IT IS OK TO BE SCARED!

CLOSING BLOG FROM PHILIPPE

I was quite relieved on Monday night when Becki sat in the cockpit of Puma and announced to the team ‘for the first time ever aboard Puma I was scared.’ I was relieved as it was good to know that I was not alone in my own thought.

I have often been asked about my scariest moment at sea. I get the feeling that my normal response of ‘I have never been scared as such’ is met with a certain amount of scepticism and disbelief. However, that was the truth up until Monday night whilst sixteen mile West of Ushant. I have been anxious and apprehensive before about a situation; but never scared. Now I actually understand and appreciated what it is like to be scared at sea. I will be able to answer the question with honesty in the future.

The next question that I am sure many of you will immediately be asking is ‘so were you in danger?’ This is something that I have subsequently given careful consideration to. We learn from our own experiences and it is therefore very important to analyze the events that lead up to a situation provoking certain emotions and actions. Firstly I will give you the conclusion of my deliberations as I do not want you to be unnecessarily concerned. No is the answer, I do not believe Puma or anyone aboard her was in any danger at any moment.

‘So, how come I was scared then?’ That is a harder question to answer. Having a healthy respect for the sea is paramount in good seamanship. There is continual thought process that a skipper goes through when making tactical decisions combined with assessments of risk analysis and crew welfare. We all know that to race successfully means pushing slightly closer to the limits of safety than cruising requires. But we must determine what is reasonable and when the risk becomes too significant. It is the best balance of the two that separates success from disaster.

We were hurtling toward Ushant at speeds hitting just under twenty knots with one reef in the mainsail and a poled out no 3 jib. The wind speed was reaching nearly 40 knots (a full force 8 gale) and the sea state was very rough with waves in excess of five metres. It was pitch black and raining hard with poor visibility. We were on the edge and pushing hard, forever closing the deficit on Pen Azen.

I was considering reducing sail area to control the speed as with a lee shore rapidly approaching I was conscious of the safety issues. It was time to once again throttle back. We were 16 miles from Ushant when the lines that hold the spinnaker pole in place departed from the pole end. The consequence of this means that it is very difficult to get the jib to the other side of the boat (something we needed to do before any other manoeuvre was possible).

Poochie (Brighty’s latest and favoured nickname), Richard, Becki, Alan and myself were on deck. This situation needed some quick thinking with a safe and fast execution of whatever manoeuvre was decided upon. We all sat in the cockpit shining torches at the front of the boat for about ten minutes. Nothing was said; fairly indicative of the fact that none of us could think of a solution. The quietness of all of us was actually quite amusing and comforting in itself, a good sign that panic had not yet set in. We even had a laugh about the situation at one stage!
Then we started bouncing ideas around, we moved some lines around in a vein attempt to provoke a thought process. Clearly we had no answers that we knew would definitely work so we decided that the best way forward would be to cast off one line, pull another as hard and fast as we could, close our eyes and hope for the best! I was not entirely satisfied that we had a satisfactory solution to the problem and just before we started it I came up with another plan.

David just looked at me and said ‘that will not work!’ I responded ‘maybe not, but it is better than the current plan.’ Poochie retorted ‘ok, let’s give it a go and if it works you are a f*****g genius!’ We set up for it, breathed in and hoped. A few moments later Poochie looked at me and proclaimed me to be a F*****g genius. The problem was solved.

In total it took about 30 minutes to resolve our little predicament but in that time we had closed to within eight miles of Ushant. We had travelled eight miles in thirty minutes, an average speed of sixteen knots. For a thirty minute period we had not been able to control our speed when I felt it particularly necessary to do so. At that point I was scared! The elements had completely controlled us leaving very few options and we had to deal with it. Never before had I felt the sea to be so much in control of the situation which was a sobering reminder of the power of nature. That is why I was scared.

So why were Puma and the crew never in danger? Simply because we had planned far enough ahead to enable us to sort out any problems effectively and safely. We had the experience, knowledge, ability and most importantly time to analyze, plan and execute a remedy that would keep Puma out of danger. ‘TIME’ is the key issue. Whilst we had been pushing hard we had given ourselves time to sort out the problem and therefore I was satisfied that I had never put the team in danger.

The next 220 miles we covered in just 22 hours. I probably do not need to say too much about the sailing other than it was breathtaking with one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I have experienced. The speedo was reading 15 knots for sustained periods of time and peaking at 18.8 knots! The hull was resonating for much of the time and the loads were immense. I am sure you are fully aware of how hard Team Puma pushed right to the end. We were all at our mental and physical limits digging deeper and deeper into the reserves.

I do not fully understand how a team like ours can come and take on some of the best and most experienced teams around, possessing the belief that they can succeed. There is certainly a rare quality about the teams that sail offshore aboard Puma Logic and it is testimony that anything can be achieved with the right mindset. Puma Logic was very much the underdog in this battle but came out on top. This year there has been an undeniable commitment, incredible self belief and most importantly a huge respect for each other which has resulted in a morale and energy capable of taking the team to the top and conquering.

Sailing back into the Solent with the support RIB’s to greet us was a very special moment. At that stage we knew we had won the race and we had time to take it in and savour the moment. I cannot really recall my thoughts except the ones of relief at finishing the toughest yacht race I have competed in the euphoria of winning it. I will never forgot the moment we berthed in Cowes under sail power only. It was a sensational moment and the smiles, tears, laughter and hugs said it all. This concluded the best month of my life with a fairy tale ending…..beating the best yacht in the RORC championships in the toughest race. What more could anyone have asked for?