Fastnet 2015 Update – The Team Onboard

It won’t be long before we’re sailing out of the Solent and racing towards the Fastnet Rock but before the First Class Sailing team reaches that point a lot of team building and preparation has to take place.

We’ve already had the all important Sea Survival course, not that anyone is planning to need it, but safety is all important especially during a race this challenging both by day and night.

As you can see in the picture we’ve had our first experience aboard Challenger 2 – a whole weekend of bonding and familiarisation before the first qualification race – the Cervantes Trophy Race.

Here is how skipper Ricky Chalmers saw the team’s initial gathering:

Skipper Log: Sunday 26 April 2015

The First Class Sailing Fastnet 2015 crew have been getting to grips with the sheer size and power of the Tall Ships Challenger yacht. 47 tons of steel, 72-foot length with an 85-foot high mast and powered by very large and heavy sails.

We have got almost all the sails up and flying so far in our training, the three Yankee headsails, the Staysail, the extremely large Genoa and of course the Spinnaker which is larger than a tennis court. All that remain to rig and launch today are the storm sails, the Trysail and Storm Staysail.

The crew is also getting to grips to with sleeping in their pipe cot bunks and with the daily routine of cooking, cleaning and maintaining their race boat.

We’ll be getting more updates from the team over the coming weeks and also hearing about the other events such as Myth of Malham Race (23-25 May) and June’s Morgan Cup.

Posted by: First Class Sailing