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Three hands... Three feet... Three men in a boat! |
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Post Race Interview
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Conducted and written by Margaret Freestone
It is three hours since Mrs Chippy sailed into McDuff harbour, having successfully completed the gruelling North Sea Yacht Race. The three crew were still adjusting to life on land when we had this conversation. Stuart, (skipper) was finding the transition from sea to land had made him very aware of the huge contrast from one to the other. For the past few days these three men had been completely dependent on each other and had found themselves thrown into a hugely challenging situation in a very short space of time. As soon as they had left the safe haven of Skudenshaven the North Sea waves had built very quickly around them and for the first twelve hours they had to concentrate on just dealing with the strong wind (force 6 gusting 7) , the high waves, the boat’s response to both and to finding their sea legs. They dealt with it but it took until the next day to get into a good routine and to start to make snacks. The highlight of these snacks was Supernoodles although Stuart had a period of time when he was not eating at all!
Their time on board was essentially split into six hour “days” or three sections of two hours on watch – two hours on the helm, two hours on standby and two hours resting. As each watch passed the routine became slightly easier although Stuart did not think Alan’s observation that the wind was easing during the night was true. For Alan (1st mate) it was important to try to get in tune with the waves, wind and the helm and the two hour watch was not really long enough for fine tuning but it was more than enough to cope with as the wind was so strong and the sea motion so choppy. It demanded the utmost concentration and constant checking to keep on course and to make the most of the wind without putting the boat in jeopardy. The two hour rest was vital but it meant that when you went back on watch you were once again faced with tuning in to the elements. There was always one person on stand by while one was on the helm so the work could be shared. For Jamie (crew) the short sleep period was perfect and he was still happily taking short naps! The North Sea motion is sickening anyway as the sea is so confused so they had to contend with that too. The boat is fitted with two rudders to help counteract this motion but the sea state was so rough and confused with up to a three metre swell that the second rudder was not effective. Between the strong wind and the wild water there were constant hammering, battering and juddering noises on the boat.
The three sailors only started to relax when the sea state calmed a bit and the wind eased. Alan felt that, considering the disabilities of the three men, the wind was almost more than they were able to cope with because if they were beating hard and someone had to go up for’ard they would be stretched to the absolute limit of their capabilities. For a while it felt like they were working for pure survival and no training could have prepared them for this. The main thought in their minds was that they had to sail the boat safely. For Jamie it was at the peak of his comfort zone coming out on watch at 2am because, having just got out of bed, he couldn’t face the thought of going straight on the helm but he had no option. Stuart reckoned that Jamie must have found it more difficult than the other two to helm because he really had only one position he could be in to be able to hold the helm while the others had a bit more flexibility in that they could move around slightly more. (Jamie’s previous experience of sailing was in the coastal waters of Britain and a voyage to St Kilda ) For Stuart getting up after a two hour rest was also a tremendous challenge as he had to cope with getting up and feeling queasy but having to get on with the watch. They were lucky that the direction of the wind meant they had one tack only.
One of the nicest parts of the voyage was when the seas were still high but the wind had abated and a school of dolphins rode alongside Mrs Chippy, jumping out of the water and into the tumbling bow wave as if it was a Jacuzzi. There seemed to be a mother and two babies among them and they played around the boat long enough for some lovely photos to be taken.
The boat had been well laid out with labels and modifications and so each person was able to get in tune with the boat quickly and this helped a great deal. Stuart was very pleased with the modifications, particularly an H-shaped foot brace for the cockpit which had been made at the last minute from some Norwegian fencing! Everyone in Skudenshaven had been very helpful and supportive. The weather had been really good in Norway in the few days before the race and the men had begun to get into holiday mode – the Norwegians had gone to a lot of effort to arrange social gatherings prior to the race and the whole atmosphere was festive and friendly.
The three men gelled very well as a team and didn’t really have to help each other except when it came to sorting out Jamie’s collar!
For Stuart setting out to take on this challenge and then to achieve it gave him a wonderful sense of elation. The pure achievement was the most important thing for Alan. Stuart remembered how the initial plan to take part in the race had not included any thoughts of sponsorship but when Jamie suggested this and it was agreed then the whole affair started to take on a different dimension and to become very public. Stuart was overwhelmed that so many good people had come round to help them achieve their goal. As Jamie knew, the major difficulty of any sponsored event is the huge distraction of the media.
When asked how being an amputee had affected them on the voyage Stuart said he felt they had really pushed the boundaries of what an amputee can accomplish. Saying you will do it and then actually doing it against the back drop of a force 7 shows the metal and calibre of Alan and Jamie in Stuart’s opinion. (he did not put himself in the category of amputee as he was born with only one hand).
Alan said he found dealing with his prosthetic much easier than he had imagined it would be. Taking it off together with his waterproof trousers to go to sleep and then putting it back on again to go on the helm was no problem. He had found it sore but thought that was just the stage he was at.
Jamie said that when he was doing something like that all his sores and discomforts were put in the back ground. He never notices them when he is climbing mountains. He felt his arms were tender after the sail but no problem. On the boat it meant that he had been very much dependant on the others and he was very much the crew to the skipper and first mate. He had less responsibility for decisions and didn’t have to change the sails up front as Stuart had had to do.
Alan reckoned it was a great apprenticeship for the next race – Fastnet – but Jamie responded that Bondai was calling!! Jamie had thought he would be more able to make meals or even just tea but in those conditions it was just not possible. The main thing was that he could do his watch like everyone else and was just as effective on the tiller. For Alan the hardest part was the total concentration required staring at the instruments (compass with red light and the mapping gps), and the boat would not hit a groove so you had to constantly be adjusting the helm. They were sailing to course more or less rather than set a good sailing position but most of the time the wind situation meant that you could not get a groove. You had to touch the helm then wait and adjust and wait and adjust. If you got it wrong the boat would be swamped so you had the great responsibility of getting it right and this required total concentration.
Stuart said it was like you were fighting the wind and waves all the time. Trimming the sails (putting in a third reef) would have helped but would have resulted in less boat speed. “The decision was made on the first night not to drop the main sail which meant we had to work harder but we sailed fast. The other option would have been to drop the main and fill out the genoa but speed would have dropped. It would have been more comfortable but slower.”
As Jamie said on the first night it was a real baptism of fire. Working with head torches in unfamiliar and difficult circumstances.
It is an endurance event. Commitment is total. The distance between Skudenshaven and McDuff is 270 miles so in the middle you are 130 miles away from land and if anything serious happens to the boat you take to the life raft quickly and hope to get picked up by an oil rig supply vessel. It is unlike the round Britain and Ireland race where you are never usually more than 30 miles from land. This is the longest Norwegian race and that’s why they are so proud to embrace the Scots who take part. Visibility was poor this year due to fog and at one point Mrs Chippy was ushered away from an oil rig by a rig vessel.
At one stage during the first night Stuart was down below having rest time when he heard Alan yell above the noise of the wind and the waves and saw him flying across the cockpit and crash on to the other side then shouting “I’m all right. Nothing broken”. Then there was the loud crack of the boom as it accidentally jibed while Jamie’s concentration was distracted trying to help Alan. The force of a wave crashing into the boat had thrown Alan across the cockpit and his arm had been smashed into something hard. Alan said of the moment “In the back of my mind all I wanted was to keep the boat moving and not stall as the boat would have been swamped with water”. Stuart, down below, was unable to get up on deck and help. Everything happened so suddenly. He could hear Alan moaning in pain but Alan was, at the same time, trying to get in a line and a safety light trailing in the water before he took time off. Alan was very worried his arm wouldn’t perform afterwards but the painkillers kicked in and gave him some relief. He was in serious pain and in shock but kept saying “I’ll be fine”. Stuart was really worried that Alan had hit his head and asked Jamie if he had but Jamie said no so they allowed Alan to have some sleep. Two hours later he had to get up and do his turn on watch!
Jamie said the tow rail was in the water, the dodger was hitting the foam, Alan’s back was in the water. Alan thought a wave had hit him but Jamie didn’t think a wave had come over Alan as the cockpit wasn’t filled with water. Alan felt a mass of water on his back which seemed to push him and catapult him across the cockpit. Jamie thought this must have been when he hit the water and that a wave had knocked the boat over so that Alan had gone flying across the cockpit and landed in the water in the gunnels of the boat and he was then thrown back into the cockpit as the boat righted itself. Alan said that you can’t prepare for every eventuality but you must know how to cope when there are so many things that could happen. At the end of the race Stuart remembers saying “All here, all survived, no serious injury!”
Ten years ago, Stuart entered his boat, Charmer, for the race. It took them 72 hours. In 2007 he had a better boat, better rig and it took 47 hours.
At the end of the race , when they had crossed the line, the three men clasped each other in a circle as a symbolic bonding gesture.
Prizegiving ceremony
On Thursday evening the crew were very happy to receive the prize of third in class out of seven boats in the class of smaller boats.
They were then also awarded the Iain and Liz Ogston Memorial quaich for outstanding seamanship in the spirit of adventure to a spontaneous standing ovation from everyone present.
At the prize giving one skipper had mentioned that it was tough for their big 45 foot boat and they had wondered how we had coped.
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Page updated 09//07/2007
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