Gee's Sailing Diaries: Part 2

Training Begins

After finding out in March 2023 that I was taking part in the 23-24 Clipper Round the World race (which began in September of that same year), I completed all 4 weeks of mandatory Clipper Race training back to back across June and July, with no other sailing experiences before or since the 'start yachting' week back in 2021. The specific leg I would take part in was confirmed by about mid-July, and I would be setting sail for almost a month come the end of January 2024 for leg 5 of the race. Training levels 1 to 3 are usually carried out on the Clipper 68 training yachts with crew from the whole race, so you may end up not meeting another person on your boat until level 4 training, and even then, you may not be on the same leg as each other! Additionally, if you don't carry out level 4 training before the race starts, you may not get the opportunity to sail on the actual boat you will be living on during the race or meet your skipper and first mate until you begin your race leg. Although there is only a 2ft difference in terms of length between the Clipper 68 and the Clipper 70, the layout of the boats is quite different, and definitely has an impact on the way you do things whilst onboard. However, this only added to the excitement of the opportunity. Here I was, a non-sailor, about to sail 5000nm across continents on the other side of the world in one go with a crew I'd mostly never met, let alone knew, on a boat I'd only spent a week on during the summer in the English Channel. What a brilliant challenge to be faced with. 

Luckily for me, sailing was something that just made sense and I was only too happy to throw myself into life on a boat during those initial training weeks. On the English Channel, I encountered all sorts of weather (including a small dose of what sea sickness can be like), rope and sail repairs, engine maintenance, cooking, cleaning, toilet repairs, and of course lots of belly laughs and deep conversations with other crew mates. As a crew, we all have multiple jobs. Everyone is expected to be able to sail the boat but also carry out their fair share of cooking and cleaning below decks. On top of that, we each have a secondary role on board which would often draw from our skills and experiences back on dry land. Every crew has trained doctors and/or medics on board and every crew will have people with engineering skills, sail repair skills, thorough planning and preparation skills (such as purchasing the amount of provisions required to last us on our leg of the journey), and more. These roles are agreed upon as a collective but ultimately are decided by the skipper who also sets the tone and culture for the boat. It was fairly clear with my background as a physicist and a lot of experience with engines throughout my career, that my secondary role would be as an engineer on the boat, and I was only too happy to get stuck in.

Since all of these jobs have to be carried out whilst at sea for many days on end (sometimes weeks) in the middle of a race, it's imperative that as a crew we do this as efficiently as possible to enable us to focus on sailing as fast as possible. This means sailing 24 hours a day, meaning we live in a watch system whilst on board. This works by splitting the crew into separate watches, or 'teams'. These teams will rotate through their duties so that everyone gets an equal amount of rest versus working time, or on-watch versus off-watch. Watches are often further separated into sub-watches, whereby you will share the off-duty activities. For example, half the off-watch will be sleeping whilst the other half will be on standby, ready to help the on-watch if necessary and carrying out any required cooking and cleaning duties. Many boats opt for a two-watch system (e.g. 6 hours on, 6 hours off), but CV21 opted for a three-watch system to give ourselves a better chance at spreading out the work amongst us and having more regular breaks so that we (hopefully) don't get as tired and have a greater focus for racing. 

Now, I know it's a lot, but try to remember these points for later, because context is key and I promise it will all help in understanding some of the critical moments I experienced during the race later on!

Before I knew it, 4 weeks of intense training came and went. I was presented with my gold foul weather gear which would become invaluable for the race in recognition of this, and suddenly things started to become real. I was really going to do this. This was actually happening! I'd had the best and worst weather the English Channel could throw at me. I spent an afternoon in a pool learning how to use a life raft. I'd scaled the mast whilst the boat was heeling at 20 degrees (we have a joke on board that life begins at 40... degrees, as this is where the Clipper 70s really come into their own as ocean racing yachts!). I was suspended over the side of the boat to retrieve an 80kg dummy in a man overboard drill. I'd been to France and back twice, seen the iconic Needles of the Isle of Wight, anchored off Old Harry's rocks and gazed at Durdle Door after winning a mock mini race all from the water. I really felt like I was truly starting to get to know the boat, and beginning to feel like I might just about be able to pull this wild adventure off.

It wasn't all smooth sailing mind. There were a handful of incidents during that time that reminded us all just how dangerous what we were doing can be, including on separate occasions a collision and a broken thumb of a fellow crew member. And all that was between me and sailing across the equator was just 6 months, stretching in front of me. I knew that I had a lot to squeeze into those 6 months, including running my first 100km race, hiking the active volcano, Etna, in Sicily, agreeing on how I would take the time off from my career with my employer, moving from the English Midlands to the Scottish Highlands, and planning any extra travel I could squeeze in around leg 5, because there's no point in going to the other side of the world and not seeing any of it whilst you're there, right? That's only 5 things. What could possibly go wrong?!

Either way, the experience of spending 4 weeks on a racing yacht out at sea had already been life-changing for me. It was something I would likely never have done otherwise. It gave me connection, growth, and learning in a way I couldn't have imagined. It brought me closer to fulfilling a dream and helped me to break cycles and close chapters. For a long time, I'd been working towards a simpler life and getting back to the ocean. To finally find a home. And there are not enough words to explain how grateful I am for a real taste of my dream life.

From those moments I knew I'd be a different person. But I also knew that I would be a better one for it.

The 23-24 race ends at the beginning of August with a homecoming stop in Oban before the fleet returns to Portsmouth and the Clipper headquarters. You can find out more about Clipper and the current race standings here: https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/

If you'd like to follow along with my other adventures, you can find me here: www.instagram.com/GeeAdventurous