Learning the ropes: Level 1 Clipper training

You have to be 17 to start Clipper training, and I was so keen to get started that 2 weeks after my 17^th Birthday I embarked on my Clipper Race journey by undertaking the first of 4 weeks mandatory training. I arrived at the Gosport marina with a sense of anticipation and excitement. I am most at home on a sailing boat as I feel a sense of confidence and connectivity to the sea. This has grown through my developing appreciation of where the wind is coming from, looking for gusts on the water and understanding how to control a boat. My experiences sailing Brenda (a 29er), have really helped my sailing intuition to evolve as she is such a reactive boat.

It was wonderful to step onto one of the older race boats, the Clipper 68. To be sailing a boat that has been around the world 4 times felt like an honour. The boats that I will be racing on my Clipper journey are the Clipper 70’.  Currently these boats are trapped in the Philippines where the 2019-20 race came to an abrupt halt due to Covid-19. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the crew of that voyage, who’s dreams came crashing down when they rushed to pack the boats up within 72 hours (a feat in itself) and were evacuated into lock down in their home countries.  For some competitors, this race will continue from the Philippines in February 2022, but for others this will have meant a permanent end to their experience. This postponement of the race has resulted in the 2022-23 race, which I am part of, being postponed to 2023-24. My future plans have needed to change to accommodate this, but at 17 years old this is a small concession to make.

Due to Covid, the crew on my level 1 training consisted of those preparing to join the postponed race in the Philippines and others preparing for the later race. This didn’t prevent us quickly forming an alliance. Our crew consisted of 4 women and 8 men, all but 2 were over 50 years of age. Everyone onboard had different levels of sailing knowledge and experience, so we started from the very basics. I have some experience sailing similar boats through the Rona Sailing Project which really helped me to feel part of the team.

On the first day we covered safety drills and the use of lifejackets. Next we explored the waters of the Solent, learning how to hoist, douse and stow the sails. Then we practiced, tacking, gybing and reefing. We did so many tacking and gybing drills I was almost dizzy! Each night we returned to Gosport marina, where we had the luxury of showers and toilets, something we won’t have for the next levels of training where we will sail continuously through the night. This will require us to work in watches, taking turns to sail the boat whilst other crew members are ‘sleeping’. We will also learn more about, and experience, the different roles onboard.

Throughout the week all crew members were on a rota, so everyone had an opportunity to cook, clean, complete the logbook and complete engine checks. My favourite part of the week was being lowered into the water on a halyard to recover a man overboard during a drill. However, this was on a sunny day in August, with flat sea, which belies the reality of when we might need to use this drill during the race. It must be terrifying to experience a man overboard in the middle of the Southern Ocean in 30-foot waves at night. For this reason, I am expecting that this is a drill we will repeat again and again throughout our training, whilst hoping we will never need to use it for real. These drills and experiences helped to build our sense of belonging to the clipper family and our anticipation for level 2 training.

As always it was a privilege to be out on the water.