Race 11 - Day 23
Crew Diary - The Joy of Learning
22 May
Hello everyone once again!
It’s been a long time since I wrote a blog and so much has happened in between. It was my turn about a week ago, but the laptop wasn’t charged and for some time the charger appeared to be broken. By the time it was fixed I was on ‘Mother’ duty (cooking for the crew for the day) and life on board had taken over once again!
A special shout-out to the children at St Joseph’s and St Gregory’s, Bedford – you must be looking forward to the half term holiday. I hope you’ve been enjoying learning new things, practising what you’ve learnt and enjoying the feeling of knowing new things and having new skills. I’ve been doing this too!
Although I enjoy all the aspects of sailing: flaking sails, running lines, tailing halyards, trimming and tidying sheets. The place I love best on the boat is at the helm. I find the focus and concentration needed to steer a good course gives me a feeling of deep joy.
When I started the race in Subic Bay I knew I wanted to improve my helming skills and I looked for every opportunity to acquire new knowledge and practise the skills needed. I’ve been really fortunate to have several crew members who have shared their knowledge with me; especially Frankie, who coached me during Leg 6 and continues to encourage my efforts!
My greatest teacher has been my skipper, Chris. As in all learning, I started not knowing what I didn’t know (an unconscious incompetent)! He identified small steps and shared some knowledge and technical tips and then gave me opportunities to practise. Every time I took the helm I worked hard to improve my skills. Chris (and Frankie) would then give me something else to practise and I continued in this way. Sometimes the sailing conditions were challenging and I didn’t feel confident taking the helm. However, I couldn’t practise if I wasn’t helming, so I had to be brave and try anyway! Over the course of Leg 6 my knowledge built and skills improved. I helmed in big winds, at night (with stars and with the compass), with Head sails and with the Spinnaker.
By the time we started Leg 7 I was beginning to understand the complexity of helming and knew I had a lot to learn. I became a ‘conscious incompetent’ and found this stage of learning the most challenging. Whilst helming I had to keep adding new knowledge to the learning I had just acquired: steer to course (compass), steer to apparent wind angle (AWA), check and adjust to true wind speed (TWS), adjust to true wind direction (TWD). Big winds became light winds and honing of skills was critical to keep a good speed and course (VMG – velocity made good). Every ‘watch’ I helm for at least an hour (4 – 6 hours a day). This constant practice has helped me make good progress and I am improving. I hope by the end of Leg 7, the end of my current journey, I will be a competent helm in most conditions (a conscious competent in terms of learning).
Last night I had the privilege of helming the final hour towards the Finish Line 1 (one of five finish lines where times are recorded in the event that the race may have to stop due to lack of wind). The wind conditions were light and very variable. It was a challenge to keep the spinnaker flying! The last mile and then 200 metres seemed to take forever, but we got there and made what we believe is a good time! I am proud to have been part of that effort (the spinnaker trimmers and grinders had a tough job too).
So, to everyone (especially my children at school) who are trying to learn something new, or improve current skills, keep practising! The rewards are immense and the satisfaction gained from all the new learning is keeping me motivated to continue to work hard to improve even more.
Lisa Sumpter