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County Air Ambulance visits Severn Sailing Club.
12.30 Sunday 25th September

The drone got louder as we expectantly awaited the arrival of the County Air Ambulance at Severn Sailing Club. Fortunately it was not required in its usual capacity, but for the presentation of a cheque for £1276; charity funds raised by some of our sailors who had competed in the Fastnet Race in its honour.

Crowds gathered on the balcony and grassy area out front of the club as the tiny spec was spotted in the sky. In no time at all, the spec was circling the clubhouse, the drone of the engine drowning all other sounds except perhaps the excited chatter of the children.

With a final flourish of rotor blades and noise, the river became a whirlpool of froth, and the helicopter landed on the grass behind the southern jetty. The sheer power and beauty of the red creature just arrived, was an experience that will be remembered forever.

The Fastnet sailors with banner presented the cheque to County Air Ambulance representatives and pilot and paramedic crew, as cameras clicked and applause rang out.
The aircrew explained the technicalities of the aircraft, its uses, needs, and costs. They allowed children to climb inside and adults to examine the interior. We learned that the Air Ambulance helicopters, two EC135 and one Bokow, costs £2.6 million each year to operate.

The visit was cut short by an emergency call, they were in the air in minutes heading away, but 10 minutes later the by now familiar sound was back, and from behind the trees the red helicopter landed again. This time the crew were able to come into the clubhouse for a cup of tea. And more money poured into the charity.

The County Air Ambulance is totally charity funded, so the money raised will go some way to keeping it going. On top of this our Fastnet crew had a week of superb sailing. Thank you to the intrepid sailors and their families, and thank you to the Air Ambulance for their incredible work.

Fran Gibbs

Fastnet Qualifying Race

Last August Andy Stratton (otherwise skipper) called and asked if I would like to join his merry band on the large undertaking of participating in this well known race. Out of a list of about 14 people, we managed to get 9 people who were suitable to work together and willing to start on the various courses and qualifying races needed to take part.

Now for the boat which, at this stage, we had not got. On a wet Saturday in November, 5 of us went around Southampton and Cowes to charter a boat. Yes, as often happens, the last one we saw was the one we chose. "Dark Star" is an X412 and has sailed the Fastnet race twice before by her owner and has done very well, so we have a lot to keep up with.

Next comes the qualifying requirements for the racer-half the crew have to have raced over 300 miles on the boat entered for the Fastnet in the qualifying races during the year of entry. Half the crew are to have done a sea survival course and the boat is to have at least one first aid member on board. Well, we as a crew are doing well as there are three first-aiders and two of us have now taken our ship's captains medical certificate as advised on our sea survival course. Right with all this sorted, back to the sailing.

Our first trip out together was in the middle of April - just to get used to the boat, meet the owner and find out who was going on watch with who. Also for some of the crew it was their first all night sailing exercise. The Friday was spent finding where everything was stowed. Saturday morning we sailed around Southampton water putting up every sail we had on board and putting reefs in the main sail and taking them out. We sailed across to Cowes where we dropped off the owner after asking every question we could think of. After a good lunch ashore we started out on the matter in hand. Three watch system here goes. After seeing the weather forecast we decided to sail around the Isle of Wright with a few additions on the way. The night went well but it was foggy and in some places there was no wind. Things went well and for the first trip out together it was thought to be a good start by all.

Friday 13th May was the first of our qualifying races. The start time was 1850 hrs from the Cowes Yacht Club start line. 100 boats had entered this race across to Cherbourg, but on the day only 80 boats actually started. There were three starts, and we were in the second. The wind was behind us so the kite was ready to go up just on the start gun. Even if we, on "Dark Star" say so ourselves we had a flying start. At 2030 hrs we had already seen one dismasting and several broaches by boats from the first start. The wind was getting stronger, it was still raining and we were still only in the Solent between Cowes and Hurst Point.

The next point of call was the Royal Ocean Racing mark which would then have taken us southeast towards Cherbourg on a beat. Still flying the spinnaker and at one point hitting a magic 12.8 knots boat speed we were still running down to the mark at about 2300 hrs. By about 2330 hrs thing were not quite as rosy - there was a lack of sail above the water and a lot below!!! Our first trip out together was in the middle of April - just to get used to the boat, meet the owner and find out who was going on watch with who. Also for some of the crew it was their first all night sailing exercise. The Friday was spent finding where everything was stowed. Saturday morning we sailed around Southampton water putting up every sail we had on board and putting reefs in the main sail and taking them out. We sailed across to Cowes where we dropped off the owner after asking every question we could think of. After a good lunch ashore we started out on the matter in hand. Three watch system here goes. After seeing the weather forecast we decided to sail around the Isle of Wright with a few additions on the way. The night went well but it was foggy and in some places there was no wind. Things went well and for the first trip out together it was thought to be a good start by all.

A Taste of Ocean Racing
I can feel the cool fresh offshore wind blowing over my shoulder. The sea is calm and "Blueprint" is leisurely skimming through the water at 7 knots. As I look up I can see her large dark Kevlar sails beautifully stretching up towards the top of the mast. We are about a mile south of the Isle of Wight approaching St Catherine's Point.
A dark shadow on the sea is rapidly approaching from windward. My hand on the wheel tenses watching and waiting for the yacht to respond. As wind arrives a gentle touch on the wheel is all that is needed to keep her on course. I feel so alive as she effortlessly accelerates from 7 to 10.5 Knots. It is magical, just like sailing an overgrown racing dinghy.

I cannot really believe that despite all the problems with my back here I am at the helm of "Blueprint" one of the Whitbread 60 round the world racing yachts. It all started on my Birthday when my daughter gave me a "Blue Box Sailing" trip on their ocean racer. Formally known as "Intrum Justica" she had come second in the 1993/4 Whitbread round the world race setting a new world record of 425 miles in 24 hours for mono-hulls. I booked on their "Round the Island" trip on May the 4th and had to be at "Ocean Village" Southampton by 8 O'clock.

As I walked down the Jetty to the rib, that would take us to the yacht, the Skipper watched my straight back and stiff walk with some concern. When I declined his invitation to sit because of my back he gently reminded me that the trip could well take 11 hours. He very calmly explained that it would be "no problem" if I wished to come back another day. However, as I was assured I did not have to do any rope or other work if I did not feel up to it I felt the gentle movement of the yacht over the waves was just what the doctor ordered. And with a Northerly 4/5 forecast, it was too good to miss.

The first thing I noticed as we approached "Blueprint" was the large almost completely flat deck dominated at the stern by twin steering wheels and "winder" in the middle of the cockpit. Also the size of the main winches and height of the mast overshadows the kit on the typical offshore racing yachts I have sailed before.

We (7 guests & 4 crew) were promptly kitted out with oil skins, life jackets, harnesses before a full safety briefing and breakfast of bacon butties as we motored down Southampton water. We were also explained the working of the complex three speed winches, how to connect them to the "winder" and how to position oneself for two-man operation of the winder.

They also explained that when under full sail power it takes 7 minutes to tack! This is mainly because the water ballast has to be pumped from one side of the boat to the other. Also, as the boom is so long there are two running back stays that have be released & tensioned all at the correct time.

Once past Calshot and into the Solent we put up a large Genoa (I forgot to ask how large - on this trip we only used 3 out if the 24 sails and 17 spinnakers that make up the full inventory). With this sail we made a comfortable 3 to 7 knots in the gusty Northerly wind. I had my first spell at the helm during the hoisting of the sail and was surprised how light and sensitive she was to the wheel.

After we rounded the needles we changed down to a "non-overlapping" jib and put up the main with two reefs. Approaching St Catherine's we started to get the gusts described earlier. Although very exciting, it was reassuring to have the skipper a "hands reach" from the helm as she would be surprisingly easy to broach. Shortly after we took down the main and continued on the jib alone. We were told that when sailing round the world they did a change every 40 minutes! Once round St Catherine's we were close hauled pointing closer to the wind than most yachts and still achieving 8-9 knots.

After tacking at the Nab tower (3 miles east of the Isle of Wight) we beat back up into the Solent. Once in the Solent we had to dispense with the water balancing to allow for quick tacking. With a draft of 12 ft, the shallows in the eastern Solent become even more challenging than usual. The yacht's sophisticated navigation systems (including GPS linked to a portable PC displaying the chart showing our position) were most useful. Lisa (the navigator) periodically popped up her head to remind the Skipper that we were approaching shallow water. The smooth coordination gave us amateur crew plenty of time to carry out the calmly given orders. These were often given in a wonderfully effective mix of land and sea language such as "A little to the right or bear off 10 degrees please".

On one occasion a slightly quick tack spun the yacht so fast she stalled into the wind. As we had come to expect, the recovery procedure was quickly and calmly explained and we all felt we had made another small step to understanding the handling of this incredible yacht.

Finally the sailing was over, we motored back up Southampton water drinking tea and taking group photos. We were all tied up before 8 pm, sad that such a wonderful day was over.
Looking back I realise that I had simply not understood the enormous difference between a typical offshore racing yacht and a real purpose built racing craft designed for a professional crew. Nearly all the guests were dinghy sailors who had been bought the trip as a present by a family member (one exception was on his second trip in a month!). For more details about this amazing yacht and the trips available look at www.blueboxsailing.com or the leaflet in the clubhouse.
Neil