Today was my turn to be "mother" with my mate John. This mainly means cooking all three meals and keeping everyone happy and fed. I got up early around 6:30 to start preparing everything for breakfast. We were going to prepare bacon and eggs but we soon discovered that the only pan that we had was a "everything sticks" pan and we made a little mess of the bacon as it was sticking all over. We did some semi-edible scrambled eggs using another pot but not a great start to our day.
After breakfast we learned how to check everything in the life jackets, including checking that they had not lost any air during the night and how to pack them. We each had to pack several jackets, including the one that we were going to wear during the week so we learned to be careful as our life might depend on it. It is good to learn that the life jackets that we will use during the race will each have its own AIS device, though the ones that are used during training don't have it.
Next lesson was about performing all necessary checks in the engine. We learn how to open the engine compartment and learned about IWOBBLEDU, which is just an acronym for all the different checks that need to be performed (Isolate, Water, Oil, Belts, Bilges, Leaks, Electricity, Diesel, Unisolate). The engine is a powerful beast, really huge and noisy.
After breakfast we learned how to check everything in the life jackets, including checking that they had not lost any air during the night and how to pack them. We each had to pack several jackets, including the one that we were going to wear during the week so we learned to be careful as our life might depend on it. It is good to learn that the life jackets that we will use during the race will each have its own AIS device, though the ones that are used during training don't have it.
Next lesson was about performing all necessary checks in the engine. We learn how to open the engine compartment and learned about IWOBBLEDU, which is just an acronym for all the different checks that need to be performed (Isolate, Water, Oil, Belts, Bilges, Leaks, Electricity, Diesel, Unisolate). The engine is a powerful beast, really huge and noisy.
Then we went on deck and continued learning. We did a security review of everything on deck, including which parts of the boat are more dangerous depending on the heading relative to the wind and we learned how to use the jackstays and how to clip ourselves to the boat and when we needed to do it. The boat is well equipped with jackstays, so it is not too difficult to move around while tethered, probably the worst part is just forward of the mast, where the two side jackstays are quite apart one from each other. In the 70s this has been solved with another jackstay which travels perpendicular to the boat just forward of the mast.
We then learned about the proper use of the winches. This is probably one of the areas which differed more from my previous experience. In the Clipper Race world they insist on handling the winches in a very particular way, always with your pinkies pointing to the winch. This is a great idea as it makes handling the winches more secure but I had never handled them like that, so it took me a while to get used to it.
It was time to have lunch so while the rest of the team moved some of the sails up on deck (the sails are huge and even the smallest one needs several people to move them) we prepared some rice with the leftovers of the pasta sauce and some pastries. It took forever as the cookers and the oven are pretty small and not very good for cooking for so many people. Again we managed to get something edible, with the pastries only half-burnt but again it wasn't a very satisfying cooking experience.
After lunch we all learned how to manage the coffee grinder (this machine which is very spectacular, with two people turning the handles and which is used to grind on the two main winches). We took turns working in pairs to raise one of the yankee sails to the height of the second spreader using the coffee grinder, it was tough but something that we all managed to do without any problems. This is one of the agility tests that you are required to complete to pass Level 1.
We were supposed to have done our first bit of sailing that day but it was already quite late and given how early it gets dark in those dates, Stefano decided that we would not leave the port that day. As a final lesson of the day, we learned all the steps involved in a Man Over Board situation. That is probably the worst that can happen during the race and it was great to see that they have this manoeuvre perfectly studied and defined. We learned about the different roles needed and what everyone was supposed to do during this situation. I was glad to learn that us much importance is given to how to recover the casualty back on deck as to how to locate and approach the casualty. In many cases when talking about MOB I had seen a great emphasis on locating the casualty but very little thought on how to get them back on board once located.
During all this we had to prepare tea/other hot drinks several time during the day. I have never seen people who drank so much tea as these English people did. "Cuppa tea?" seemed to be one of the most heard sentences during the week. We managed to keep everyone happy and warm.
It was time to prepare dinner so we went down below while the rest of the team learned about folding the sails to get them back below, another task that requires a huge number of people. I really can't imaging how this can be done in a rough sea with the boat jumping around, but I guess I'll learn. Dinner was not too bad, we managed to prepare some decent vegetables and to cook some fish fingers in the oven without burning too many of them.
I was quite tired at the end of the day, being "mother" is difficult as you have to spend a lot of time down below preparing the meals while the learning continues, so I was glad that we were able to get that out of the way on the first day. I decided to skip the pub altogether and stay in my bunk for an early night, really looking forward to our first sailing the next day.
We then learned about the proper use of the winches. This is probably one of the areas which differed more from my previous experience. In the Clipper Race world they insist on handling the winches in a very particular way, always with your pinkies pointing to the winch. This is a great idea as it makes handling the winches more secure but I had never handled them like that, so it took me a while to get used to it.
It was time to have lunch so while the rest of the team moved some of the sails up on deck (the sails are huge and even the smallest one needs several people to move them) we prepared some rice with the leftovers of the pasta sauce and some pastries. It took forever as the cookers and the oven are pretty small and not very good for cooking for so many people. Again we managed to get something edible, with the pastries only half-burnt but again it wasn't a very satisfying cooking experience.
After lunch we all learned how to manage the coffee grinder (this machine which is very spectacular, with two people turning the handles and which is used to grind on the two main winches). We took turns working in pairs to raise one of the yankee sails to the height of the second spreader using the coffee grinder, it was tough but something that we all managed to do without any problems. This is one of the agility tests that you are required to complete to pass Level 1.
We were supposed to have done our first bit of sailing that day but it was already quite late and given how early it gets dark in those dates, Stefano decided that we would not leave the port that day. As a final lesson of the day, we learned all the steps involved in a Man Over Board situation. That is probably the worst that can happen during the race and it was great to see that they have this manoeuvre perfectly studied and defined. We learned about the different roles needed and what everyone was supposed to do during this situation. I was glad to learn that us much importance is given to how to recover the casualty back on deck as to how to locate and approach the casualty. In many cases when talking about MOB I had seen a great emphasis on locating the casualty but very little thought on how to get them back on board once located.
During all this we had to prepare tea/other hot drinks several time during the day. I have never seen people who drank so much tea as these English people did. "Cuppa tea?" seemed to be one of the most heard sentences during the week. We managed to keep everyone happy and warm.
It was time to prepare dinner so we went down below while the rest of the team learned about folding the sails to get them back below, another task that requires a huge number of people. I really can't imaging how this can be done in a rough sea with the boat jumping around, but I guess I'll learn. Dinner was not too bad, we managed to prepare some decent vegetables and to cook some fish fingers in the oven without burning too many of them.
I was quite tired at the end of the day, being "mother" is difficult as you have to spend a lot of time down below preparing the meals while the learning continues, so I was glad that we were able to get that out of the way on the first day. I decided to skip the pub altogether and stay in my bunk for an early night, really looking forward to our first sailing the next day.
