49:42;993N 002:44;467W
Adventure_iceland
Wed 19 Mar 2008 10:00
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After we rounded Bishop Rock - the South Western
most point of the Britain, we spent a good few hours stemming tides and fighting
against a wind directly from the direction in which we wanted to make
ground! Frustration began to creep in to people but I never once heard
"Are we there yet?" Watches came and watches went and I had a similar
conversation with many on board - "what happens if this happens on the way to
Greenland?" (we get there late ... and miss our flights - sailing is not an
exact science!) "What happens if we get nasty weather like we have had?"
(we have not really had any nasty weather so far - winds up to F7 and seas up to
Moderate but all with a chilly northerly and easterly wind - anyway the answer
is we dig deep and get through it together). "What if I feel sick on the
next trip?" (You may well do but I have brought you sailing for 4 days and
nights for a reason - from my experience many people are over their sickness by
Day 4, waking up demanding food, drink and music, with a smile on their faces
and conversation reappears in the saloon and cockpit)
And so to Day 4 (a day early for some). Let
me explain; Emma has been our "sick-as-a-parrot crew member" on this trip so
far. A really fun character and the only female aboard with a lot of foul
smelling blokes. But it has been Emma who has led the "over-the-side"
watch. She says its like being bolemic (I would not know from personal
experience! It's a girl thing ...). Well over the last 18 hours the watch
with Emma have been on Motherwatch. Andy Whitmore had them organised
exceptionally well allowing each to take some extra rest from the 4 on 4 off
watch system we are using. During the night the duty two (from 4) had to
assist with sail changes in addition to clearing up after dinner for 14.
And all this in a choppy sea on a blowy night in cold Western English Channel
(on teh French side so I suppose it ought to be called La Manche). Well it
still takes this novice crew longer than it should to changes sails - 90 minutes
or longer is not uncommon given this is their first few days on a Challenge
67 and for some first days at sea ever.
 After considerable effort the No 3 was down, the No
1 up, the reef shaken out, the staysail re-rigged, the yacht tacked ... you get
the idea. Emma hit the sack. Bright early this morning she was up to
help prepare breakfast alongside the indefatigable remainder of her watch.
And - wait for it ... I caught her smiling. Then a few minutes later
eating a little Ready Brek with jam (just like mum used to make ...)
and now I can hear her laughing a little and music using my iPod and iTrip over
the saloon stereo! So you see, her Day 4 has come a day early! And
now maybe she will have faith that she can cope; there is an end to the sickness
if you fight through; the I tell the truth ...; and that sailing is fun! I
hope she keeps the faith and chooses not to forfeit her deposit!
Now what of our training achievements? Well
there is a train of thought that says one needs to stay close in to land and
teach all the basics until they are common practice and then move offshore to
experience a different environment. That is fine for RYA syllabus
stuff. But that is not how I started my sailing in 1987. I had given
up my passionate pastime the previous summer - skydiving. I was looking
for something to take its place and a friend suggested offshore sailing.
Well we trained ashore over the winter and at Easter we set sail for the Channel
Islands. I recall it vividly - it was a F8 gale, there was ice on the deck, the
seas seemed huge, there were big ships all over the place, I felt like an
intrepid explorer! I was hooked. And so 20 years later and now a
Challenge 67 skipper I still have the same boyish enthusiasm and love to see the
change people go through when they discover sailing out of their comfort
zone. So to this trip to Greenland ... there is every opportunity for
everyone to find themselves over the next few months. Several of those
sailing with me this week have already completed a good number of
"firsts". One chap who can not drive a car can now drive a 50-Tonne ocean
going yacht. One person who wanted to frighten himself as a way of leaving
his comfort zone - has done so and come through it stronger. One
person who never thought the sickness would end has seen that it does! And
the whole lot of them have worked together as a team.
And so MJ and I are happy people. A tidy ship
is a happy ship; do it nice or do it twice; ... the skipper is looking
chilled! All are somewhere on the road from unconscious incompetence;
conscious incompetence; conscious competence; to unconscious
competence!
Richard Quinlan :-)
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