BYMNews
Wednesday, 14 December 2005
Australia Clipper:
Life is a strange thing; if someone a month ago told me that soon I would cross an ocean on a sailing boat I would have thought that the person was mad. However, here I am! I guess its true what people say ‘you never know what's around the corner’. Well in my case the Indian Ocean and Australia! What a contrast, actually what a year! First there was Big Brother, then a big change in life style and now this, the icing on the cake. So how's my life and routine changed in the last few weeks? Radically!
Life on board is very rigidly organised and planned, it has to be like that and let me explain why. There are nineteen people onboard Westernaustralia.com. Dave is the skipper and he's in charge of everything, a lot of responsibility. Dave is a fairly young man; I guess he is in his early thirties. I'm quite impressed with the guy, he's extremely talented and he has such a wide range of skills. Beside all the skills required from a skipper (navigation, tactics, knowledge of the sea and wind) he seems to know everything about the boat from the electrics to plumbing, he can fix the lot if needed. The other day he fixed a blocked pipe in the toilet in no time (not a nice job I must say). To me he looks like an intellectual/geek skipper, you can tell that his mind never stops, he's always thinking or planning something. Watching him in action is quite fascinating, the pupils of his eyes move very quickly from left to right, he moves very fast up and down the deck without loosing balance and sometimes he looks as if he's on a different planet.
The next person in the hierarchic order on the boat is the watch leader who is picked for each leg from the crew by the race skipper. The watch leader is responsible for the safe and efficient running of the yacht while the skipper is below. This role is very challenging and vital to the overall success of the crew as a whole. Jamie he's one of the watch leaders. He too must be in his early thirties. He is quite knowledgeable and efficient too, always in control, cool looking, he always gives you a good smile if you look at him, a kind of gentleman sailor, I'm sure he’s very successful with the ladies!
Then there is Kimbra, she's in charge of my watch. Kimbra is impressive, she's like a book and knows all the rules and how to apply them impeccably with a machine like consistency. She displays an incredible knowledge about every aspect of the boat, from trimming to safety. She always has the right answer and on top of everything she works extremely hard and has incredible dedication.
Every watch is made of eight people. The duty of the watch is to work in rotation on the deck in a continuous four-hour shift during the day and three-hour shift at night. Most of the work is to do with the trimming of the sails and the maneuvering of the boat. The wind is never the same, therefore in order to get maximum speed the sails need to be trimmed or changed. For example, if the wind increases, generally speaking, the sail has to be changed for a smaller one, this is because the mast and the sails have a tolerance and if this is exceeded damage can occur to the equipment. Moreover if the skipper decides to gybe and change direction for tactical reasons or just because the wind has change direction then the watch has to perform a series of procedures in order to do that.
Everybody has a specific role assigned to them. The watch leader supervises everyone performing their tasks at a particular moment of the maneuver. When the sail has been changed they are packed very neatly and placed in their correct bags in a logical order below the deck. By doing that the next sail change will go a lot smoother and therefore quicker, it’s a race lets not forget. The other night during the 12-3am watch we changed sails three times in terrible conditions. It was raining, cold, windy and I can assure you that changing sails is a hard physical task, they are quite heavy and difficult to handle in strong winds so at the end of the watch we were all shattered.
I don't mind working hard from a physical point of view and what I like about competitive sailing is the fact that it requires team effort. When the team gets everything right there's a great sense of achievement. However, when things don't go so smoothly you feel quite disappointed and a little empty because you know that fundamentally when the transitions are slow the boat looses speed and ground to the opposition.
An integral part of the watch system is what we call 'mother watch'. The duty of mother watch is like everything else on board a shared rota system by all the crew members. The mother watch duty includes cleaning, cooking and generally looking after the other crew members on watch. A clean and tidy yacht is paramount in an environment where so many people share such a small space over a long period of time. Moreover a nice lunch/dinner or a hot drink after or during a watch just makes life on board look a bit better. I've been on mother watch twice so far and I've tried to put my skills behind the Stove to good use. It’s a hard life I must admit and the first time the sea was quite heavy so keeping balance was a task in itself. Everything was moving around dishes, pans, sauces, definitely the most challenging cooking day of my life. Anyhow the end result was quite pleasing and I really gained a sense of satisfaction.
So life both above and below deck is always very busy and exiting. I never have enough time and words to explain what is happening around me in this glorious time and this is a little frustrating. I wish I could do more to maximize my time and write a better and more regular account of the events. I've been experiencing a level of fatigue which is reminding me very much of my time in the parachute regiment.
I've bonded with people very quickly and I guess this is because sailing an ocean is like training in the army. You need grit, dedication, stamina, strong will, knowledge, ambition and resilience. It's a tall order but the reward is an experience that can change your life. I really believe and feel that thanks to this trip I'm beginning to see a lot of things in and about my life in a different light and perspective.
Sailing is like life, sometimes it can be pleasant, simple and easy and some days can be a little dull, other times you go through stormy weather and everything goes wrong, other times it fills you with joy and love and some days you hate every single moment. Nevertheless the boat can't stop and relentlessly fast or slow has to keep going forward into the future. Life is a journey.
http://www.clipper-venture.co.uk
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 December 2005 )
