Page 16 - Eagleye Spring 2020

Ex OGGIN REACHBACK
By Flt Lt Steve Nile
Ex OGGIN REACHBACK was a week of seafaring adventure under the tutelage of newly qualified Day Skipper Flt Lt Steve Nile and Comp Crew qualified Flt Lt Jo Neill where a rag tag crew of inexperienced sailors; Flt Lt Gethyn ap John, FS Paul Vernon, Sgt Paul Overend and SAC James Williams spent a week on the south coast putting their skipper to the test.
From the 22 – 27 Sep, a Wyton based crew of six personnel spent the week based out of the Joint Services Adventurous Sail Training Centre (JSASTC) at Gosport, taking to the waves and getting to grips with the skills required to live and sail aboard a 34ft yacht. Any hopes of a week of easy pleasure sailing were quickly dashed prior to embarkation, as the weather forecast promised nothing but rain and wind for the entire week!
The intent of the Exped was to develop the soft leadership skills, adaptability and robustness of all involved, in a challenging environment. Offshore Sailing would be the vehicle to develop these attributes, with the intent that we all returned to our daily tasks
7 berth Victoria34 class, well renowned for its dependability (later to be tested) and suitability for novice crew members. Once a full inventory had been completed, stores of hard tack and grog were carried aboard, and the crew were given access to the spacious living areas aboard. This was then followed by an afternoon of shore-based training, giving the crew an introduction to a whole new vocabulary, including jib, gybe, kicker, tack etc. By the time the skipper was content that the crew were familiar with all parts of the yacht, the sun had set and day one was over.
Tuesday began with a somewhat concerning weather forecast; rough sea states and blustery winds are less than ideal conditions for a novice crew, however, as the weather was due to clear later in the day, the skipper decided that the conditions would be acceptable, and Placuna set sail!
The morning was spent motoring in Portsmouth Harbour, introducing the crew to man overboard drills and giving the crew their initial exposure to tacking and gybing. A few hours were spent with new sailors frantically
Wednesday promised to be a longer day, with the morning beginning with a skipper’s brief, detailing the intent for the day. The weather had deteriorated during the night, and Placuna was now faced with rough sea states, and force 7 wind states. The plan for the day was to consolidate the skills taught the previous day, before making the 30km journey to Hythe Marina Village to the west to spend the evening moored alongside in relative luxury. This day proved to be the most challenging, the weather forecast seemed to have scared a few of the regular Solent sailors, as once Placuna cleared Gosport and made her way into the Solent, there were very few other vessels visible! With the Greenhorns thinking they had entered a scene from the ‘Perfect Storm’, they spent the next few minutes cementing their skills in sail reefing! As the vessel progressed towards Southampton the Crew really began to develop their ability to anticipate the Skipper’s
Team shot
RNLI Roundabout at Hythe Marina, Hampshire
The weather had deteriorated during the night, and Placuna was now faced with rough sea states, and force 7 wind states
with a new found confidence, experience, skills and enthusiasm.
The Crew turned to on the Sunday afternoon and soon after leaving the Unit were hampered by a faulty filler cap on the service wagon, delaying the escape by an hour or so. Once a replacement wagon was sourced, the drive to Gosport was completed (fighting torrential rain all the way) arriving at Fort Blockhouse by 2300.
The next day saw Flt Lt Nile and Neill taking charge of the crew’s vessel; Placuna a 34ft,
winching ropes in, slackening ropes off, and beginning to develop their understanding of the mechanics of a sailing vessel, before spending the remainder of the day further refining those skills, with each crew member being given the opportunity to take the tiller, and lead the crew through a simulated man overboard scenario. Thankfully, there was no need to put these skills into practice, and Placuna returned to her berth with Flt Lt Nile effortlessly bringing her alongside for the crew to secure her for the evening.
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