Development Sail, 3-12 April 2003

Thursday, 3 April 2003 - Saturday, 12 April 2003

It was with a little apprehension that I arrived at Ocean Village for my Development training, a nine-day session that would take us out further and longer than any of my previous sails, with the aim of further developing our sailing skills and coping with living at sea. I was also wary that my seasickness would recur and hoped it wouldn't put me out of action for too much of the journey.

Friday morning started early with a run and game of touch rugby, and after breakfast, we prepared the yacht for sailing, carrying out the extensive safety checklist required before embarking on our long voyage.

During the afternoon, we sailed around the Solent, shaking out our sailing skills in some very pleasant sunshine. It was wonderful to be out on the yachts again especially with such fine weather. Altogether the crew consisted of Charlie, Gary, Goldie, Helen, Mark, Mike, Oliver, Phil, Rick and Steve, under the supervision of skipper and mate, Alex Phillips and Lucy Gross.

Being our last evening on dry land, we nipped out for some liquid refreshment before heading back to sleep … well that was the plan! Just as I was drifting off, the most dreadful snoring I've ever heard emanated from one of the starboard side bunks. Thankfully my earplugs were nearby and helped to block out the sounds, otherwise I might have been temped to hurl the stale roll (uneaten from my train journey here) at the offender as a last resort.

Our journey's aim was to sail round the notorious Fastnet Rock, however this would largely depend on whether we had sufficient wind to get there, and the weather forecast was predicting light winds.

On Saturday morning, after reviewing spinnaker work dockside, we slipped our berth at Ocean Village, then sailed eastward, out of the Solent, passing the Needles, and into the English Channel. Here we split into our two watch groups, enabling us to sail continuously, alternating watches with two six-hour shifts during the day (7 am - 1 pm, 1 pm - 7 pm) and three four-hour shifts at night (7 pm - 11 pm, 11 pm - 3 am, 3 am - 7 am).

The watch system at first seemed very disorienting, as each shift seemed like a day itself, and waking up to a new watch always felt like a new morning! We were also introduced to the wonderful world of boil-in-the-bag (considered a luxury in ocean racing) and rehydrated cuisine, and baked our own bread.

Shortly after passing the Scilly Isles, we were joined by a small pod of dolphins, leaping out of the water beside the yacht. Later on during the night, the yacht stirred up beautiful lights, phosphorescence, appearing like reflections of thousands of bright stars in the water.

Sailing into the North Atlantic Ocean, our new goal was to head south to the Bay of Biscay, as the light northerly winds would not have taken us to the Fastnet Rock and back home in time!

During our off-watch time, I tended to head straight for my warm sleeping bag, to catch up on sleep, and stave off feelings of seasickness by laying horizontal! I was relieved to get my sea-legs after a couple of days, and spending time below deck became considerably more bearable.

During the journey we all had turns at being watch leader, where we would check the weather regularly via the weather fax and shipping forecasts, report on the yacht's progress hourly in the ship's log book, and plot our position on the chart. Regular checks also were made on the bilges, diesel tanks, engine and generator.

On Wednesday night, whilst deep in sleep, our watch were woken up sharply by Alex banging on the hatches above, shouting, "man-over-board". Seriously concerned that one of our crewmates had gone into the water, it took a long moment to realise that this was only another MOB drill, and after kitting up as quickly as possible, I arrived on deck to witness the successful rescue of the dan buoy. Still a bit sleepy, we had the chance to grab a hot drink before starting our next night watch.

By Thursday we were sailing back in familiar waters south of the Isle of Wight, dodging the big ships, and after landing back on terra firma at East Cowes Marina, headed for the showers. After dinner and a lecture on meteorology, we swiftly located the nearest watering hole for refreshment!

Friday was spent sailing around Solent once more, practising spinnaker work and one final MOB drill before returning to Ocean Village, where we cleaned and tidied up the yacht. For our crew dinner out, it was steaks all-round at the Oxford Brasserie restaurant, followed by drinks and dancing at the Frog and Frigate pub.

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Continuation Training
November 2002

Challenge Regatta
July 2002

Continuation
Training
February 2002

Induction Training December 2001

Race Finish
June 2001