Posts tagged ‘crew’

Fourth!

Team Lion has secured a fourth place on the seventh racing weekend of the Garmin Hamble Winter Series. The race was held in freezing temperatures as the cold weather front from Scandinavia had taken hold of the whole Great Britain last week. During the night temperatures plummeted to -2 C, and the race day had only slightly higher temperature of zero degrees and light winds of 6-7 knots.

We had an interesting start as we sneaked behind the committee boat to the start line, and crossed it about 5 seconds late. This didn’t hamper our race too much though, and we were able to catch up the top dogs and even chased down some big boats of the previous class who started 5 minutes earlier. The higher the position, the more carefully the team keeps an eye on other boats movements. “See that fishing boat at 1 o’clock?” “Puma is gybing at 11.” “Why Incognito is taking a different course?” “Are we heading to the right mark for sure?” Super good team work. Shame that the race course was shortened mid-race, we didn’t get a chance to do any starboard roundings and catch up the leader pack even more.

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Half of the crew spent the Saturday night on board because of the early start at 7am. This could have required a little bit more planning, as most of us had a three-season sleeping bags that were inadequate for the below zero temperatures. The radiator was fairly inefficient, so most of us spent half night awake freezing and adding layers one by one, and laying like mummies without turning and tossing, as the mattress provided a little bit warmth that was not to be wasted by changing positions. I have not been carrying my waterproof sleeping bag to the Hamble races, as it is far too heavy for the sprint races at 5kg. Next weekend I’ll just prepare better by wearing more layers overnight and possibly by bringing a cherry stone warmth pillow for feet. I have innate dislike of hot water bottles, as in my native land wet and warmth do not go hand in hand. In my mind it is madness to rely on a rubbery bottle that may start leaking any moment, rendering the dry coldness even worse, to wet coldness. Cherry stone or wheat pillows are much better, however they require either a microwave or gas oven for heating up, which of course is not an option on long distance races. However in Hamble I can ask the staff of the marina restaurant for a radiating 2.5 minute, 800 watt favour.

Cold lessons learnt

• When it gets cold, work! My fingers are exposed to cold all the time, and therefore they tend to resemble more like spatulas than nimble digits. However, after initial painfully cold stiffness they warm up when fiddling with sail setup, ropes and other bits and bobs, and in the end I found that it isn’t too bad to do winter sailing with fingerless gloves after all. I’d anticipate that sail changes on offshore races are heaven sent in coldness, and anyone on a foredeck should be warm after that exercise (given the waves don’t wash all that away).
• Henri Lloyd mid-layers are far better than anticipated. This waterproof and windproof garment with fleece and teddy lining became my instant favourite for below zero conditions. Without any exaggeration they are a brilliant piece of kit. I wore merino wool cold weather base layers, a thin fleece top, HL Blizzard mid-layer salopette, HL Fusion jacket and the HL Blizzard mid-layer jacket over everything. I was more than comfortable – very toasty and even considered removing the Fusion jacket when wrestling with sails. Five stars.
• Find a solution for cold feet. I have poor circulation in extremities, meaning my toes start freezing after a while no matter how good boots and socks I wear. This is especially annoying in the sleeping bag and prevents from getting proper rest. First natural remedy is hearty food before bedtime – fatty food gives the body more energy for warmth. (40% of the energy on food goes to warmth production, so it’s easy to see how bangers and mash with brown sauce will give more warmth than a cesar salad. Arctic expeditions eat butter pasta soup for a breakfast, for very good reasons…) Second solution could be heat sachets that react with air to heat up. These can be found from outdoor stores, however I’d do some research for tiny packs that can fit the boots too. This might be the moral booster on offshore races when it gets really, really cold.
• A hat with ear flaps and below-chin strap is far superior than a regular cap. It is useful to be able to secure the hat so that it will not slide anywhere and is not in danger of being lost in the heat of the action.

Niall shows how to helm in cold weather

More photos on Flickr: