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World of adventure ahead as racers set sail for the challenge of a lifetime
MICK Rothwell will have mixed emotions as he watches the Hull & Humber set sail at the weekend.
The boat is one of 10 competing in the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race – among the world's most prestigious and challenging sailing events.
"It's going to be an emotional day on Sunday, because we've all been geared up for the big send-off and then 18 people go and the rest of us are standing on the harbour wishing we were on board," he says.
Mick, 35, is among the 400 or so people taking part in this gruelling, 35,000 mile circumnavigation of the globe. The 10-month race is divided into seven legs. While some crew members will be on board the whole time, most, like Mick, are doing a single leg. In his case it's the fourth section, from Australia to China.
He flies out on Boxing Day, joining the Hull & Humber crew at Fremantle on January 3 when he will embark on a life-changing journey that will push him to the limits of endurance. During his nine weeks at sea, he is likely to face sweltering 35 degree heat, gale force winds, giant waves and blizzards.
Each yacht is skippered by a seasoned professional but what makes the Clipper race unique is that Mick, like the other crew members, is an amateur.
Before being accepted in the race, his sailing experience consisted of nothing more than messing about in his dad's dinghy on holiday.
"I used to go out with my dad once a year up in Scotland and I built a canoe when I was younger, but that was pretty much my on-water experience. But I've always had this fascination with the sea, which probably stems from these childhood memories," he says.
Mick, an IT project manager from Leeds, has since undergone a series of intensive training courses to prepare him for the challenge ahead.
But why, given his lack of sailing experience, does he want to put his body on the line? "I think everyone taking part is doing it for different reasons. For me personally, I'm doing it because I want to prove to myself that I'm good enough to do something like this, because it's quite amazing when I stop and think about it," he says.
"I did the New York Marathon, but when I came home I felt I still needed a bit more of a challenge. Then a friend of mine saw an advert on the underground in London for the Clipper Race and there was just something about it that caught my imagination and I thought, 'Yeah, I absolutely want to give this a go'."
Having gone through an interview giving him an insight into what to expect, he began his training and started saving up – as each person taking part has to pay 7,500 per leg for the privilege. He admits getting in shape was harder than he expected. "I've always considered myself to be physically fit but after doing a week's training I was absolutely shattered. Everything is done manually so you have to change sails at the right time. And the sails themselves are huge. It takes three or four people just to lift them up on to deck and then straightaway you have to clip it on, haul it up and take another one down.
"You're constantly on the go, whereas in my day-to-day life I'm sat behind a desk. I might walk over to the coffee machine once in a while but that's about as strenuous as it gets."
All this hard work at sea means each crew member needs to consume around 6,000 calories a day in order to stay on their feet. "You've got to keep your energy levels up all the time and that's one of the hardest things for me because I burn up calories very quickly."
Mick's leg of the race will take him north past the Indonesian highlands, via Singapore, up into the South China Sea and on to Qingdao. "I'll be starting off in the Australian summer when it's likely to be very hot with light winds, which should be quite pleasant apart from the fact that it will be like an oven down below when you're trying to sleep. We then travel north hugging the Chinese coast, by which time it will be in the middle of their winter and I've been told it will be minus 10, with blizzards and rough seas, so seasickness will definitely kick in," he says.
"I wanted to make it as difficult as possible and I think this is the hardest leg. Some people think the next leg is the toughest, going straight across the Pacific. But the route I'm doing was done by professional sailors in one race and out of 10 boats only three actually made it."
While most of us would probably be terrified of falling in the sea and drowning, Mick is more concerned about avoiding injury. "I don't want to be incapacitated and not be able to do something, that's my main worry."
While on board, each person will work in four-hour shifts, grabbing a bit of broken sleep when they can. "Half are up on deck working and the other half are down below trying to sleep. But if seasickness knocks a few of the crew out then you've got to cover for them and if something does go wrong then it will be all hands on deck," he says.
Crew members on board the Hull & Humber vary in age from 18 to 61 and although most of them have been introduced to one another, being cooped up with people who are relative strangers in such an intense situation will be emotionally as well as physically draining.
"It's a bit like Big Brother at sea, because to make the boats even you've got a really diverse range of ages and backgrounds – there's company directors, self-employed businessmen and even students," he says. "One of the hardest things will just be getting along with 17 other people in such a confined area. We will be living and sleeping almost on top of each other for nine weeks in some pretty tough conditions and tempers are going to get a bit strained I imagine."
Despite throwing himself headfirst into such a daunting challenge, he says his family are right behind him.
"My girlfriend has been fully supportive and I think she's looking forward to me going away so she can decorate the house. And my dad thinks it's great, too, because it was me and him who did all the outdoor stuff together when I was younger. But my mum is terrified of water and she thinks I'm mad, so I've not told her about some of the dangers we might face."
For Mick, the next few months will be a countdown to the day he joins his crewmates and his training has only whetted his appetite for more.
"Simple things that are mundane at home suddenly become challenging on a boat out on the high seas. I had to do some repair work on deck which meant finding a hacksaw and cutting a few split pins off.
"At home it's the sort of job I hate doing because it's boring, but on a boat in a force six gale when you're being battered by waves and clinging on for dear life, and getting soaked with spray, it's exhilarating and I loved it – I had such a smile on my face and now I just can't wait to get on board."
THE GREAT RACE
n The Clipper Round The World Yacht Race was created by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who in 1969 became the first man to sail solo, non-stop around the world.
n The 35,000-mile biennial race takes 10 months.
n The boats taking part have been upgraded since the first event and now the 10-strong fleet features almost identical, 68-ft stripped-down racing yachts.
n Each yacht has an amateur crew led by a professional skipper.
n This year's race begins in the River Humber on Sunday with Hull as host port – the first time the race has been based on the East Coast.
n It is due to end back in the Humber next July.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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