Qualifying Sail

Friday-Sunday, 2-11 July 2004

I arrived at the yacht with a small kit bag containing a limited amount of clothing and toiletries, all that I'd need for the Global Challenge Qualifying Sail (effectively our dress-rehearsal for the race) as race conditions were in order with no room for luxuries.

The qualifying sail provided an opportunity to give Race Headquarters and the teams a chance to test the complex communications systems, and enabled crews to try out their watch systems, food menus, practice race-starts, and deal with a variety of emergency drills.

For the first time, all the yachts sailed together to Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, and after a night out catching up with each other, we set off on our voyage with several attempts at race starts on the actual race start-line off Southsea Castle.

After the final start, the yachts set sail for a series of waypoints in the Solent, English Channel, Bay of Biscay, and North Atlantic Ocean, including a rounding of the notorious Fastnet Rock four miles off the southwest Irish coast. However, being a competitive bunch, this soon turned into a race with the yachts and crews being pushed harder than during previous training events.

The conditions at the start of the week were beautifully calm and sunny, but picked up midweek as we approached the Atlantic Ocean. One night I was woken up as our old training spinnaker gave up in the blowy conditions and had to be hauled down the companionway in tatters.

Night sailing became full of surprises as Race HQ emailed us with unexpected emergency situations ranging from medical problems, loss of steering, fire on board, and a frightening collision with a submerged object that had us prepared to abandon ship.

We rounded the Fastnet Rock in the middle of the night ahead of the fleet and hoisted the spinnaker (my first hoist in the dark - a challenge in the snakepit with 21 ropes to distinguish) - quite a spectacular moment as the rock appeared as a mysterious dark shadow with its Victorian lighthouse beam visible for miles around.

The qualifying sail has been by far the best race training experience I have had on the Challenge yachts, particularly as it was the first time the fleet had been out racing against each other. It is all too easy to relax and not pay attention to getting the maximum speed out of the yacht, especially in the ocean when you are not able to see your competitors. It's all down to 'trim, trim, trim'.

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BG SPIRIT Teambuilding
March 2004

BG SPIRIT Teambuilding
February 2004

Crew Announcement
January 2004

Consolidation Training
May 2003

Development Training
April 2003

Continuation Training
November 2002

Challenge Regatta
July 2002

Continuation
Training
February 2002

Induction Training December 2001

Race Finish
June 2001