how quickly I would disappear into the distance should I fall in. I was of course ‘clipped on‘ via my life line, and a very trusty Richard had a ‘vice like grip’ on my line as I worked away.  Soon the job was completed and we made our way back to the cockpit. As we came off watch I made a special point of thanking Rich for backing me up. As the race continues, we are coming together tighter as a crew. I trust everyone implicitly, and the same trust is being shown in me. I’ve hauled a crew member up from the lee ward side after they were nearly washed away down the companionway! We’re here for each other and the Team gets closer.

The fleet of 68’s are designed for weather conditions such as these. They have a very narrow entry into the water, which grows into a very broad beam, and then into a very ‘shapely stern’. This gives ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ (and the rest of the fleet) a nice curvy appearance! This means that they seem to love big sea and surf beautifully! Equally, when confronted with a wave over the bows, they seem to just punch through with very little loss of speed.

After a very challenging 48 hours, I’m very thankful that ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ has these qualities! She truly is a beautiful ‘fat bottomed northern lass’!!!

Race Start 31 July 2011

WOW! What a start to the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race! After many days of hard work, ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ was ready to slip her moorings and head out for the start line. Not before we received a huge emotional goodbye from friends and family, and the populous of Southampton! Thousands of People lined the quayside and surrounding banks of Ocean Village to wave us off.

I was told on the morning of the race start that BBC national news had broadcast images of the boats getting ready and that they had filmed me up the mast with Leonie carrying out maintenance on our rig! We were now stars of telly!

As we left Ocean Village we made our way out into Southampton Water where we were escorted out into the Solent by HMS Illustrious, my Dad’s old ship! So for me this really was the icing on the cake! I scattered a few flowers in his memory and hoped he wouldn’t be too offended that his Lancastrian son was serving on a Yorkshire boat! I’m sure he’d be happy, as we are the only English entry!!

The Solent was churned white with the hundreds of small craft that had come to wave us off. It was the sort of thing you only see at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race (raced by the highly paid professionals) or a Royal Navy fleet review! As a crew we were so emotionally moved by the sheer volume of well-wishers who had braved the chop of the Solent to come and wave us off! The scale of what we were involved in really hit home. I would be home in a few weeks’ time (after leg one) but for others, this would be the last view of home for the next 11 months.

As we left the Solent and headed around the south of the Isle of Wight, the supports dropped back. The only company we had was from the media helicopters that were videoing or photographing the yachts from the air! We felt like ‘rock and roll’ stars!

Within the first 24 hours we had almost changed through every sail we had. The conditions were very light, which almost makes it a bit more challenging than the stronger conditions!

The first few days were very tiring, as many of us were getting used to the watch system. We have had a number of technical difficulties with the boat (mainly due to electrical problems). Nothing that has prevented us from racing, but with our‘water maker’ on the blink, it has made for some very anxious moments where we have had to plan and ration our water to last us until Madeira. I’m happy to report that we have now repaired the ‘water maker’ which is churning out 30 litres of fresh water an hour! Not enough to go crazy over, but at least we can go back to having ‘unlimited’ drinks!

We are currently on Day 4, and we have entered Biscay. This notorious stretch of water gave us a nice Force 5 Welcome, and chucked a good ‘rolling swell’ in for good measure! This triggered a number of crew to ‘start feeding the fish’…but I’m happy to report that so far I have felt okay. I was on Mother watch yesterday, which meant I spent all of yesterday climbing around the galley at 45 degrees attempting to prepare the meals for the crew! The positive side of ‘Mothering’ is you get a good long sleep afterwards and I have enjoyed a nice 9 hours in my bunk!

The only drawback is I feel that I’ve missed out on some of the fun that has been happening on deck. Yesterday we began to receive frequent visits from pods of Common Dolphin! I saw the first pod, but apparently they have been with us throughout the night!

I’m looking forward to going on watch in a few hours’ time and surfing ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ down some waves, racing our very own pod of dolphins!

'How to look good 'voming' off a '68' - La Rochelle to Gosport Oct '10!

In September 2010 I received an email from Clipper HQ asking for crew to deliver 2 of the Clipper 68's to La Rochelle (and back again). This was to celebrate the beginning of the Velux 5 Oceans race. A prestigious single-handed event which would see Chris Stanmore-Major (CSM) take on a number of other skippers for this amazing single-handed title.

CSM had just returned from skippering one of the entries in the 09-10 race. It must have been non-stop for him to come off of one boat and literally jump on to the next to undertake another circumnavigation!

I eagerly responded to Clippers' email, and was duly told that I would be crewing on the return delivery back to Gosport. I booked a flight out of Eastleigh airport and I was all set! After the awesome week I'd had on level 1, I couldn't wait to get on one of the actual 'racing yachts'!

I was now beginning to buy up all the sailing gear I'd need, sleeping bag being one of them. Now these things can get very expensive, but I was lucky to get a good price from my Guass sleeping bag. Basically a huge 'water-proof' quilt that wraps itself around you nicely.

I flew out to La Rochelle, having met one or two of the crew at the airport. Once we'd landed we collected our baggage and took on the first challenge...ordering a taxi in french! Luckily one of the crew could speak the lingo and managed to get us a lift to the harbour.

I had never been to La Rochelle before but I was amazed by it's beauty! Old battlements and fortifications protect the main harbour, and dozens of street cafes adorn the quay side!

The boats were out on  a corporate sail (Clipper regularly have to 'schmooze' some of their sponsors with a jaunt in one of the 68's). As they were not due to return until the evening, we thought we'd indulge in some of the inviting cafes/bars/restaurants to kill the time. It was a great time to get to know the guys I'd flown over with. Again they were a mixed bag of personalities/professions and backgrounds! The guys were pleasant enough, but I couldn't help but feel a bit excluded. It's hard to write that as before and since that particular experience I have always got on so well with everyone I have met/sailed with. Maybe it was the fact that I was only one who had only completed level 1 training (everyone else was vastly more experienced). Maybe the guys were preoccupied with the challenge that lay ahead, I'm not sure.

The evening came to an end and it was time to find our boats. I finally arrived on board CV8, where I found everyone already sat in the saloon receiving their safety briefing from the Skipper: Piers Dudin. Great first impression Gary..Late!

Once the briefing had finished I apologised again to Piers and he kindly took me over the parts I'd missed. I was pleased to see a friendly face amongst the group: Al, who was our first mate on the the level 1 from June!

After an all too brief nights sleep we slipped our mooring lines at 5:30am. This would be my first experience the watch system. This would involve a rotating system of 4 hours on / 4 hours off watch.

We motored for the duration of my first watch. Not a breath of wind to be had as we made our way out into the Bay of Biscay (a place notorious for it's changeable weather patterns). We went to our bunks at the end of our watch and slept very well.

I was awoken by the most horrendous sound of grinding metal, and complaining fibre-glass! After coming too a little I realised that the mainsail was being winched up on the 'coffee grinder' -a super winch operated by two people - something new to me as this was a very different boat from the '60 I'd sailed with Al in June '10! I was having to learn a lot of new things about this boat as we went along.

The wind had finally arrived, and the world took on a new 45 degree angle! We had picked up a bit of a swell also! This meant that not only did we roll side to side, but we were pitching wildly (bow and stern taking on a 'see-sawing' like action)!

This was my first experience of 'ocean sailing'! And I had forgotten to bring any form of sea-sickness prevention/treatment! Low and behold, the queasy feeling set in by the end of my first watch under sail. I attempted to eat some spag-bol, but it totally triggered me off! That was it, there I was on the lee-ward rail, chucking my guts up!

The conditions worsened, and so did my sea-sickness! I managed to function as crew member (putting reefs in and helping with a sail change). At the end of my watch I would race to my bunk, peeling my life-jacket and wet weather gear off as quickly as I could  before I began 'dry wretching'. Sometimes I'd just collapse in the Saloon and keep my gear on. The only luxury that made a difference was my Guass sleeping bag. At times I'd climb into it shivering and cold, and I'd be warm and dry in no time! Heaven!! When on deck I found that Helming the boat actually helped quite a lot. I was struggling to eat anything though. I was drinking plenty of water, but couldn't stomach any food. Luckily I had brought a bag or two of Haribo

It is said that with sea-sickness takes the sufferer through two phases: Phase 1: You think you are going to die. Phase 2: You wish you could die! It has to be said that for 3 days I went through a very low place. I'd signed up to take part in this epic adventure, and I wasn't enjoying it in the slightest! I truly was suffering for the challenge!

The only moments that distracted me from my illness and nausea were when pods of dolphins came up and swam with the boat! Amazing! My first 'wild' dolphins! It was nothing short of magical! Especially at night, in the pitch blackness, and all you could hear was this sharp/short blow of air, and a splash. Occasionally you'd see a shape, but you could hear them more than anything (no moon or star light to see by).

The other amazing thing I witnessed was 'phospherance' in our wake. I had read about it in books, but never expected to see it so close to Europe (thinking it was something only common in the tropics)! It was mesmerizing! like watching a million fireworks going off! As if the boat was being carried along on a bed of electrical charges!

Despite these amazing experiences, it really made me question if I wanted to do this. Part of me was thinking that Sir Robin could take his challenge and...... well you know the rest!

We rounded the Cherbourg Peninsula at the end of the third day. I myself turned a corner too! I began to eat again! Good job as well as I was on 'mother watch'. If this responsibility had happened earlier in the trip I would not have been able to do it! All I can say is that the food was incredible! Living off of haribo for three days gave me a new appreciation of 'stew'!

I did meet some great people whilst on this journey. Piers, Al, Byrony, Steve, Wendy, Jim and Martin. All were very supportive and understanding. Some suffered along with me, which made me feel a bit better as I realised I wasn't alone! It was a great opportunity to speak at length to Piers. He had skipped Hull & Humber around the world in the 09-10 race. He had had his trip cut short when he broke his leg crossing the Pacific. Having sailed with him I understood why he is such a respected Skipper in the Clipper world. I picked up so much good advice from him that has held me in good stead ever since. He reassured those of us who were sea-sick that on the race we would not be beating into the wind the whole way (as we were doing at present).

As we sailed up the English Channel, and past St Katherine's Point (Isle Wight) our watch turned in. The oncoming watch took us in to Gosport and moored up. We awoke at 7am...having slept straight for 8 hours, I found the boat a very quiet and tranquil place again.

I stretched and made my way to the galley where someone was busy brewing up the tea and getting breakfast underway. The smell of toast filled the saloon (it was fantastic!). I took a turn on the deck, and all was quiet in Clarence Marina. The fleet was all together for the first time in a long while. It was a very inspirational sight.

After the deep clean had been completed I made my way back to the ferry terminal to catch the boat to Pompey, and homeward bound on the train.

It was a journey home spent deep in thought. I had certainly had a very mixed experience! I had had my first taste of 'ocean' sailing, under a watch system. I had also experienced the dreaded sea-sickness (and learnt that there is indeed life after sea-sickness!!). I'd managed to keep working when all I wanted to do was languish in my bunk. It had certainly been tough, possible one of the toughest things I'd ever done to date. There had been times when I possibly might have quit (if there had been the opportunity to step off the boat), and doubts on whether I could 'cut it'.

In my mind I knew I only had a month until my Level II training. Armed with the 'hard earned' 510 nautical miles worth of experience I had gained from this voyage, I was determined to apply what I had learned and try again.

GARY HEWITT is fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support

GARY HEWITT is fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support

Level 1 Training - June 2010

Travelling down to Gosport in June 2010 was a journey filled with mixed emotions. I had grown up in Fareham, and spent a lot of time in Gosport. Coming from a navy family, Portsmouth is also a place I'd spent a lot of time in my childhood. It also represented the first time returning to Clarence Marina since scattering Dad's ashes. All this rolled in the excitement and anticipation of beginning my training for the Race!

I had tried to take in as much as possible from the 'training manual' we had received, so I understood the difference between a 'halyard' and a 'sheet'. I had been busy learning my knots as well as various 'nautical terminology'! I had seen the entire 'Hornblower' Series so felt I knew enough about 'belaying' and 'scratching stays'!

Walking into Clipper HQ at the Granary & Bakery was an exciting moment! Huge pictures of the racing yachts 'heeled' over, racing on through storm and swell! Our first day was to be spent learning First Aid (at Sea). We had a very straight-talking lady (ex-Royal Navy) who suitably scared us all with stories and photos! Still it's good to be aware of these things I suppose!

We joined our boat in the late afternoon, and were introduced to our Skipper - Adam Tuffnell, and First Mate - Alastair Duns. Our boat was the 60ft 'Ariel' Clipper yacht (one of the previous fleet that had circumnavigated the globe on a number of previous races). I met the crew I would be sailing with also, and it was a very mixed group from all backgrounds! To 'break the ice' Adam said about giving each other nicknames for the week. Rather than giving each other 'fluffy' names, he opted that we would be named after notorious/evil figures from history! So it turned out I was to spend a week in the company of 'Pinochet' (Mark), 'Hitler' (Dave), and various other mass murderers! I myself was christened 'Genghis'! (Most names would change as the week went on due to funny situations that came about, but my name stuck, and has done through some of my subsequent training)!

As we were given our tour of the boat, it finally dawned on me that it was all finally beginning! It had been nearly 6 months since signing my crew contract, and now finally it was seeming very real!

After a quick pint, we headed off to bed. We had agreed with Adam that we would be up early to go through our sail wardrobe and repack each sail, and inspect all our lines (re-coiling them as we went!).

5:30am, and we were on the dockside, in bright sunlight! Once we had gone through all our preparation, and had our crew briefing we slipped away from Clarence Marina and out into the Solent! We hoisted our sails and started to go through what it takes to 'tack' and 'gybe' this beautiful boat! Needless to say we were worked extremely hard! -And I loved every minute of it! We moored back again in Gosport, and finally got to bed at just after midnight, absolutely exhausted..but very thrilled!

Over the next few days we sailed around the Solent and pushed ourselves and the boat as best we could. Unfortunately, we had a small accident during a tacking exercise. Paul was furiously winching in on a sheet as we passed through the eye of the wind. 'Diggle' (Richard - one of our fellow crew members) found himself a bit too close behind Paul and caught an elbow to the temple! It stunned him instantly and took him off of his feet. As time went on it quickly became apparent that he had a minor head injury and was suffering with obvious signs of concussion. We moored in East Cowes marina and Al took him off to hospital for a check up. He ended up spending two days in having tests! As a crew we were bitterly disappointed to have lost him! He had worked so hard, and was my opposite number on 'Mother watch'! I was now cooking on my own! -Some people will do anything to get out of being in the galley!.

Diggle reappeared and we transported him to Ocean Village where a family friend awaited to take him home. He would be back in a month's time to re-do his training but for now his time on 'Ariel' was over. It was horrible to see him go early. As a crew we had been forged together through hard work and sweat. And now we were loosing one of our new 'family'!

Whilst in port on the Isle of Wight, we all took it in turns to 'climb the mast'. Now for someone who has a very real fear of heights this was something I had dreaded! Equally I had really wanted to do it! I volunteered to go first, and explained my fears to my Skipper and fellow Crew-mates. It took a bit of convincing, but once I started my ascent, I realised it wasn't that bad, and ended up loving it! The sense of pride I felt with 'conquering' this fear was amazing!

The last two days were spent out in the Solent

Then suddenly I heard those infamous words shouted -"MAN OVERBOARD!". This was my signal to 'spike' the Spinnaker. It instantly peeled upward (still fully powered). The crew on deck feverishly gathered in the sail as it returned to deck level! My next job was to point and indicated where our casualty was. Thankfully it was 'Bob' (our mooring fender tied to a coiled line)! We had done this exercise some many times this week we all knew what to do. 'Bob' was duly recovered and then it was time to head back to Gosport for 'tea & medals'!!

As we slowly motored in past HMS Ark Royal, and  HMS Victory I sat on the toe-rail with my 'mooring fender' in hand, filled with emotion. I had had one of the most physically demanding weeks I had ever known, I had got to know a group of people who I now trusted with my life, and now it was all coming to an end. Our Skipper Adam came up to me and quietly said a few words about how proud 'My Old Man would have been'. That was it, I was in pieces! I think a lot of 'repressed' emotion came out that I'd been holding onto for a long time. It is what I'd needed, and by the time we'd moored up I felt like a new person.

Once back in port we had a few hours to undertake the 'deep clean'. Every surface that can be removed it taken out and cleaned! 'Ariel' looked like a new boat by the time we'd finished! All that was left was to get our 'glad-rags' on and head out for a well earned night out!

Our crew dinner was quite a party! We headed to G's (a very nice Italian restaurant next door to Clipper HQ), and had a great night! After a fantastic meal, and a generous amount of Vin rouge & Peroni we 'crawled' back to 'Ariel'.

The hangover did nothing to help us through 'sea survival' training the next day. Half of which was spend in the classroom, and the last half in the pool. It was absolutely brilliant! We all enjoyed it, but all hoped that we would not have to abandon ship and 'step up into the life raft'!

Thank you to the Crew of Ariel for an amazing experience!
Adam, Al, Dangerous, Pinochet, Tax Boy, Diggle and Punchy! 

Clipper Interview - January 2010

On the lead up to my interview I had become an avid fan of the Clipper website. On this site there was a'Race Viewer' showing the progress of the current race (09-10). In January 2010 the fleet had just left Western Australia and were making their way up to Singapore. On the morning of my interview, I checked the website to see that the 'Race Viewer' had been 'suspended'! A brief press release confirmed that one of the boats - 'Cork' had run aground and the crew had taken to the lifeboats! Apart from deep concern for the crew of cork, all the 'romanticism' of sailing the oceans had been swept away in an instant! All this on the morning of my interview to take part in the next race!

Upon reaching the Clipper stand at the London Boat Show, Catherine and I begain talking to current and past crew who confirmed that all 'Cork' crew were safe. It turned out that 3 of the nearest boats (other Clipper yachts) were on the scene in a matter of hours and had evacuated the crew from a small island not far from where 'Cork' had run aground.

For some reason this did not change my mind at all on wanting to take part. In my mind it had been an excellent example of the level of training the crew had gone through. Catherine's opinion had somewhat changed though, and I could see she was deeply concerned! I think she took a lot of reassurance from talking to some of the crew whilst I was in my interview.

My interview was with David Cusworth, who is the Recruitment Manager for Clipper Ventures. I talked about my reasons for wanting to do the race, and we talked about some of the challenges I'd be facing. David was fantastic, and had a wealth of knowledge (having completed the whole circumnavigation in one of the previous races). One particular concern was my food allergies. I had a fear since having a 'close shave' in Malta in 2005 about cross-contamination in the galley area. David reassured me that this should not pose too much of a problem as menus would be worked out prior to departure and allergies/dietary requirements would be duly considered/planned for.

I have often wondered if David had been around in the 18th/19th Century, would he have put the 'press gangs' out of business? I'm sure he would have single handedly talked all the required crew into signing up without need of force.

By the time I'd finished the interview I was so excited! I was ready to set sail immediately! Catherine could see that Christmas had come again, and listened to me patiently 'babbling' on about this great adventure!

The only thing now was to await 'confirmation' that I had been accepted. Would they turn me down on medical reasons? Would I have the right personality to take part?

On the 18th January 2010, I came home to find a large envelope on the door mat from Clipper! The first paragraph made me jump with joy!

"Dear Gary, We are delighted to confirm that your application to take part in The Clipper 11-12 Round The World Yacht Race has been successful and therefore have much pleasure in offering you a berth on the race".

My first challenge...complete a huge 'Race Crew Agreement'...in duplicate!