Race 12 - Day 14
Crew Diary - New York to Derry-Londonderry
09 July
The Life & Times of our Code 3 Spinnaker
Our Code 3 (C3) spinnaker arrived on board Hotelplanner.com during Prep week in Gosport late July 2017 as we prepared for race start. She joined her sister spinnakers C1 & C2 in the forward sail locker which was to be her resting place, when not proudly at work out on our bow. In all her glory she was a large but shapely, beautiful snow white sail with her belly adorned by the Clipper catchphrase “RACE OF YOUR LIFE” in big bold red lettering. She had a very generous surface area of 261m².
During Leg 1 we discussed suitable names for our spinnakers. Due to her beautiful shape and fuller skirt that favoured strong winds we named her Marilyn - after a well known American lady from the past. She battled very hard for us, generally surfacing in higher downwind conditions, with the heavyweight spinnaker sheets helping to guide her. As the weeks and months passed she gathered several battle scars but received great attention and repairs in every port as required.
There were many hands involved in her care and repair as her round the world (RTW) journey progressed. In an attempt to mention all those involved in the challenges of sail repair work I will give a run down of her RTW experience.
After departing Liverpool on 20th August 2017 headed for the southern Atlantic she made several appearances on her first outing. Her first port of call was Punta del Este, Uruguay arriving on 22nd September. Here she had a thorough inspection and received a few minor repairs under the expert direction of our 'official' sail repair lead Chris Fox. Assistants here included Greg A, Seamus, Tony, Heather, Mike & Mary (me).
On arrival into Cape-town on 19th October at the end of Leg 2 she was still in very good condition. Here she and her fellow spinnakers were fitted with poppers (strips of fasteners) to assist with packing and hoisting in preparation for the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. Prior to this we were rolling the sail and using wool to aid hoisting and ensure a timely unfurling. The sail repair team here comprised of Chris, Sara K, Heather, Greg A & myself.
We arrived into Fremantle at the end of November after a busy and eventful Leg 3 across the great Southern Ocean where we encountered big seas, high winds and lots of ideal spinnaker conditions. She even helped us to win the Ocean Sprint during this leg which earned us three valuable race points. Here she needed a bit of extra attention as she was beginning to show some wear around the Clew area with the thick webbing also suffering a little. Sail repair team here included Lydia, Octavio, Steve P, Ryan and me.
At the Sydney stopover during Christmas 2017, she was reviewed carefully and required just minor repairs done including replacement of some poppers. The sail repair team here included Robin, Ryan, Maureen Rellis, Gerry Glover and myself. As dictated by race rules for the Sydney-Hobart race she had the large lettering of her registration number GBR723X meticulously applied, thanks to the great assistance of Crew Supporters Richard Rellis and Pat Merrick. She subsequently played her part in our four-day downwind dash to Hobart giving us great speeds which earned us our exciting first place finish!
From Hobart up the east coast of Australia into Airlie Beach where we arrived on 17th January, she made a rare appearance as we had a lot of upwind conditions more suitable for the Yankee sails. In Airlie Beach she had several poppers replaced thanks to the generous assistance of Maureen Rellis again. Here we had use of the lovely indoor facilities of Cannonvale State School school to shelter us from the baking sun. The previous repairs around the Clew were suffering and following review by Martin Newman our much valued and very patient Hyde sails professional support person, it was sent for a minor professional repair. It required industrial machining which was beyond the capabilities of our loyal Sailrite sewing machine.
She served us well as we set out on 29th January for our journey north from Australia up to China. However, disaster struck late one night in mid February half way between Airlie Beach and Sanya as we headed towards the Philippine sea. In high winds the active spinnaker sheet came free following which we had to make an emergency sail drop. She ended up sustaining major damage which involved a large horizontal tear right across the width of the sail from leech to luff and several rips across the belly of the sail and down into the Clew. However, we managed to get her back into the boat complete, although unusable. As she was beyond repair on the boat she rested sorrowfully in her sail bag in the sail locker for the remainder of this race. Following arrival into Sanya on 23rd February assessment and repair of the C3 was our priority. However, by this stage she was accompanied to the sail repair tent by her sister C1 who sadly also endured extensive damage on our arrival morning into Sanya. The stopover in Sanya was very busy for all involved in sail repair. Thanks again to the great support of Martin (Hyde sails) the seemingly impossible was achieved after six consecutive long days of matching, taping, patching and metres and metres of stitching. Greg A and myself dubiously undertook the job with the very welcome assistance of Sarah and Louise. The job was eventually completed and we got Marilyn and the C1 back into shape (although badly scarred) and ready for action once more.
We were back on the high seas again on 23rd March for the much anticipated Leg 6 race. Our battle-scarred Code 3 spinnaker played her part when called upon in getting us across the mighty North Pacific ocean and safely into Seattle arriving late April. Repairs in Seattle were minor thankfully with sail review and repair work carried out by Martin Storer and myself assisted by Phil H.
She made her next appearance in Leg 7.1 as we began our journey from Seattle down the west coast USA to Panama. However, on our third night out with only 600 nautical miles covered disaster struck! The C3 spinnaker halyard snapped at the top of the mast dropping Marilyn unexpectedly into the dark Pacific waters on our port side. The crew on deck bravely fought to retrieve her, but without a halyard attached to haul her in the task was much more difficult. They managed to rescue the lower section of the sail in through the A-Frame at the stern of the boat but unfortunately the head and upper section were ripped off . . . Initially we thought there was about 1/3 of the sail missing but when we opened it out to assess fully it became apparent that there was almost 50% of the spinnaker gone, which meant it was totally beyond repair.
We completed the remainder of Leg 7.1 to Panama and 7.2 up to New York without a usable C3. In New York as even professional repair was not financially viable, we were given a second-hand replacement spinnaker. Unfortunately this also came with a hefty 8 penalty race points as per race rules and the official clipper race committee.
However, while at the loss of our original C3 and our eight points we have had a full sail wardrobe to choose from and have made very good use of the replacement spinnaker during this current race 8.1 from New York to Derry.
Finally, we are now approaching Derry/Londonderry and very much looking forward to arriving into Ireland. We actually brought the remainder of our C3 across the Atlantic in our sail locker as we plan to fundraise for UNICEF by selling souvenir patches (approx 1 m²) to anyone who is interested. Priority will go to CV23 race crew past and present, especially those who have had a hand in sail repairs along the way. However, race crew supporters may also be keen for a slice. We believe she is now a collectors item with a great life story to tell and added value. You can enquire at our boat Hotelplanner.com if you are visiting during this stopover. However, if you cannot make it to Derry but you are keen to support Unicef and buy a souvenir patch you can contact me by email at: [email protected]
Sincere apologies if I have overlooked anyone else who contributed to the work of sail repair en route – but there will be a souvenir patch for you also, if interested in purchasing.
Thanks to all for following and reading this far & really looking forward to catching up in Derry!
Mary x x