Part 1 - Jan 2012: First thoughts From random idea to race entry

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1 Following Quantum Sailing s Fastnet Race 2013 campaign this diary is our soup to nuts account of what s involved in preparing for and participating in one of the world s most challenging offshore races. We hope that this will be useful to others considering doing something similar in the future. Part 1 - Jan 2012: First thoughts From random idea to race entry The idea of a Quantum Sailing entry in the Fastnet Race was planted some time ago but I think that it really started to take hold last August. This was when a couple of us were out on Quantum Leap, sailing just off Cowes, watching the start of the 2011 race. There was a real buzz around. This had been evident in the marina, as we d watched crews preparing their boats, and then saying their goodbyes to loved ones. On the water, close to the start line, you could almost feel the excitement. Small cruisers to massive racing machines, professional and amateur crews alike, all were readying themselves for the off, on one of sailing s great adventures. We followed the fleet down the western Solent, and felt a real sense of disappointment when it was time for us to turn for home, watching the race boats quickly disappearing off into the distance. The Fastnet is widely regarded as one of the most challenging events on the offshore racing calendar. Starting from Cowes, the fleet sails out of the Solent and past the Needles before heading west along the South Coast. With prevailing south-westerly winds, this leg is often a long hard beat. After rounding Lands End, the fleet heads off across the Celtic sea towards the Fastnet rock, just a few tantalising miles off the coast of South West Ireland. On this stretch everyone is exposed to the full force of the Atlantic, with no land between them and America to limit the build up of the waves! Here the call of the Guinness is at its most tempting, nevertheless the fleet rounds the rock and start heading south again. Next, its down to the Scilly Isles to pass another famous landmark: Bishop rock, the most south westerly spot in the UK. From there it s often a downwind run to the finish line at Plymouth. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 1

2 Whether you finish in a day and half or, as most of the fleet do, in three to five days or longer for some, completing the course of some 608 nautical miles is always a cause for celebration - and they do! On that day, as we made our way back to Haslar with the race fleet disappearing off into the distance, the conversation inevitably turned to the fact that, We should be racing, not going home and that, We should definitely enter the next race in 2013 (it only takes place every two years). It s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the day but there seemed to be enough genuine interest to be be worth following up on. So, when I got back, I started sounding out others, starting with people on the Quantum Sailing Network. This is a group of people interested in sailing, many of whom sail regularly with Quantum Sailing. I was surprised at how positive the response was; this race really seems to capture people s imagination. The Quantum Sailing Network itself was born out of a group of friends who have sailed together, on and off, over a number of years. Initially we chartered boats together, sailing in different locations and sharing the costs. We did all sorts of sailing a few cross-channel hops, some coastal sailing around the Solent, and the occasional Med trip. The group grew and each time we sailed we had different people onboard. It s been a great way to get to know people. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 2 A few years ago I decided that it was time to follow my passion, spending more time sailing and less time stuck at a computer. One thing led to another and I started up Quantum Sailing, becoming a full-time professional sailor. My aim with this is to combine the professional approach developed though many years of business experience, with the flexibility, friendliness and cost that only a small operator can provide. Feedback so far has been great. I now do a lot of sailing, including deliveries and teaching, but importantly, I still sail with the Network members on a regular basis. We still do the sort of sailing everyone likes. The Network is more formally structured now and the sailing professionally

3 organised, but it s important to me that we make everyone onboard feel like they are sailing with friends. The Network is continuing to grow and we welcome new people all the time. Do get in contact if you d like to join us or if you d just like us to send you our regular updates about what the Network is up to and what opportunities are available. Anyway, back to the Fastnet race idea. Our plans really started to gain momentum later in the year, when I was out with a number of the keener Network members for a (chilly) late season outing, a weekend run in November down to Weymouth. When the Fastnet was mentioned, pretty much the whole crew wanted to go for it. So after that, it was time to look seriously at the options and understand exactly what was involved in participating. I had to do some research as the Fastnet race is a challenging event and not to be taken lightly. Even non-sailors are aware of the tragic outcome of the infamous Fastnet Race of You can t just turn up and go; there s a lot of preparation to be done for both yacht and crew. Much has changed in the regulation of offshore racing since 1979 and both crews and yachts have to be better prepared now. The boat must meet stringent safety standards laid down by ISAF (International Sailing Federation - the world governing body for sailing). The crew must demonstrate their experience too. In the year leading up to the main race, they must complete other offshore races together (more about the prep required later). But, having looked into it, it did seem to be practical, so I decided to put a plan together for our entry. The first thing I had to do, in order to be able to set costs, was to decide on an appropriate package of training and preliminary races (more about that in a future update). The real test then was to see if there were enough positive confirmations from the Network members, when they had seen the whole package. The response was really great; before even putting it out to the rest of the Network we had four of the potential crew of six signed up! Quantum Sailing Limited Page 3

4 So now we re up and running. We fully intend to be on the start line on 11 th August 2013 but this time we will be crossing it with the other boats, not watching it from the sidelines. If you d be interested in joining the crew (more about them later too), please get in contact. But be quick, places are limited. If you keep reading this diary, you ll get to know the crew as we go through the preparation and preliminary races, so we hope that you ll be rooting for us during the race itself. Better still, come and join the party when we reach Plymouth! Part 2 - August 2012: 12 th Months to go and counting down As we approach Cowes Week 2012, I m reminded that this time next year we will be making our final preparations for the Fastnet race. The race traditionally starts on the Sunday at the end of Cowes Week, next year it will be 11 th August, and we intend to be there in the race fleet. A year might seem like a long time but there is a lot to do and both yacht and crew need to be ready for an arduous event like the Fastnet. We need to meet stringent requirement for the safety equipment on the yacht and for levels of training of the crew. So, since our first diary entry, we have been getting to grips with what we need to do just to get to the start line. We now have a complete crew signed up. Much of the impetus for entering the race came from the Quantum Sailing Network (see so it is not suprising that the bulk of the crew come from that group too. Along with myself as the Skipper, we have Dave, Paul, Howard, Andy, Chris and Steve. Like some well know Formula 1 teams, this is very much and Oxfordshire based racing outfit. The whole team lives within a radius of less than 10 miles of one another. Apart from the skipper, none are professional sailors but all are keen to get out on the water whenever possible. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 4

5 The crew is mixed in terms of age, experience and profession, albeit with a leaning towards the IT industry. More about them, their sailing experience and why they would want to do anything as mad as the Fastnet race coming up in later articles. First we needed to understand what we have to do to qualify to compete in the race. What are the rules and who are the organisations involved? What do ISAF, RORC and IRC stand for? Fortunately the answers are all available on the Internet: ISAF The International Sailing Federation, - This is the world governing body for sailing. They define the Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS) which are the international standards used to control competitions. These are applied to such prestigious events as the Olympic Games as well as the Fastnet Race. RORC The Royal Ocean Racing Club, Formed in 1925 at the end of the first Fastnet Race, this club organises numerous offshore races, both in the UK and around the world, including the Fastnet Race. IRC - It doesn t actually stand for anything, although the IR was originally intended to mean International Rule. This is a rating system for handicapping sailing boats so that they can race fairly against one another. Data on the yacht and all of its equipment is fed into the secret formula to produce a handicap. At the end of a race the elapsed time taken by each boat is multiplied by its handicap. This produces a corrected time, which can be compared between yachts, with the least time being the winner. Whilst this handicapping system is used across the world at international regattas, the certification is managed locally. In the UK this is by the Royal Ocean Racing Club s rating office. We thought that a good place to start would be by getting a handicap rating for the boat. The IRC handicap rating system is design to allow selfmeasuring. It is possible to get an endorsed certificate, where the measurements are taken a professional surveyor but this is not required for the Fastnet, so we thought that we would go with the selfcertification. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 5

6 A lot of information is required but fortunately the RORC Rating office (rorcrating.com) hold standard data for most production boats, including our Sunfast 37. The rating office staff were extremely helpful throughout the application process, so if you need support it is always worth giving them a call. We still had some measuring to do, particularly the sails. Finding a flat area to lay out a bit of cloth some 13m long and 5m wide is not easy. When our church extension was built, it was intended to be a flexible space, little did we know that one-day it would double as a sail loft! There are a number of options around the headsail configurations and we decided to go for certification using our no.1 genoa, plus a heavy weather jib. This is in addition to a storm jib, which doesn t impact on the rating, and the Spinnaker, which of course does. We managed to get all of the information together and hence we now have a shiny new sticker on the mast and a certificate onboard with our official handicap Once we had a handicap we could start thinking about racing. As well as the ISAF Racing Rules mentioned above, of special interest to us are ISAF Offshore Special Regulations (OSR). These can be found on the web sites above and apply to the offshore preparatory races we intend to enter. The OSRs are divided into different categories. Weekend offshore races, such as many of the preliminary events, are usually classified as Cat 3. Longer Offshore races are either Cat 2 or 1, with the Fastnet race being rated as Cat 2. These rules define the minimum level of safety equipment required onboard for the particular category of race, as well as the level crew training required. Additonal rules / requirements can be added by the race organisers, such as RORC do for the Fastnet race. Our yacht, Quantum Leap (see is already coded for commercial charter, so is fitted with a high standard of safety equipment. However, when racing offshore, the ISAF regulations take precedent, hence even more is needed. We will go through these requirements in more detail in future as we work through sourcing and fitting the kit. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 6

7 So, we are making progress. We now have a crew and a boat with a handicap certificate. There is a long way to go and lots more to do, but we are moving in the right direct. More updates coming soon. Part 3 - October 2012: Introducing the Crew As this is the third of our diary entries, we thought that it was high time to introduce the crew that will be heading off towards the Fastnet rock next year. We'll be sailing with six plus the skipper, so it will be cosy onboard Quantum Leap, our Jeanneau Sunfast 37. We asked the guys (sorry but its an all male crew) about their background, their sailing experience and why on earth they would want to put themselves through the discomfort of a Fastnet race and pay for the privilege!! Lets start with the skipper: Glenn - that's me, is a 53 year-old professional sailor and YachtMaster Instructor. I m married with two grown-up children and a wonderful wife who lets me swan off sailing every week and call it work. After nearly 30 years in the IT industry, I decided that it was time to give up the office and follow my passion. After setting up Quantum Sailing in 2008 ( this is now my full time occupation (really, it is work). I started sailing on the river Thames in the 60 s and 70 s. My first sailing experience being on a Westerly Centaur, a tough little boat but slow. It would take a long time to complete the Fastnet in a Centaur. I ve sailed a variety of boats, mostly around the UK and northern Europe, from Dan Helder to Dingle, and from the UK to the Med. Whilst I have done a reasonable amount of sailing, with 25,000 miles logged, I haven t done a Fastnet campaign before. So it s new and challenging, and that s what keeps me interested. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 7

8 The crew all live in Oxfordshire. They come from different walks of life, although there is a bit of an IT bent to the team: Andy - also known as Tom the Cabin Boy, is a software developer by trade. He gained his nickname on Quantum Leap s the last trip past the Fastnet, where he was the youngest onboard by some distance. He started dingy sailing in his native Scotland before moving south and now sails on Quantum Leap whenever his busy sporting calendar allows. As well as being an accomplished scuba diver, Andy has spent a lot of time over the last 3 years training hard at rowing. This effort paid off in 2010 when he represented Scotland at the Home International Regatta. When asked why he wanted to do the Fastnet race he replied, It s a fantastic opportunity to race in such a major event with a group of local people the opportunity of a life time. His sailing ambitions include cruising around the west coast of Scotland in a small yacht to visit some of the many locations where he has dived. Andy is very competitive, I am sure that this edge will drive us forward in the race. Chris is the youngest member of the crew. A mechanic by trade, he has recently resigned his regular job to spend 6 month working at an outdoor pursuits centre in Dubai. Quite a change! As well as crewing on Quantum Leap a number of times, including two Round the Island races, Chris has also experienced life onboard square-riggers. This includes Sea Cadet training on the Royalist and sailing around Tenerife onboard the tall ship Stavros Niarchos. Chris declares an interest in anything that goes fast and is risky particularly cars, bikes and boats. His reason for doing the Fastnet is for the personal challenge. His sailing ambitions include skippering his own yacht someday. Hopefully we won t need his skill with engines but his need for speed will be very useful! Quantum Sailing Limited Page 8

9 Dave is a keen dingy racer and can regularly be found out on the water at Farmour reservoir near Oxford. He also has the most mileage of any of the crew, having completed a couple of delivery trips of over 1,000 nautical miles each. Last year he completed his YachtMaster Coastal theory and practical course and is working towards his YachtMaster qualification. His day job is working as a quality manager at a paper manufacturing plant and in his spare time he trains his dogs for agility competitions. His rationale for wanting to do the Fastnet is simple, Its the challenge of completing one of the most difficult ocean races in the world. Dave likes a challenge and his approach to life is that if there is a mountain there, it is to be climbed. He proved this by climbing Kilimanjaro! His sailing ambitions include taking part in the RORC Caribbean 600 race, completing a transatlantic crossing and doing more yacht deliveries. Finding a challenge doesn t appear to be a problem for Dave and so we are sure that he will enjoy the Fastnet. Howard - works for Oxfam in their head office, helping to run & manage their websites. He started sailing by chance in 2000 when offered the opportunity to do two days racing in the Solent and got bitten by the bug. He did his Day Skipper in the Canaries and then skippered with his wife Lesley on a Flotilla in the Greek Ionian Islands and Croatian coast. Howard has done numbers trips on Quantum Leap, including the Round the Island Race in For the past 6 years he has focused on racing dinghies and is now working towards his Yachtmaster Coastal qualification. He keeps fit by running, but says that is just to balance out a love of desserts and puddings. About the Fastnet race he says I've always enjoyed racing and the Fastnet is one of the sailing races. When the opportunity arose, I didn't want to miss it. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 9

10 Paul also know as Tomo or the Silver Fox, has been sailing for 6 years, mostly cruising apart from one Round Island Race. Having done his Coastal Skipper course (theory & practical) he has skippered a couple of family bareboat charters in the Med. His day job is as a Computer Software Architect for a major corporation but he loves most outdoor pursuits, particularly golf and cycling. When asked why he wanted to do the Fastnet race he says It represents a huge extreme sport challenge and is one of my bucket list events. He plans to do more bareboat charters in the Med, maybe the Dalmatia islands off the coast of Croatia. It's great family time together, everyone really enjoys it he says. We just hope that his favourite sailing quote, A smooth sea never made a skilful mariner isn t too bad an omen for the race! Steve started sailing at school in Plymouth Sound but gave up when at University, as sailing boats were not so accessible in London. He started again three years ago, buying and racing his own Laser. Apart from a few prep trips on Quantum Leap, all of Steve s experience to date has been on dinghies. By day Steve is a Pathologist, a job that he describes as all consuming. He loves dogs but would defer to his wife as the skilled dog trainer. Of the appeal of the Fastnet race, he says, Besides the opportunity to learn more about sailing 'big boats', it is the mental and physical challenge of the race. And, to some extent, if I didn't do something like this now, I never would. As a doctor, his professional skills may be useful if things go wrong but we sincerely hope that they won t be required during the race! You will hear more from the crew later as we talk about the training programme. In the next diary entry we will start looking at the boat and kit required as we head into winter maintenance. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 10

11 Part 4: January 2013: Race entry In our last diary entry we introduced the crew. You ll hear more from them as we go through the training programme and prep races. In this, our fourth entry, we get a bit more technical. The date for entering the race has come upon us very quickly and has brought a multitude of questions that need answering. In December the RORC published the 2013 RORC Notice of Race, containing dates and details for all of the key offshore races for the coming season (see earlier diary entry for links to key bodies). This important document includes details of when the entries open for each race. For the Fastnet, this was Monday 7 th January at 12:00. To enter races, RORC provide an online system called REMUS, which allows you to create an account and then register your yacht details. You can then go online to enter the races at the press of a button. It is a quick way to spend money too; this year s Fastnet entry fee, for non-rorc members, is 395 (50% payable within 10 days of entry). The Fastnet race has a maximum entry limit of 300 boats and I guessed that it would be extremely popular this year. So I was online very shortly after midday to make sure that Quantum Sailing s entry was on the list. It was a good job too, a new record was created with a full field in less than 24 hours. This is just the first step though, any entry in the Fastnet is only provisional until all of the entry criteria have been achieved and verified. This includes requirements for the vessel, equipment and crew. Linked to the REMUS entry system, RORC also provide an online crew management system - RCMS. This is another easy-to-use system where you can specify the individuals in your crew, who are then able to upload their own certificates, enabling the crew qualification criteria to be checked automatically. All of this feeds back into the REMUS, where you are able to clearly see the status of your entry and what else you need to do to complete the entry criteria. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 11

12 Race categorisation The Notice or Race provides other key information, in particular defining the category of the race and detailing any additional rules that apply. These categories refer to the ISAF Offshore Special Regulations, a copy of which can be found on the RORC or ISAF web sites. The OSR categorisation is important, as it defines the requirements that any vessel entering must meet. This includes the stability and buoyancy of the yacht itself, as well as the equipment required for the particular race. Whilst the categorisation provides the core requirements, RORC can define additional requirements for any particular race. This is often specified as the RORC Prescriptions, which is a particular set of rules and recommendations, which can also be found on the RORC website. Finally, there can be specific individual requirements defined for a particular race. The preparatory races that we ll be entering are classified as category 3, but the Fastnet race itself is category 2. In the case of the Fastnet race, the RORC Prescriptions and additional rules also apply. The additional requirements are in terms of crew training and experience. To enter the Fastnet at least 30% of the crew must have completed ISAF Offshore Personal Survival training or equivalent. Furthermore, within 12 months of the race, a minimum of 50% of the crew, must have completed at least 300 miles of qualifying offshore races. This includes the skipper and must be on the yacht entering the Fastnet race. Crew preparation At Quantum Sailing we ve taken the approach, which I believe many of the teams will do, to mandated that everyone aboard must complete the ISAF training. So back in September the team went down to the Hamble School of Yachting to do their RYA Sea Survival and ISAF courses. We had an excellent weekend, righting life-rafts in the swimming pool, setting off hand flares and fire extinguishers and simulating MOB recovery. The courses were very thought Quantum Sailing Limited Page 12

13 provoking and everyone recognised the benefit of them. For the qualifying mileage, we ve decided upon a series of 4 offshore races. Whilst the 300 miles can be achieved in fewer races, this strategy gives us some contingency and provides plenty of opportunity to experiment and to build our teamwork and racing skills. We re therefore planning to compete in the Cervantes Trophy to Le Havre, the De Guingand Bowl to the Channel Islands, the Morgan Cup to Dieppe and the Cowes Dinard St Malo race. Hopefully, by the time we reach the start line for the Fastnet race itself, we ll have a well-honed crew. Vessel stability certification Let s start with the basics. To enter offshore races, you need to be able to demonstrate that you meet requirements laid down for stability and buoyancy of the vessel. This is a mind-boggling field for the uninitiated but here are a few of the key players: RCD Category Since 1998 any boat sold within the EU must have been assessed under the RCD, or Recreational Craft Directive, to define it s Design Category. This includes a stability assessment and it applies to all vessels of the particular design. Quantum Leap is a Sun Fast 37, therefore is categorised as Class A. This is the highest category, indicating suitability for extended offshore passages. SSS This is a stability and safety index generated by the IRC rating authority. Based on the information provided, it evaluates the stability and sea worthiness of the vessel. This is printed on the boat s IRC handicap certificate. In Quantum Leap s case, this value is 37. STIX - is an international standard STability IndeX (ISO ) for defining the stability and buoyancy of boats. This has been in place since Quantum Leap was built in 2001, with a design series date of So whilst Jeanneau have stated the STIX value is 32.5, we don t actually have an original certificate to prove it. AVS is the Angle of Vanishing Stability. Together with the STIX value above it provides a comprehensive view of the vessel s sea worthiness and, in this case, suitability for offshore racing. Now here s the rub. For category 3 races (i.e. the preliminary Quantum Sailing Limited Page 13

14 races), boats with a series date before 2000 may be categorised using SSS or STIX. For cat 2 races, which include the Fastnet, only STIX is recognised for anything with a series date later than So Quantum Leap is stuck in the middle. Its design date means that STIX certification is a race requirement but it is before STIX testing was the standard, so there isn t an original certificate. We know that it will meet the minimum race requirement; it might just be an expensive exercise to prove it. This is an ongoing issue for us at the moment. We are in communication with the very helpful team at the RORC Rating office but will have to let you know the outcome later. If anyone else out there has struggled with similar problems, we would love to hear from you. In the next edition we will also look at the equipment requirements that, whist demanding, are hopefully more straightforward than stability requirements have proved to be. Part 5: March 2013: Equipment At the end of the last diary entry we were embroiled in sorting out certification for the yacht stability rating (STIX & AVS). I m glad to say that issue was resolved relatively quickly and quite painlessly. Armed with all of the documents that I could get from Jeanneau, and having identified other Sunfast 37s that had been rated, the IRC Rating office were able to confirm the stability data on our handicap certificate. It was a relief to get that out of the way and start concentrating on the important job of getting Quantum Leap ready for offshore racing. As mentioned before she is already coded for commercial charter, so is fitted with a high standard of safety equipment, however more is needed to compete in the Fastnet and other offshore races. The full requirements can be found in the Notice of Race and the ISAF Offshore Special Regulations (OSR) document, highlighted in the previous diary entry. The rest of this entry will focus on the kit and work required. If you are not particularly interested in hardware, we will be returning to the crew and the first training weekend in the next edition. However, if you are considering entering the Fastnet in the future, this might help you avoid being caught out by the work and cost involved. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 14

15 There is nowhere near enough space here to do justice to all of the requirements, so I have focused on a few of the bigger ones or ones that might catch you out. If your boat isn t up to the coding standard already, there may be a lot more to do than identified here. There is a RORC checklist to be completed and submitted prior to racing, which is a useful reminder of many of the things that you need to do. Whilst this is a selfcertification process, you can be inspected before or after any race and possibly disqualified if you don t match up to the requirements. At the end of the day, the rules are there for your safety, so there is little excuse for not adhering to them. Electronic equipment - A high standard is required, for example an EPIRB and an AIS Transponder (a receiver is not sufficient). Depending upon the age of your navigation equipment, the AIS may be included already or is an upgrade option. With older kit, you may find that AIS is not compatible, so a separate unit is required. After some investigation, we settled on a standalone unit, the Vesper Watchmate 850. Another requirement is to have a GPS, capable of recording a MOB, accessible from the helm position. Many boats have nav equipment already installed there but, if not, this is another potentially expensive job. It is acceptable to use a HH GPS, but realistically this is only a good solution if there is a power supply in situ. Storm Sails All coded vessels will already have a Storm Jib onboard but a Trysail is not standard. We engaged Kemp Sails to design and make one for us and found them very helpful throughout. The tricky bit is deciding how to attach the sail to the mast, which, for most yachts, means an additional track needs to be installed. XW Rigging were very helpful in sourcing and installing this for us. Liferafts There is a stringent requirement for the type and storage of liferafts, see the SOR for details. Fortunately, being a coded boat, we had already invested in an ISO9650 liferaft but this could be an expensive upgrade for some. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 15

16 Lifelines The OSR specifies considerable detail, such as the heights of the guard wires around the yacht, the distances between stanchions etc. Much of this will be ok on a modern production yacht but one thing to note is that plastic covered wires are not allowed. Having initially been frustrated about having to change this, I started stripping the covers off, only to find that they were indeed covering broken strands in the core. It brought home to me that the rules are there for a good reason, so I approached the rest of the work more positively. Navigation Lights The OSR requires that you have two sets of navigations lights. On a vessel of our size, a masthead tricolour with deck lights available as a backup is acceptable. The tricky bit though, is that the OSR specifies that the backup lights are to be separate from the main lights, including wiring and power source. To achieve this may require additional battery and wiring installation. Bilge pumps Whilst most production boats will have two bilge pumps, often this consist of a manual pump operated from the cockpit plus an electric pump below. To satisfy the OSR it is necessary to have two manually operated bilge pumps, one operated from above decks and one from below. They do say that the best bilge pump in the world is a frightened man with a bucket but manual bilge pumps are the next best thing. The additional pump can be a pain to fit but it is acceptable to have a roving input hose, which makes it a little easier to install. Main hatch lock another small requirement that can be a pain to actually fulfil, relates to the locking mechanism on the main hatch. This needs to be an arrangement that is operable from above or below decks at any time, including when the yacht is inverted. Whilst most l modern production boats have a mechanism that can be operated manually from below, they can often only be operated from above by key. The most common solution to this is a manual lock in the shape of an h which works well from either side. Other kit - There are lots of other bits of kit required, such as a waterproof searchlight powered by the vessels main batteries, white hand-held flares, at least 2 x 2Kg fire extinguishers, 1m or '2m with midpoint' safety lines for 30% of the crew etc. As well as the OSR must have requirements; there are quite a lot of recommendations too. You will need to read these in detail to identify exactly what is required for your yacht Quantum Sailing Limited Page 16

17 The regs make sense and work towards ensuring the safest possible experience but do come at a cost. So you do need to look at you current equipment and check what s needed before to get too far down the road. Even if your vessel is equipped to coding level, you could still be looking at 5k+ worth of investment to get your boat to the start line. Part 6: May 2013: Crew training It seems like it s been an age coming but finally we have got to the stage where we can report on some sailing time in our Fastnet diary. After months of trawling through regulations, boat modifications and shore-based training, we finally had the crew onboard Quantum Leap for our training weekend. It was an interesting one too, with a range of weather condition to test the crew s resolve, but we successfully covered a lot of ground over the two days. Safety briefing/equipment - The Friday evening was spent in port at Haslar Marina, completing an in-depth safety brief and making sure that everyone got to grips with all of the safety equipment onboard. There had been a lot of changes and additions over the winter, so even those that had regularly sailed on Quantum Leap found that there was plenty of new or changed kit to learn about. The crew worked in pairs looking at different parts of the safety kit inventory. Taking every bit of equipment out of the lockers, they checked that they understood the kit and were confident about its operation. This included everything from emptying and familiarising themselves with the contents of the emergency grab bag to working out how to operate the chart plotter, AIS and EPIRB. It meant covering kit above and below decks, from testing all of the bilge pumps through to checking out how to extend and lock the Dan-buoy pole. After completing their investigation, each team then briefed the other groups on the equipment they have been looking at, so everyone was up to speed. This often raised more questions, which sometimes sent the team scurrying off to find out how things Quantum Sailing Limited Page 17

18 really worked. Even the Quantum Leap regulars found it a really useful exercise and we are better prepared for any emergency now. Sails and rigging - On Saturday, the aim of the day was to ensure that we were well practiced at the basic but also to ensure that we covered the full sail wardrobe. Some of this may seem a bit obvious, when most of the crew have a good number of sailing miles logged, but it is easy to clock up miles without ever setting certain sails. The mainsail is a fairly fundamental sail and one that everyone was well used to handling. The main objective for weekend here was to ensure that we really had reefing off pat. Everyone had done this before but all were a bit rusty. Before racing it is important that everyone understands the process and their part in it, rather than just blindly following instructions. We spent a reasonable amount of time sailing around the Solent, putting reefs in and shaking them out, until we had a pretty slick process. The weather was good to us at that point, with a blustery wind that made it a worthwhile exercise. We have furling gear installed for the foresail with our large No 1 genoa registered for our IRC Handicap. Many cruising sailors don t change their foresail at all during the season, which is ok if you are only out in light winds but if you reef a foresail significantly it is surprising how much the sail shape and efficiency deteriorates. It is far better to swap it for a smaller sail when necessary, in our case a heavy weather jib (or a smaller genoa for cruising). Swapping foresails is another activity that people can miss out on, despite sailing thousands of miles, so it turned out to be a useful practice. Getting the Spinnaker up was high on our agenda but the first task was to go through the set-up whilst still attached to the dock. It is important for the crew to understand how the pole is set and held in position, how the spinnaker sheets and guys are run, which one goes through the pole etc. It is a lot easier to do this whilst everyone can follow you round the decks safely and focus on the task in hand, and not be thinking about all of the other boats around the Solent. Whilst we had the pole up, we also went Quantum Sailing Limited Page 18

19 through gybing the spinnaker (on Quantum Leap we are set-up for Dip-Pole gybing only) and poling out the foresail. Storm sail setting was another of the key priorities for the weekend. Whilst racing is about going fast, the most important thing is to be safe, so being able to set the storm jib and/or the tri-sail is essential. Initially we went through this on the dock but then we went out and practiced it underway. During the afternoon s practice we had torrential rain and blustery winds. Whilst sailing in driving rain does get wearing, it was good weather to practice using the storm sails. If you only ever do this on a balmy drift in the sunshine, it will come as a bit of a shock when you have to do it for real, when it will probably be cold, wet and bouncy. So we had a good, if rather damp practice! Sunday s weather was more summery, with a gentle breeze and sunshine. We spent a good part of the day reinforcing the learning from Saturday, making sure our reefing and sail handling was smooth and efficient. It was an ideal opportunity to get the spinnaker up as well. The crew had to put into practice their lessons from the previous day of course and get everything set-up for the kite launch themselves. Other preparations Over the course of the weekend, there was a whole lot of other preparation to do. It is not just a case of learning to sail the boat fast but offshore racing is about sailing in different conditions, maintaining your performance over a number of days and learning to live together onboard. A 37 foot boat may see spacious when you look around the show boats at Excel, but with 7 people onboard and full racing gear, you need to be pretty organised otherwise it gets very chaotic! There is no getting away from other people on a small boat either. Part of the practice weekend was to plan and organise some of the support tasks. We discussed things such as, the watch system we would use, provisioning and what people like / don t like, which bunks we would use at sea, storage, conservation of resources etc. By the end of the weekend, I think that the whole crew felt better prepared. There is Quantum Sailing Limited Page 19

20 still a long way to and everyone recognises that we will need to continue to learn as we gain experience in the prep races. At least we felt that we could now safely participate in our first race, the Cervantes trophy to Le Havre. We will cover that in the next diary update. Part 7: June 2013: First Preliminary races At last we are ready to report on some racing! We d picked a series of four preparatory races and have now completed two. With 300 miles required as the minimum qualification, completing any three should give us sufficient miles. Some just enter the three races needed or, by including one of the longer races, such as the Myth of Malham Race around the Eddystone rock, just two. We felt that by competing in more races we would benefit from the experience and be able to learn lessons and try different things as we went along. The schedule also suited us, with one race in May and then races every two weeks in June / July. We felt that this would really get us into the swing of things, finishing with our longest qualifier, a race to St Malo. We d then have a short time to recover and prepare ourselves mentally for the main event starting on 11th August. One of our crew members, Paul, describes his experience of our first two races below: Cervantes Trophy Our first race was approximately 100 nautical miles from Cowes to Le Havre and, with a 10:00 am start time, the crew of Quantum Leap were up early and heading to Cowes full of enthusiasm. The forecast was good, blowing a healthy F5-6 from the southwest. It was quite a spectacle seeing 100 or so yachts jostling around the start line, all keen to get a flying start when the cannon sounded. The wind was picking up so we quickly reefed the main, crossing the line a couple of minutes behind the pack. We were soon flying down the eastern Solent toward No Man s Land Fort. We considered putting the spinnaker up but a few yachts were clearly wresting with theirs and frequently rounding up into the wind. So we decided to leave ours in the bag Quantum Sailing Limited Page 20

21 and rely on a reefed mainsail and genoa. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 21 We soon rounded the fort and set a course for Le Havre. The wind direction meant we weren't going to need to tack, so we settled into our watch system and concentrated on trimming the sails to try to squeeze the maximum out of Quantum Leap. The wind picked up, blowing a good 30 knots with higher gusts, and the sea state was a little rougher than we had anticipated. The helmsman had his work cut out holding course. With the mid-channel A5 buoy safely passed to port we pressed on towards Le Havre, making good progress. Seasickness had taken a bit of a toll on the crew but spirits lifted as we approached the final race marks. Around 2am we were approaching the finish line in a pack of 4 yachts. We radioed in our final approach, noted our time as we crossed the finish line, and then headed for the marina to look for a pontoon. We completed our first race in a respectable 22nd position in class with a corrected time of 13 hours 26 minutes. It was good to get our heads down to catch a few hours sleep, dry out some gear and get a hearty 'Full English' breakfast. After a quick race debrief, highlighting lessons learnt, we readied Quantum Leap for the return to Gosport. We used the return trip to hone our sail changing and trimming skills. The sea state had calmed and we were greeted with a thick fog just south of the IOW, so it was all hands on deck for extra watch keeping, ensuring that we got safely back to our berth in Gosport. De Guingand Bowl The second of our qualification races took us to St Peter Port on Guernsey. With a start time of 16:00 we had time for more leisurely preparation and run up to the Cowes start line. The forecast however meant the race was going to be anything but leisurely. With South Westerly winds up to 30knots expected, we would be in for a long hard beat across the channel; hence we replaced the genoa with the jib in anticipation. Our lessons from the Cervantes Trophy start meant we got off the line more quickly. With full mainsail and jib we had a good run to Hurst Point, having to do only one short

22 tack to round the Needles. We then set a course to pass the SE tip of the Casquets TSS, which had been designated an exclusion zone. We sailed as close to the wind as we could but with the tide taking us west and the wind backing we started heading for the middle of the TSS. So we tacked onto a more southerly course that would take us clear of the exclusion zone. With the swell getting up, possibly as much as 4m, our wet weather gear was being properly tested as waves broke over the cockpit. Again seasickness was taking a toll, conditions in the saloon were tough and it was difficult even to make a brew. Alderney and the Casquets lighthouse came into view on our port side but, in such a heavy sea, even that was dipping in and out of sight. By this time we had 3 reefs in the main but, with a full jib, were still making good progress. The wind was regularly gusting to 35knots and this was proving a long tough night. The tide turned, with the result that our course was not going keep Guernsey and the Les Hanois Lighthouse to port, as the course required. We had to take a long tack west before we were able to round the lighthouse. It was an awesome sight, seeing large waves crashing over the rocks of the Guernsey coast. We were on the final approach now and the castle off St Peter's Port marked the finish line. We crossed the line at approximately 12:30 and as we radioed race control we were greeted with an invitation to join them in the yacht club bar. Now that did seem like a good idea! We d improved our position coming 12 th out of 20 in class, with a corrected time of 20 hours and 1 minute. A big breakfast was long overdue and once again the boom was turned into a drying rail with just about every piece of gear hung out to dry. For our return we took a more direct course through the Alderney races and cross channel direct to Gosport. Once again the return was calmer which gave us opportunity to practice sail changing and MOB. With only two weeks before the Morgan Cup race the lessons will still be fresh from the experiences of this weekend and hopefully we will improve our position again. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 22

23 Part 8: July 2013: Final preparations In the last update we reported on our first two RORC races. Over the last couple of weeks we have completed our Fastnet qualifications with two further races. We cover these below. Crew update. Having had a full team signed up for well over a year now, sadly, after the race to Guernsey, Chris decided that the Fastnet race really wasn t for him. I am really pleased to report though, that the crew is now back up to full strength, as we ve been joined by Hazel. Hazel, who s the daughter of another crew member Dave, takes on the mantle of being the youngest member of our crew. She s sailed on Quantum Leap a number of times, most recently completing her RYA Day Skipper certificate onboard. As an outdoor pursuits instructor, Hazel s spent the last two winters working in Dubai and a summer in the South of France, so she really does love the sun. She also has a wealth of sailing experience, particularly as a dinghy sailing instructor, so she ll be great at keeping our sails trimmed to maximise our speed. Our two final planned prep races were the Morgan cup race to Dieppe and a longer jaunt round the Channel Islands and beyond, on the Cowes-Dinard-St Malo race. Conditions differed from the previous races, contributing a wider range of experiences to our overall preparation. Morgan Cup We crossed the start line at Cowes on Friday evening with 15-20knots of westerly breeze behind us, driving us forward under full main and spinnaker. We got off to a good start this time and as we passed between the forts at Portsmouth, there was only one boat ahead of us and a whole fleet of racing machines chasing after us. The course took us downwind to the Owers buoy, off Selsey Bill, then back west to Nab Tower before Quantum Sailing Limited Page 23

24 finally heading southeast for the long leg down to Dieppe. The race proved more than a little frustrating at times. Having punched the tide down to the Owers, we arrive just as night was falling and the tide was turning to run east. So the short leg to the Nab ended up directly into the wind and tide. By the time we rounded that mark it was already becoming light. At least we could set the spinnaker again and we made good progress for a while. It didn t last however and it turned out to be a long, hot, slow day. In the middle of the channel the wind died and we were making less than 1 knot with the spinnaker up. Still it wasn t consistent, and eventually we would get a breath of wind and off we would go again. We crossed the finish line a little after 11pm, having completed the 120nm course in just over 28 hours. Not one of our fastest races but a good experience, teaching us patience and reminding us of the need to continually focus on driving the boat (otherwise you literally stop in light airs). Given the late arrive, there was no time to celebrate in port, so we turned around and headed straight back towards Gosport. Apart from fog in the middle of the channel, it was a pleasant return journey with a decent breeze. Most importantly, having complete our third race, we had more that 300nm of RORC racing under our belt, giving us the qualifying mileage for the Fastnet race with one race still to go. St Malo race This was a race that I was really looking forward to, St Malo is one of my favourite locations. Whilst at most we might get a very brief stopover after the 160mn race, even the approaches are spectacular. Sadly we didn t get to see them on this occasion. We left Cowes at midday on Friday. With the spinnaker up as we crossed the start line, we made slow progress against the easterly tide. Passing Beaulieu and Newtown Creek, we were creeping along, barely making any progress. With no wind, the sun was scorching. It was very tempting to jump over and swim Quantum Sailing Limited Page 24

25 alongside, certainly that would have been a faster way to travel! Suddenly, in just a few seconds, the wind swung round 180 degrees and increased. So down came the spinnaker and we had a lovely sail out of the Solent with a cooling breeze in our faces. Sadly it didn t last long. By early evening, as we were passing St Alban s head, we ground to a halt. With no wind, we spent hours wallowing around, getting hot and frustrated. With a forecast of even less wind offshore on the Saturday and Sunday, it was not looking great. Our ETA in St Malo was sometime on Monday / Tuesday. This was going to cause a problem for those who had to get back to work. So discretion took the better part of valour and we decided, like the majority of the fleet, to abandon the race. We were really pleased that we had already completed our qualifying mileage; otherwise we would probably still be out there now. Having turned around and motored back, we were able to spend the weekend on sail training. We actually had a decent sea breeze on both days (you need to be close to land for this) so we were able to spend a lot of time, raising, lowering, gybing and trimming the spinnaker. Overall the crew felt that the time was far better spent training rather than wallowing around the channel, and they felt better prepared for the Fastnet by the end of weekend. Lessons Learned - Our prep races have provided us with some good lessons to apply on the Fastnet itself, particularly making sure that we are as prepared as we possibly can be. The conditions for the race to Guernsey, for example, were such that making a cup of tea was difficult and preparing food was a real challenge. So now we know to have more ready-to-go foods prepared in advance. The prep races also reinforced the need to continually keep Quantum Leap sailing as fast as possible. It is easy to get lazy and not trim sails enough but if you can improve your boat speed by just ½ knot that could make 2 hours difference on a 24-hour race! Quantum Sailing Limited Page 25

26 We also adopted a rolling watch system, which worked well throughout. With six crew onboard, we would run with a 'three on and three off' watch at any point in time. Rather than all three people changing after 3 hours, the rolling system means that one person goes on/off every hour. The advantage of this is better continuity on deck and less chaos below, as you don t have everyone trying to get all of their clobber on/off at the same time. Final prep - So now we have had our entry confirmed, we are counting down to the start. We need to ensure that the boat is ready and fully stocked for the race, whether it takes us 5 days or 10! We have one final technical hurdle to complete, as the race scrutineers will be inspecting the Quantum Leap prior to the start but, other than that, I think that we are as ready as we will ever be! So the next update will be our Fastnet race report, hopefully also reporting on a good post race party in Plymouth. You can follow our progress during the race on the RORC Fastnet tracking site, see and come along to meet us at the end. Part 9: August 2013: Finally - To the rock and back Well we ve finally got to the main event, in this our final diary entry. After months of prep, of boat and crew, we arrive at the start date for the Fastnet race, Sunday 11 th August. From a personal perspective, this brought a great sense of relief. Any number of things could have tripped us up during the run up to the event but once we had started I could focus on the sailing. Just a week before the event we had a final boat inspection by RORC. I was a bit nervous before this final hurdle. I had lots of questions: had I interpreted the ISAF regulations correctly? Had I missed anything? As with all of my dealings with RORC, I found the inspector friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The inspection didn t just look at the boat but included a review of the readiness of the crew for the race. I am pleased to say that all went well and I was left with a couple of useful, common sense suggestions that would contribute to the overall safety of the yacht. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 26

27 It just remained to pick up our race pack containing Sailing Instructions, flags, bow stickers for the boat and, most importantly, our yellow brick tracker. This satellite-tracking device allowed RORC to monitor us throughout the race and publish our position on their web site. I was surprised by how many people back home followed us on this, and that was a great encouragement to us during the race. Our start time was set for 12:30 on Sunday 11 th August. The crew assembled onboard Quantum Leap on the Saturday evening, eager with anticipation. We decided to stay in Haslar on the eve of the race, sharing a meal together in Haslar s unique Lightship restaurant, which seemed like a fitting start to the adventure. Finally time to go racing! On the Sunday morning everyone was up bright and early and raring to go. One of our crew members, Steve, takes up the story with his memories of the race: The Fastnet inevitably looms large on the mental horizon so it was a relief when the start came. The weather forecast seemed to be reasonably good, at least for the early part of the week. Setting out from Haslar marina, the black clouds of the morning gradually lifted as we approach the identity gate, where we would receive our final sign off by the race scrutineers. We filed through with the other boats, flying our storm jib and trisail, and subsequently stowing them away hoping they wouldn t be needed during the race. To be part of the melee of boats of all classes, in the hour or so before the start, was exhilarating until we calmly crossed the line shortly after the starting gun. The next two hours were somewhat challenging, especially when beating through Hurst Narrows at the same time as being overtaken by the IRC class 1 boats. Where all the boats went after that isn t clear but we were suddenly in open water, beating down the channel in the face of a modest Westerly. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 27

28 The following dawn found us drifting somewhat in light airs just east of the Scillies but the wind soon picked up sufficiently to allow a stately progress against a North-West wind over the Celtic sea during the day. The wind increased during the evening though and we reefed in the middle of the night in the face of knot winds. By the morning, it had calmed down sufficiently to allow the reef to be shaken out and we maintained steady progress towards the Fastnet itself. The skies cleared slightly on our approach but our passage around the rock, and subsequent buoy, around midday on the Wednesday was marked by a return of the grey and gloomy. At this point, and for the first time, the continuing Westerly airstream worked for us and we streaked back over the Irish Sea towards the Scilly Isles on a very favourable reach. We completed the run from the Fastnet to Bishop Rock in just 24 hours. The Thursday morning saw us running towards Plymouth, with spinnaker up, in a solid West wind, a sail plan that didn t need to change until the finishing line. With the wind dropping, we all but drifted the final two miles to cross the finishing line at Plymouth breakwater close to midnight, four and a half days after the start. After completing the 608 mile course, we finished in a group of 3 yachts only yards apart, with the yacht behind us given a time of only 2 seconds more than ours! Plymouth Yacht Haven were well organised and an hour or so later we had been rafted up outside four other boats ready for a well-earned drink at the 24 hour-a-day competitors bar, followed by a good sleep. Inevitably, in a race such as this, events become blurred; partly because some sailing/conditions are similar for a few hours on end, partly because bits are missing while you are off watch and sleeping. But there are elements, sometimes very ordinary ones for those of us who are novices, that stand out and are etched on your memory. For me these are: the buzz and proximity of the much larger boats at Hurst point; careering along into a pitch black night assuming (hoping) you were not going to drop off the end of the world; cooking at a 45 degree angle and the sense of achievement under the shore lights of Plymouth. Quantum Sailing Limited Page 28

29 Post race party and back to reality The following morning we were joined by friends and family as we enjoyed a great day, in the sunshine around the marina, soaking up the party atmosphere. Inevitably we wanted to check where we had come, which was a creditable 14 th out of 35 in IRC Class 4B (53 rd out of 85 in IRC Class 4 or 215 th out of 298 IRC overall). Whilst we didn t win any prizes, we enjoyed the fantastic acrobatic air display that marked the presentations that evening. Saturday brought miserable weather, wet and windy, and the dismantling of the entertainment complex, as many of the competitor boats departed for home. We set out for Haslar that same evening and enjoyed a pleasant Sunday sail in the sunshine most of the way home. It was a good way to end our adventure. We were fortunate that we had just about perfect weather for the race, the crew had worked brilliantly together and everyone felt that the event had exceeded their expectations. And finally what next? This really is a very special event and one feels a huge sense of achievement when one completes it. Steve's feedback summed it up, 'Never having sailed at sea until after signing up for the Fastnet, this last 18 months has been a learning experience like no other. And now the Fastnet is over, it all feels a bit flat.' Its been a great experience and everyone is starting to think about their next big challenge. The countdown to the 2015 Rolex Fastnet race has already started, are you going to take up the challenge and be on the start line? Glenn Smallcombe Quantum Sailing Limited Page 29