Sunday Tack on the SolentThe crew joined Challenger 3’s sister ship, Challenger 1 on a cold and windy Saturday morning in Portsmouth for a weekend of boat familiarisation, big boat training and most importantly spinnaker training.
Before the big sail could be used it needed to be “wooled”. This is a laborious process of tying small pieces of wool every foot or so down the hundred foot length of the massive scale sail. The objective is to create a gigantic stick-man which can be hoisted to the top of the mast without “popping”, and then sheeted on to reveal the full size and majesty of the largest sail on the boat.
Once this was done, and the stickman was safely in the bright yellow bag and secured in front of the mast, the crew ventured out into the Solent.
Going Up to Get Down-Wind
Most of the ARC race is expected to be a down-wind race using the spinnaker or a polled out headsail. But to train downwind, first you have to get up-wind. This is what the Challenger was built for – sailing upwind.
The crew quickly appreciated this as the 47 ton steel cutter rigged yacht responded to 22 knots of wind with full sail and started carving up the Eastern Solent, quickly arriving at the Hamble after many tacks and lots of trim and winch practice on the big boat.
Captain Ricky Chalmers and SpinnakerNot only did the crew, who were used to smaller yachts, have to get used to the power of the Challenger, the size of the winches and lines on board, but also the complication of having two tack twin headsails and having to tack the running backstays. The early winter night closed down the training off Cowes after a rapid downwind leg under polled out headsail.
Enter the Stick Man
Sunday dawned another crisp, clear but again very cold winters morning. It was hard trying to convince the crew that in two weeks time they could dispense with their thermals and would be sailing in shorts and t-shirts. Again, Challenger 1 made its way upwind towards Southampton, but this time we opted for using the engine and used the time to train further on the spinnaker pole and trimming the kite. Within an hour, we had reached as far north as we could reasonably go and turned around and put the wooled kite to the test. Would the stick man stand up to the task?
The wind was gusting to 17 knots, more than the spinnaker was rated to, we were on the edge, but the trust in the crew was well founded and the popping of the kite wool and the thud of acceleration as all the sheets, guy and halliards took up the load started our run.
The Sunday racers could not help be impressed as we charged between them at 10 knots down Southampton Water and the Eastern Solent, skirting the shallows off Hill Head and Ryde Middle.
The kite was dropped off of No Man’s Land Fort after we “spiked” it off the pole and the crew hauled it through the “letterbox” and bundled it down below to be re-wooled. The training came to an all to swift end at Gunwhalf Quays and after a quick debrief, the crew were off back home dreaming of doing it all again in two weeks time – but this time in shorts and t-shirts!
