TIPS FOR A CRACKING SAIL
1 CRUISING IN COMPANY
One of the loveliest things is to go on a rally with other boats. My friends and I have a little group of six or seven boats. We say ‘Right, where are we going this weekend?’ And we go to that anchorage, or marina – have a pontoon party of course. Just getting together and enjoying the sport, inevitably trying to race the others back. And that’s one of the great pleasures of sailing, cruising in company with people you know and like, and the joshing that goes on between you is all part of the fun.
2 FOOD ON BOARD
I’ve got quite a smart stove on the Farr, but on Suhaili I only had one burner so I tend to be a one-pot cook. I make Pot Mess, an old Navy dish where crew would just cook all their rations together to make a kind of stew. The good thing about cooking in a pressure cooker is it cuts down on the cooking time and there’s a lid, so if the boat lurches, it doesn’t spill. Whatever you don’t eat can be added to the next meal.
3 MISTAKES HAPPEN
Accept that we all make mistakes, it’s the degree of the mistake that matters. If someone’s helped you on the boat and the reefing lines are in the wrong place, then that can be sorted out, it’s not life-threatening.
4 BEWARE SHIPPING
I remember bringing Suhaili back from India, going down the coast of Arabia and a bloody great tanker came storming past us, missing us by about 20ft. There was no one on the bridge. Its wave smashed us about and I thought ‘you bastard, you’re paid to be up there, keeping lookout and you’re not doing it’. That was pretty frightening. Another time, going into Lisbon with Suhaili, with the family on board in thick fog, I said, ‘We want the Echo sounder, we’re going in close, because a big ship will go aground before it hits us if we go inshore’.
5 TOP KIT
Anyone who goes to sea without a knife or two is pretty stupid. If someone gets caught on a rope and it starts to tighten up on them, cut it and save a life.
6 LIFEJACKETS
I don’t always wear one, but I have set rules. For instance, on my big boat, I don’t mind you sitting in the cockpit without a lifejacket, but the moment you go outside, or if it’s blowing up and nasty weather, or there are children on board, then put one on. I’ve nearly been drowned because of a lifejacket – I gybed and slid under a rail which was now under water and my lifejacket automatically inflated and I was jammed. Luckily the crew saw it and gybed the boat back – but I’m not against lifejackets. If in doubt, shove one on.
7 MOB DRILLS
With the Clipper Race we take MOB drills terribly seriously. I do it occasionally with my crew, as much as anything to make them think about not falling over the side in the first place. I throw a weighted fender over the side. Then it’s time to stop the boat, as fast as you can, which isn’t always easy in big seas and big winds.
8 KNOW YOUR KNOTS
One of my ways of checking people for the Clipper Race is to make sure they can tie knots. You’ve got to take it seriously and keep up with your training because crossing an ocean isn’t a joke. You’d be a danger to yourself and other crew members and that’s not fair.
9 HAPPY CREW
Make sure the crew understand what the plan is, even if it’s just gybing or tacking. I have a very simple rule on my boats, if you’re in doubt, ask. I’ve never, ever bollocked anyone for waking me up because they’re uncertain, but my goodness, I have if they didn’t and they should have done.