Page 182 - RAPTC Year of 2019

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www.raptcassociation.org.uk
FEATURES
THE CLIPPER RACE – CAPE TOWN TO FREMANTLE
Lieutenant General J I Bashall CB CBE Colonel Commandant RAPTC
The Clipper Race takes place once every two years. Eleven 70-foot yachts race each other around the world stopping at various ports only to change crew and re-stock on food and supplies. Each yacht is sponsored by a commercial company or a Port – for example Garmin or Seattle; and each has an average of 18 crew on board. Of the 688 participants in the race, some 40% are female, and all range in age from 19 to 73. Whilst the majority are British, over 43 other Nations are represented in the line-up. The majority of the crews take part in a single Leg or Legs, with only 90 of the 688 sailing Round the World. For the 2019/20 event, the race consisted of eight Legs, with the start and finish in London. As I type (in March 2020) the yachts are alongside in Subic Bay, Philippines; with the race now postponed due to the CV-19 virus until January 2021 at the earliest. In due course, the route will take the yachts to Seattle USA across the Pacific Ocean.
I took part in Leg 3 – Cape Town, South Africa to Fremantle, Australia; a distance of some 5,500 miles. For many other ‘Leggers’, Leg 3 is the ultimate challenge, and the iconic route remains one of the great challenges for ocean racing. To describe the Southern Ocean as remote is an understatement. Technically, it lies in the empty space South of 60 degrees latitude; but for many it’s start point is 40 degrees South. The Clipper Race rules disallowed yachts from sailing South of 45 degrees due to the risk of icebergs. But it is empty. There are no shipping lanes, no aircraft overhead or other leisure crafts sailing on a similar route. At times, we were told, the closest human beings, other than the Clipper yachts, were astronauts in the International Space Station. Every morning, I scanned the horizon hoping to see something new, but only ever saw sea, sky and wildlife. Once South of 40 degrees we were into the ‘Roaring Forties’. With no land mass at either end of the Ocean, the seas and winds have no limits, and we were
expecting 80-foot swells, boat speeds of well over 30 knots and wind speeds of up to 70 mph. We were not to be disappointed.
Life on board a racing yacht is harsh. There are very few comforts. We were split into two watches and worked 6 on, 6 off during daylight hours, and 4 on, 4 off at night. The uneven rotation at night meant a change of routine every 24 hours. When off watch, the priority was rest, personal administration and eating. There is no privacy, everyone hot bunks, and with only two ‘heads’ screened by zipped curtains, it is a cramped, smelly and cold environment. Once wet, you tended to stay wet; and water was everywhere – even below deck. You work out your own routine, changing base layer clothing once a week was normal practice, with the occasional body wash using 2 litres of water. The working environment on deck was as expected. Occasionally very cold, mostly wet and always unsteady. There was no external protection from the elements. When the wind blew at gale force, the noise was deafening, and movement around the deck was often very challenging. Working on the Foredeck was a particular challenge. It is narrow, excessively wet and everything is physically demanding. Goretex only works so far, and with bath loads of water breaking over the bow, everything eventually leaks. In the 2017/18 race one of the crew was washed overboard on the Foredeck. His tether broke, and when he was eventually recovered from the Ocean, he was dead. Safety was therefore a huge factor in all our training and in every task we undertook; but when you are cold and very wet, it requires a strong mind to remain on top of your game.
Every 24 hours two members of the crew (one from each Watch) took on the duties of Mother Watch. This required the preparation and cooking of 3 meals, cleaning the heads, emptying the bilges and general cleaning of the yacht. It is hard to describe the
Working on the Foredeck