I’ve been an AQP (first mate) on the Clipper Race for 8 months and we have sailed well over halfway round the world. It feels like we are on the home straight. Life has been super-fast paced since the trials for the position in February 2023. Since the race started on September 3rd I have been writing ‘Skipper reports’ regularly until 30th December for Team Ha Long Bay Vietnam and since for Team Washington DC. There has been little time to write for myself. However, I thought it would be good to post a short update here. Since time is in short supply, it is in the form of a blog I wrote during the trials for the role I am currently in. Here it is:It’s 0600 Monday morning. It’s dark and I can hear the rain pounding down on my window. I’ve hardly slept, but not because of the biblical downpour which appears to have flooded half my county. I haven’t slept because this morning I am starting a four-day trial for a first mate role (or Additional Qualified Person) for the 2023 – 2024 Clipper Round the World Race. I’m so excited, and a little nervous, because this would be a dream. As I start my journey the excitement starts to dissipate until I hit an almighty traffic jam; the A27 is shut because of flooding. Not a great start.
So, how did I get here? My interest in The Clipper Race started when I Googled “how to become an offshore sailor”. The 40,000 nautical mile race around the world is the brainchild of the legendary sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnson. I was interviewed and signed up for a leg of the Race shortly after turning 16. Since then the course of my life has evolved and I have left education to become a professional sailor. I have coached dinghy racing since I was 14, and more recently have taken part in ROCR races including skippering the Cowes to St Malo race. I have always enjoyed coaching and helping people to become confident and autonomous sailors and skippering the RORC race illuminated my passion to lead teams of sailors racing yachts. The last 6 months have been a blast, being guardian of Oyster 495/01 Carpe Diem and taking her around the Mediterranean has given me the opportunity to be first mate working with a number of skippers including Olympic sailor Shirley Robertson. Working in the commissioning team in Ipswich and Southampton refitting and commissioning has provided me with better yacht husbandry and maintenance skills. These experiences among others have helped me to prepare for this.
That’s how I ended up at Clipper HQ in Gosport (having used lots of my sailing skills and COLREGs knowledge to navigate my mum’s old VW Golf along the flooded roads of Sussex). I was brimming with nervous anticipation. I know that I am ready for this role and have the necessary skills and attributes, but would I be able to demonstrate this?
Day one started with a briefing and a discussion with the race directors. The Clipper team made me feel really comfortable and it felt more like a chat than an’ interview’. Perhaps that perception was my first mistake, should I have been more strategic and squirreled more about my skills, knowledge and attributes into my answers?
We live and learn and on the Clipper race, it will be important that, as a team, we are kind to ourselves and each other, by appreciating that we can learn from every experience on board to make our performance even better the next day. The first evening we had a safety briefing before settling down for a night on one of the Clipper 70’s ready for sea trials the next morning. Well, perhaps not settled. I realised how poorly equipped I was; my Argos sleeping bag really wasn’t cutting the mustard at -2 degrees. However, it was good preparation for the elements I would experience should I be successful. It’s clear the wet weather has given way for a very cold and dry spell. Gloves and hat will be the order of the day tomorrow.
Day 2 started with breaking the ice off my water bottle. Next, as we prepared to slip lines, I was called up to pull away from the dock. I know my boat handing skills are good when manoeuvring a 40-foot boat, but I felt less confident with the 70-foot Clipper boat and somewhat exposed with an audience of Clipper staff and other AQP applicants. Surely pulling off from the dock couldn’t be as tricky as mooring in Croatia, with narrow channels with boats each side and the hazard of multiple lazy lines. Fortunately, I didn’t embarrass myself.
Day 3 was a full day at sea, with each of the candidates taking turns to lead manoeuvres and take on different roles. My dinghy racing skills came in very helpful when trimming the sails. However, 6 months on Oyster with electric winches have taken their toll. I have always prided myself on my strength, initially tackling my older brothers to the ground in backyard rugby and then playing as a forward in a local team. Today illuminated the need to reintroduce a vigorous gym routine to fulfil my self-expectations on the grinder. Today we really came together as a team; despite ‘competing’ for AQP positions there was a real sense of collaboration, mutual support and kindness. The developing culture on the boat was one I’d be honoured to be part of throughout the 11-month race duration, should I get the chance.
The Clipper Race AQPs (first mates)
I am looking forward to sharing my race reflection in due course. In the mean time you can find updates from Skipper Hannah Brewis and me by following the link to Washington DC We provide a Skipper Update every other day when we are racing.
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