Tall Ships Youth Trust - Fastnet Challenge 2015 Race here I come ........

Yes, you have read the headline correctly, but sadly it is not me entering into this the worlds largest, most diverse fleet of offshore racing yachts which will set sail from the Solent on 16th August. Maybe one day, but at the moment I am happy to let the more experienced have some fun!

Vernon who works for us is entering this year, read below for his story on what he has been up to so far.

Tall Ships Youth Trust : Fastnet Challenge 2015

I was attracted, around my 60^th birthday last year, by the idea of still being eligible for anything with ‘youth’ in the title, and having had some very specific adventures on the turns of the decades, decided to sign up!

TSYT (in addition to TS Stavros Niarchos, a catamaran and other vessels) has 4 steel, 75’, Challenge yachts, originally designed for round the world racing. These boats are heavy (57 tons), but inspire considerable confidence : the crew will break before they do ! The programme consists of a week-end shore training including safety and sea survival, a training week-end afloat, and three offshore races before the Royal Ocean Yacht Club Fastnet Race starting on Sunday 16^th August from Cowes around the Fastnet Rock (and light), off the south of Ireland, and back to Plymouth : approximately 600 miles. Each Challenger has skipper, mate, 2  watch leaders and crew, with a full complement of 16. The cutter rig carries main, genoa, Yankees 1,2,and 3, staysail, spinnaker and storm sails. The main and boom together weigh over a ton; the spinnaker poles are a heavy 2 man lift, and it normally takes 5 crew to change a headsail quickly. All sails are hanked on, so there are no short cuts !

Sea survival training included detailed life-jacket training : what it will, and what it WON’T do for you, and finished with  a team effort to swim, linked, from one end of the pool to an upturned life raft, right it and get in, including the unconscious colleague, all while clapperboards were going full blast , and well aimed buckets of water were being discharged from the poolside into faces ! Fresh, warm water in daylight was quite enough for this exercise : the alternatives are less attractive.

Challenger1 has Steve Durkin as skipper and Mike Perham as mate. Steve is a very experienced offshore sailor with several Fastnets and a Round Britain win on his CV : Mike was the youngest solo circumnavigator at 18 years old and probably pumps bottles of competitive adrenaline in the gym! Both inspire confidence in their slightly different ways and Steve’s quiet observation and assessment of the variety of crew skills makes best use of very varied talents and experience.

The first week-end afloat saw a mixed bag of tasks and tricks with everyone getting a chance to do most roles and tasks, from the inevitable heads cleaning (!), cooking, sail sets and changes to helming. Our first race (Cervantes) from Cowes to Le Havre was in more bouncy and blusterous weather than expected, and after a spinnaker run down the western Solent several yachts broached in open water in Christchurch Bay. We felt rather smug, not being under spinnaker, but learnt watching the others in their discomfort. Having left Cowes at 1030 am, we got to the finish at 8 am (second in class) before turning back for Portsmouth arriving back late in the evening. We had spent a large chunk of the week-end healed at 30 degrees, and bouncing well : any movement around the boat means effectively climbing, and basic living becomes a challenge. Sleep came easily in narrow well lee-clothed bunks, taking advantage of downtime around the 3 hour night and 4 hour day watches.

Our second race started well, leading class to Hurst Narrows, but then we lost all steerage having picked up a pot and lines which were well wrapped around our rudder : not an ideal venue for this event with a strong tide running and the area very busy. (150 yachts had started.) It took a few moments to get a ‘diagnosis’, but Steve dealt with the issue in the calm manner that has become his trademark. We took a tow from Challenger2, who kindly withdrew from the race to assist us, back to Cowes where an early morning diver removed the offending items, and had time to get back for communion. Although the disappointment was considerable, things worked in our favour : the light airs meant many boats withdrew from the race in order to get crews back home in time for work after the Bank Holiday, while we drilled, drilled, drilled and drilled, completing 30 sail sets and changes including 2 spinnaker hoists and not including standard tacks or gibes. In short we have become quite an effective crew, and enjoyed a ‘round the island’ cruise in the process.

Some of us have lost weight : I certainly have, despite plenty of ‘fuel’ on board. Our next race is to Guernsey before reconvening for the Race proper in August.

Vernon Needham   03/06/15