I'm sat in a run down laundrette on the outskirts of San Francisco completing one of the chores you have to do in port. Washing clothes and haircuts are required when travelling around the world, and it's funny how random the places you end up in are.
Looking back on this leg, now being sat on dry land with the sun on my back, albeit in an equally smelly location to the boat, makes you really appreciate life as we know it, compared to what can only be described as survival on the worlds largest ocean, that was Race 10, the North Pacific Challenge.
We set off from China with a 100 strong drummer unit, being told to be strong and proud as we are the warriors of the oceans. The 12 boats left port and headed out to the start line. When we got there, there was a debate over starting due to the fog that had rolled in. With the number of boats in the fleet, the racing at the starts is very close, with often only meters separating the hulls as the skippers jostle for positions.
We started the race, however after an hour the race was called off due to the low visibility. The race directors ordered is to motor for 3 days to the south of Japan and to start the race from there.
Starting the race again was good and we headed up along the coast and sailed our route which would follow as close to the rhumb line as possible. The shortest distance across the planet is not to go in a straight line from east to west, but to use the curvature of the earth to your advantage and use what is called a great circle route, heading north west before heading down south west.
We soon had our first storm, a warm up to what lay ahead we thought, with the winds around 40knots. The new guys were a little apprehensive but the old hands like myself, who had seen much worse in the southern ocean, calmed them down by saying this wasn't anything too bad and not to worry. I had my first test on the helm and battled with the waves to keep the boat on course.
Matt, the skipper was on deck a number of times and in one occasion I misjudged a wave which crashed across the boat, scattering the crew like pins in a bowling alley. Following this, Matt gave me some great hints on helming which improved my skills by a long way.
Soon enough we crossed the 40 degree north barrier and the temperature plummeted. The first test was the storm, now the second challenge was coping with the cold. Layering up was key, and as a crew we acted like teenagers going out to a date, discussing what each other was wearing on regular occasions. I wore 6 layers on top, 3 layers down below and 3 pairs of socks, and I was still cold.
We battled with the cold, but during the second storm which hit, Matt came up on deck when we were having difficulties putting a reef in the main. He hasn't dressed properly, leaving off layers below his dry suit to get up on deck quickly. After 15 minutes aiding wrestling the mainsail he went down below.
The next thing I remember is looking down and seeing Matt collapsed on the floor. In the middle of an ocean, some 1000 miles from shore, in a storm, the last thing you want to see is your skipper out for the count.
I summoned the doctor on board and the second in command coxswain. I ran the deck, de-powering the boat as much as possible to aid the team down below get Matt up and running again.
The doc said he was suffering from cold shock, where the bodies core temperature falls so much it's shuts the body down. We wrapped him in sleeping bags, rubbed his fingers and got him round again.
The number 2 on board, Derick, took the wheel whilst we were sorting the boat and Matt out. We dragged the headsail down then I was called back to help Derick as he wasn't feeling good. Next thing, he is down below collapsed with Cold Shock as well. Matt was back up and running, and the boat was in control so luckily I wasn't left in charge as I'm number 3 in command on board.
This was a scary thought though. I completed the Coxswain training for circumstances just like this. If Matt hadn't have come round, I would have been responsible for the entire crew and the vessel. It made me think the responsibility the skippers have on their shoulders, all the time.
More and more crew started dropping so we called for a new procedure where no one was allowed to be on deck for more than 30 minutes. This cured the cold shock issue and we had conquered another challenge.
Next up though was the rain. A low was sat in the middle of the race track and on our route, we went over the top. Now being cold is one thing, but being cold and wet is just plain miserable.
The racing at times is very boring, but in the nice rich blue sea and sun of the tropics, the hours pass easily. In the North Pacific, where the sea is a hatred black colour, it's hard to pass the hours. You just had to keep on going, manage your kit, keep dry and just keep going.
All through the first part of the race, we were pushing the boat hard and competing many headsail changes to set the boat up the best for the conditions. I was on mother duty one day and at night had the luxury of a full night off to sleep. As I hunkered down in my bunk and drifted off, I was awoken to the sound that no one wants to hear. The sound of one of your crew mates screaming like their life depended on it. All hands on deck was then shouted below and I knew something was wrong. After the cold shocks, we were all very careful to ensure we went up on deck properly dressed, but this was awful. Being down below, hearing someone in trouble, but not being able to get up to help as you had to get dressed was just painful.
By the time I got up on deck, Sophie, our youngest female crew member was coming down. She said briefly that she had been overboard and wasn't making too much sense, so I headed up to find out what was going on.
As I looked around the boat, I could see our headsail flapping wildly in the wind. It had built to 60 knots of breeze.
The reason it was flapping was due to the bottom of the sail had been ripped off. A sheet had snapped, causing the boat to lurch, Sophie had been swapping over the helm at the exact wrong time and gone over the side luckily tethered on with the safety strap. The sail had then so much load put through it where it attached to the second sheet, the clew ring had come off. Sophie had been dragged out the water with no issues but we had to get the sail down.
Cue a 3 hour wrestling match between the crew and the sail to get the sail safe, fix the damage to the lines and get the storm jib up.
Once the work had been completed, Matt gathered us all around and told us all to get a brew, sail slow and safe and wait out til morning before attempting to go fast again. I think after his incident and then Sophie's, he started to analyse the risk and throttled back to make sure we just got to land in one piece. The race is one thing, loosing crew is another, and a lot more important.
We raced the next half of the race very cautiously and dropped positions rapidly. For me this was very difficult. I could understand the reasons, but I was competitive. I wanted to race again, not only to get a better position in the race but to get to land quickly. The events were unlucky so in my mind we had to get going again.
This was my next challenge. I often have problems throwing my toys out the pram when I don't agree with something, but here I had to learn to have the mental strength to not kick off, but to sit, be slow and follow commands.
We are a team when we go out, having an individual in a team that is constantly negative and questions the leader is bad for everyone but I didn't learn and continued to be in a foul mood.
The mood continued for day or two until one day on our watch, we were all tired, wet, cold and hungry and we all fell out when completing a reef evolution.
We shouted and screamed at each other, told each other exactly what we thought of them and ended the watch feeling better, but with lots of open wounds. We had a de-brief and discussed everything that was going on. We spoke about it all, got it out in the open and then started a rather awkward phase of trying to get back to the high performing unit we were.
At this point we started to turn south and everyone started to feel the relative warmth and land was only 1000 miles away.
I was physically and mentally broken from the previous 25 days and being so close to land was painful, but it got even harder when we got hit by a wind hole and stopped in our tracks. The wind hole really pushed us all. We all just wanted to get to land, but with no breeze, we couldn't go anywhere.
A day later the wind filled in and we were on our way again. We had a good run into San Francsisco and passing under the bridge will be a moment I will never forget. We had done it, we had survived.
Looking back, coming 11th doesn't matter, surviving in a place where fewer people have been than the top of Everest does.
I learnt this leg that control of frustrations is vital for an effective team. Each person had their own ways of controlling their tempers in those times, whether it be count to 10 or take a deep breath.
For me, I just learnt to stop, think about the bigger picture, where we were and what we were doing and would a negative comment really help. I hope I can still control this moving forwards on the race and after as this is a weakness of mine that I really need to deal with.
And that is the great thing about this race and any challenge that you may complete. At times when you are at your limit, you really see your own bad points. So you see them at their worst and the effect they have on people around you. Now, I can sort it out, and hopefully become a better person, leader and sailor in the future.
San Francisco is an amazing city and we were lucky to have a guided tour around the place by one of my girlfriends mates. We've seen the bridge, the mountains and it was really nice to escape the Clipper bubble for a brief moment.
After 33,100 miles of sailing a rest is certainly needed. I've lost 10% of my body weight and now, hopefully the big challenges are over. We are on the western side of the planet again, definitely on the way home.
So, my washing is done, I need to get some more quarters for the dryer then tonight we will catch a movie and consume more calories to get me fit and ready for the next race.
Sailing is certainly the easy bit of this adventure. Til next time folks. Jamaica awaits!!
