A letter from Callum
Dear teamArchie,
After returning from the Round the World Clipper Race 2019/20, I have had some time to reflect on this life changing experience.
It only feels like yesterday when we departed from London St Katherine's Dock which was actually on the 31st August. Leaving the dock was an incredible experience. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my body as I waved my final goodbye to the thousands of people waving us off. The parade sail down the river Thames was exhilarating. I honestly couldn't believe how many people there were on the London bridge and surrounding areas of London.
As we weighed our anchor from the bottom of the seabed off Southend pier at 0900 DST on the 1st of September you could feel the excitement from all Zhuhai crew members. We prepared the boat ahead of race 1 and practised man overboard drills.
0940 DST as race 1 starts at 1000 DST all 11 teams are sailing around the start line to try and stay as close to the start line as possible. The starting gun sounds over Southend pier and all 11 boats try to gain the lead by trimming their sails accordingly.
It was incredible racing across the English Channel heading to Portimao in Portugal which took around 11 days at sea. As we left England and headed for the Bay of Biscay we had various kinds of conditions, light winds, gale force winds. The waves were high with a very uncomfortable sea state. I found this challenge tough at times with lack of sleep and little food but I was so happy to be out there experiencing all these different conditions which will help me go on in my sailing career!
As we were off the coast of Portugal the light winds affected all of the fleet which gave Zhuhai a chance to catch up, light wind sailing is really tricky, you have to walk around the boat really gently as any sudden movements could affect the boat's stability. I was on the Helm for the last 3 hours which was really fun and exciting because all 11 boats were so close together, I could just make out the finish line. Zhuhai and Sanya were side by side racing towards the finish, we managed just to push in front of Sanya and gain 4th Place. All Zhuhai crew members cheered and were ready for a cold beer in the Marina!
We still had a lot of work to do before we were allowed to make our entrance into the Marina. As a team we had to take the head sails off, lower the mainsail and prepare the boat for mooring.
Nick, our Skipper was on the radio to the race director and we were granted permission to enter the Marina, and as we came alongside Sir Robin Knox Johnston was on the pontoon and caught are lines for us. The full crew had a group photo taken and then we were allowed to step ashore for that very welcome cold beer!
The full team headed back to the boat for a couple of hours sleep as the famous deep clean had to be done in the morning.
After the deep clean was completed we had to make sure the boat was ready for race 2. Boat prep included a service of the engine & generator, service of the winches, a rig check and checking all lines for chafe. In the evening the full crew went out to a lovely restaurant, the smell and taste of fresh food was amazing! We were in Portugal for around 8 days. It was great to go exploring around Portimao when we were allowed some down time.
The day was here...The start of race 2 and we were all so excited as our mooring lines slipped and off we went towards the exit of the marina. As we were motoring, Nick came up with a race start plan after feeling the conditions out of the Harbour, at race start there was a short course outside the harbour before we raced towards the South Atlantic.
At this point I was filled with adrenaline; the sun was shining on the right side of my face as we sailed away from land. My job for the first watch was between grinding on the pedestal winch and helming which was great fun!
All 11 boats seemed to go on separate courses hoping for a better wind angle and wind conditions.
I can’t believe I’m here, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It has always been a dream of mine.
Nine days into crossing the Atlantic and it’s been an incredible experience already. The wildlife out here is amazing, I was at the helm, maybe last night (all the days merged into one) and I could hear water rushing really quickly past the boat. I looked to my right and I could see there was something in the water, it looked like a torpedo rushing by - rest assured it was a pod of four dolphins swimming with us which was amazing! Whilst I couldn’t see the actual dolphins in the dark I could hear them breathing and whistling.
Zhuhai has been flying the asymmetrical spinnaker for the last couple of days, which has been a great learning curve for myself and everybody on board. Being able to understand how the wind affects the spinnaker in various ways and if we need to ease out or sheet on.
As my background is in sail training, I have been helping out with the training on board. This includes talking through some evolutions step by step so we all, as a team, fully understand the process.
Zhuhai is doing very well and we are getting stronger as a team each and every day.
One evening I was on watch standing by on the grinder and suddenly there was a big bang, Nick was alerted as we tried to find the issue. We looked up by the mast and noticed one of the deck boards was up and out of place on the port side. The Vang friction ring had broken; it just meant replacing it and grinding the tension back onto the Vang.
As we crossed the equator King Neptune made an appearance which I really wasn’t looking forward too! He called us all out by our name and we had to kneel before him as he poured the contents of his bucket over our heads...The bucket contained Fish Guts, Orange Peel, Food Waste and Salty Sea Water. The smell was horrendous! The good thing about crossing the equator was that a lovely crew member made an amazing equator cake which was basically chocolate brownies.
Me and my watch leader Robbie were on a standby watch and Skipper Nick called us both on deck and asked us if we could take over helming ( steering the boat ) as the wind conditions were very strong and this particular task required experience, At one point, as we surfed over one wave and up the next, Robbie and I both had to be on the helm at the same time as we nearly lost control of the boat.
We were around 100NM from the finish line which was really exciting to nearly complete our Atlantic Crossing, we were in a good place averaging around 19 Knots Boat Speed. Around 50 Nautical Miles to go and suddenly there was a change in the wind strength, it came out of nowhere! 80 Knots of wind. The watch that was on deck tried to reef the mainsail but unfortunately the mainsail carrs got jammed in the mast track which stopped us from lowering the sail. The back of the mainsail was flogging around and from the strength of the wind the back of the mainsail tore which cost us a place in the race.
We could see the coast of Punta Del Este as we approached the finish line, and as we crossed the finish line there was a big cheer from everybody on shore and everybody aboard Zhuhai! We also got congratulations over the radio from the race director. Before entering the harbour, we had to lower the mainsail, take off the head sails and prepare the boat for mooring. Nick was called on the radio and was given permission to enter our berth. I honestly couldn't believe how many people were standing on the side cheering us in.
As we berthed there was a wooden walkway passed from the shore over to the back of our boat, the full crew had a group photo taken and we were given permission to finally step ashore. As I stepped ashore Sir Robin Knox Johnston greeted me personally and said “Callum how was your experience?” I remember shaking him by the hand and said to him “Robin that was the most exhilarating experience of my entire life”. I couldn't believe that I'd had the opportunity to meet him as he has been one of my role models for quite some time. The full crew was invited to the yacht club for a very well-deserved cold drink and some amazing fresh food.
The next day involved the famous deep clean which we all were getting pretty good at by now! After the deep clean was completed we had to go into boat prep mode to get the boat ready before the next race. We had to take the old mainsail off for a replacement and service the Winches, Engine & Generator. On most evenings we used to eat out at local restaurants as a team which was really nice as we almost couldn't recognise each other, now we have had a shower and freshened up a little.
The Uruguayan Government put on a lovely barbecue for all the teams, the taste of fresh local food was incredible! This was a great way to spend my final moments with my team.
After being home back in England for a couple of weeks, I've had some great time to reflect on my experiences, The Clipper Round the world Race taught me so much which is really going to help me go further into my professional sailing career. I met some amazing people in my race and it was a pleasure to sail with them all. My goal for the last couple of years has been to cross the Atlantic, The next goal will be to sail Round the world with the Round the World Clipper race as Skipper.
I was fortunate enough to receive some funding from Trinity House to complete Coastal & Yachtmaster Offshore Skippering qualifications which I did plan to have completed by the end of 2020 but unfortunately COVID-19 hit the UK pretty hard. The UK Lockdown was really hard for me especially after losing my father over the Christmas holidays but I am very grateful for all the support I've received from teamArchie and CatZero. I plan to complete the qualifications by the end of 2021.
I would just like to say a huge thank you to everybody at teamArchie for this amazing life changing opportunity. teamArchie will always be close to my heart as everybody has been so helpful and supportive before and after the Race. It was a pleasure and privilege to undertake the race in honour of Archie Lloyd, his family and friends and the Archie Lloyd Charitable Foundation.
Callum Leach
