If you already didn’t know, the Clipper Round the World Race 09-10 finished in Hull on Saturday 17th July. What a great event it was! It was quite exciting to think that next time it’s going to be us entering the marina on those Clipper 68′s. It’s going to be a fantastic journey getting there, ploughing on through training and making a full circle in between start and finish.
I had a privilege of delivering Jamaica Lightning Bolt back to Gosport with her excellent skipper, Pete Stirling, and crew. During this trip the crew shared their thoughts and learnings, and I’m faithfully relaying the message. It may be a jumble of topics, but like sails on a heap, there’s still some use for them.
Check your wet gear
You wouldn’t jump out of a plane without checking your parachute. Never, ever assume that your sponsored, waterproof garments are indeed waterproof. When you’ll receive them, wear the full kit and take a cold shower for five minutes. Wear the smock hood to see that it covers your full head. Check that the wrist cuffs will not let water in. You should notice if the water gets in somewhere. Then, test your salopettes: sit in a bathtub full of cold water in upright manner and wait for a cold sensation of water leaking in. Lift your ankles though, so that the water doesn’t get in from the ankle cuffs!
Do the same to your boots, but fill them up with water (inside). Place them over e.g. newspaper or something that will reveal if water seeps through. Round the worlders need to budget for at least two pairs of boots. Leather boots require regular cleaning and care that is difficult to do on an ocean going race boat, therefore their lifecycle
The last thing you want is to discover a manufacturing flaw that leaves you drenched in the first rain shower, when it’s still four weeks to go until the stopover. Nonfunctional, sponsored clothing will be eventually replaced at no extra cost, but it won’t help you mid-Atlantic.
Layers
Thermals are your best friends. As a rule of thumb, you’ll need to carry one set of thermals per week. Round the world crew may survive with 4 sets in total, and just wear each set for 8-10 days on the longer legs. (Or longer, if you’re wo/man enough. There’s a story about this lady crew member who wore her thermal bottoms for the whole southern ocean leg, so her leg hair grew through the fabric during weeks. She got a free, accidental depilation when she eventually changed the layers!) Merino wool is the best material for thermals, but there are lots of technical layers too. Icebreaker brand is my favourite by far, they’ve been performing fantastically on mountains, camping and in cold climates. However, a note about merino wool: you should use it as a base layer only! When merino wool is regularly exposed to salt water, it loses its good qualities and starts breaking down. So, get appropriate materials for each layer.
Mid-layers, you must have them! All round the world crew MUST get mid-layers, you will not survive colder climates without them. Don’t even try, you’ll die a horrible hypothermic death. Mid-layers can be worn as wet weather gear in milder climates, so they are very versatile. Practically mid-layers give you another waterproof layer under the outer foul weather gear, giving extra protection when a storm forces cold water down your neck. For Clipper race crew it might be worth getting Henri Lloyd mid-layers, because the sponsored foulies and HL mid-layers are designed to work together, and the technical fabrics complement each other. Do the same waterproof check for them though before setting out to sea!
Socks. As mentioned, you’ll need waterproof socks (e.g. Sealskinz) for the leaking boots. Wear them with liner socks. Those you can find from any outdoor shop selling trekking gear. Liner socks are very thin socks that prevent chafing on extended walks, but they also make waterproof socks more comfortable. Keep sharp items away from the socks, e.g. cut & file your toenails regularly. And by the way, check that your waterproof socks are indeed waterproof.
Accessories
Ladies and long-haired gentlemen, get a Buff. It will keep your hair away from your face, serve as a neckerchief, scarf, headband, balaclava, hairband and maybe it will also make a cup of really good coffee if you’ll ask nicely.
Bring a sailing knife. This may save your life or limb if you’ll get sucked in a winch, are being held by a lifeline underwater, or whatever cuttable thing threatens your or your fellow crew mates life. There are many makes, but Pete Stirling, the skipper of Jamaica Lightning Bolt, recommended Leathermans. You must not use the knife for any other purpose, it needs to be sharp when you really really need it. There are couple of knives attached to the boom by the snake pit and on the helm pulpit.
Waterproof marker pen. You must mark all your clothing in a way or another – write your name on the jacket, salopettes, mid-layers, everywhere. There will be 18 identical foulies on board, and you don’t want to spend precious minutes looking for yours in a chaos that precedes watch change! Mark your boots too with a ribbon, rubberband etc. tied to the loop behind the boot. Mark your lifejacket with ribbon, sticker or similar – there will be 20 identical ones on board and you don’t have always time to start inspecting the ID numbers!
Waterproof watch with a timer / alarm function. You’ll need to know what time it is to get on deck in time for your watch. You’ll want to check how long you’ll still need to suffer cold and wet on watch. You’ll want to know when you’re going to get food. You’ll must know when to serve food. Above all, you’ll want to know how long you can sleep before it’s time to go again. Don’t go without a watch, mate. It can be a very basic one, as long as it tells what time it is.
Wraparound sunglasses with strap fastening. Many Jamaican crew, especially guys wore sunglasses that have a strap fastening around the head. They fit tightly and do not fall off in action. What action, you’re asking. Imagine holding a rope with both hands, looking up (your cap sliding over eyes when hitting the high collar on the back), then looking down to your hands and hey presto your normal sunglasses will be dangling somewhere around your mouth. Gill does some pro racing goggles, that even keep splashes out of your eyes. Many seemed to wear Oakleys, which are horribly expensive though! I’d recommend looking around before buying. The type of sunglasses you need depends on your task on the boat. If you’re doing a high action role like bowman, get the strap ones that will not fall off in any circumstances.
<Update 29 July 2010: Tip from Alan, Level 3 theory teacher >
Floating torch with a white & red light switch. These torches are mainly marketed for plane crews and sailors. They are particularly useful because you can use the white light in a bunk, red light around navigation station during night time to keep your night vision. Keep this torch in a pocket when on night watch. Because the torch floats (obviously being waterproof), it can be an additional signaling device, should one go overboard in the night time. (Now remind yourself of the first rule of MOB!)
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Health and safety
For the sake of your backside, bring something to sit on a deck. Everyone of the crew suffered from ‘yotty-botty’, a rash caused by sandpaper-like deck surface sitting on deck wearing wet gear and poor hygiene. There are variety of boat cushions on markets, but choose one that is light and small! Also, this might be bought together for the boat, as there are just so many cushions that can fit on the pit. Some clothing manufacturers do padded trousers / shorts, that might be an option too. Update 13 March 2011: I’m not convinced anymore about the necessity of cushions, so better check with the skipper before hauling in bulky stuff. I’d do first leg as a tester, and if a cushion is required, buy it from Brazil.
Bring Sudocream. It’s the snake oil for everything, including yotty-botty. It’s actually cream for treating nappy rash, but great for soothing, healing and protecting skin from various discomforts. It can be used for inflamed skin, rash, sunburn, infections. The boat medics ordered Sudocream for almost everything, and it worked.
Bring talcum powder for your feet. Extended ocean crossings in difficult conditions may leave your feet with less attention than rest of your body, but it’s important to check your feet once a day. Remove the shoes, socks and have a good look for any cracked skin. Put on talcum powder, wear liner socks and then outer (perhaps wateproof) socks. Treat your feet well, they’re walking you around.
Protection against sun. Always wear suncream on deck, even on a cloudy day. Harmful UV rays reflect from the sea and sails too, so practically you’ll get three times more sun you would on land. Bring two white (or light coloured) long sleeved shirts for sunny days, especially if you’re very fair.
During the deep clean I found also bottles of dry shampoo, which might be a good way to keep your hair clean in between weekly lukewarm showers. Nobody bothers showering when it gets really cold, so dry shampoo and wet wipes may be a winner combo on North Pacific.
<Update 29 July 2010 – I almost forgot beauty tips!>
Facial on the go: Exfoliating cleansing cloths. Facial skin will be exposed to salt, wind and a wide range of temperatures, and the body will not get thorough scrubbing as often as usually on land. Even though beauty products probably aren’t very necessary for the boat speed, some may want to exfoliate dead cells from the surface of their skin. Especially this may be a good idea for people with combination or oily skin to treat blocked pores. For me this isn’t a matter of aesthetics only, but also comfort, as inflamed pores can be very painful! And I don’t particularly fancy the thought of someone pointing a TV camera to my face when stepping to pontoon after 5 weeks at sea. (This coming from someone who suffered acne as a teenager, it definitely wasn’t great, and I’d rather not go back there if I can prevent it!)
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Storage strategies
Carabiners. They’re great for hanging your stuff bags from the edges of your bunk. See next.
Waterproof stuff sacks. Your life will be in a bag for many months, so it helps to be organised. Put small things into small bags, and big things into big bags. This way you’ll find whatever you’re looking for faster. Label each bag with that marker pen. (‘Woolly undies’ said one bag on board Jamaica Lightning Bolt.) Bring one gargantuan one that takes in everything, as you might need to quickly stuff all your belongings into it for some emergency tack that will otherwise send everything flying across the boat. (Oh, that’s also one of the reasons you’ll need to label all your gear’n'stuff. They will fly around.) I can warmly recommend Mountain Equipment Wet & Dry Sacs, those ever reliable companions of many hiking trips. They have a vent, so that you can squeeze the air out and therefore stuff your kit in smaller space. Invaluable!
Nylon bag for your laundry. All laundry goes into same bag, so that on port you’ll just find it, grab the washing powder, couple of coins and you’re almost sorted.
Waterproof sleeping bags and some other kit has already been discussed before, so have a look at older posts.
That’s it for now. Next time I’ll write about Life on Boat and Getting Along with Various Types.
Main photo credit: onEdition.
