Wed 16 Feb – first crew gathering – we’re all here now – and met together for the first time at 10am. From 19 to 71, 9 men, 3 women, a mixture of sailing and racing experience, all excited to be in the Caribbean preparing for the RORC 600.
We started by introducing the crew – each of us talking about what we wanted to get out of the race, and the training. Then Philippe and Tim introduced us to Hydrocarbon – getting to know the boat – for some, it was scaling up to a 50 footer, for others, understanding the unfamiliar rig and layout.
Then our first shakedown sail together – and yes, we all found it a bit strange. Getting used to moving safely around the acres of deck, being dressed in shorts and t-shirts; just being warm was a complete novelty after Solent sailing.
The beauty of Falmouth Harbour becomes even more apparent when you sail out into the open sea and look back at the island peaks. Truly this is a lovely place. A three masted tall ship, straight out of a pirate film, sailed in as we came out, deckhands clambering over the rigging with ease.
Thurs
17 Feb – our first full training day out on the water – we start to organise into crew roles, and get surprised by the sun – panda eyes, burned hands and feet. But we improve dramatically from the previous day’s attempts, and all are happy that we’re beginning to work together more effectively.
Friday 18 Feb – today we start to prepare the boat. Our shorter training sail is great – we feel that we’ve improved further, and the skippers are pleased that we’re working together better. To celebrate, we go out! The less said about that, the better, but the Caribbean food and drink, especially the rum, are going down very well with all the crew.
Saturday 19 Feb – We have a further preparation day, and take things a bit more slowly. The wind has lessened in the past few days and it’s getting hotter and hotter. Swimming in the sea is the only cure and we all take a break in the morning to relax and sleep. More boat prep then off to the Skippers’ briefing. The sense of competition heightens sharply, with skippers keenly listening to the brief, and inspecting the sailing instructions for any areas of confusion, or for tactical loopholes. Many famous faces from the world of ocean racing are seen, and suddenly it’s clear that this is indeed a world class race.
Philippe and Tim brief the crew on what to expect for the race, the route and the likely forecast – expected E-NE, 20 knots for the start, then dropping off for the second half of the race. We think 3-3 ½ days for the race, but there are many complex factors which will affect our speed – the island wind shadows, the currents, and the crew’s performance.
Other preparations include:
- Changing from the cruising to the racing main
- Overhauling the winches and checking the engine and all other on board equipment, fitting our race tracker
- Inflating all the lifejackets to check them, marking up our water bottles and selecting our on board kit (everything else to go into store during the race)
- Stripping the boat of all non-essential items
- Preparing food, drink and kit
- Putting up bungee around the foredeck, and in strategic water bottle locations
- Taking off all the padding from the shrouds and the extra cruising kit, like the radar
- Removing all the non-essential sails
Finally the skippers tell us about the watch pattern and composition –
Pink Watch is skippered by Tim with Pedro, Olivia, James, Helen and Ben
Blue Watch is skippered by Philippe with Brian, Mark, Joseph, Rob and Alice
Then we go to the crew party, and after a rousing introduction by the RORC Commodore and the Antiguan Tourism Minister, we have a great time meeting the other crews, though we’re all restricting our alcohol intake now, having realised the power of the local rum.
Sunday 20 Feb – we finish stripping the boat, and the detail of the preparations, then get ready to have our final training sail. The race starts tomorrow – our class will be off first at 11.30am.
