Up She Rises
My knees knock together. I am wobbly on the already unstable platform of the mesh ‘trampoline’ stretched out between the two hulls of an Extreme 40. Described as the Grand Prix of sailing, these enormous catamarans, which are 40 feet (12 metres) from front to back, are certainly fast, and can reach speeds of up to 40 knots (74kmph). Dame Ellen MacArthur, who last year had great success sailing an Extreme 40, winning the Round the Island Race, says: ‘These boats are powerful, dramatic and great for close racing, which is rare for big boat racing.’ This, and their proximity to the shore, is what makes the Extreme 40s so brilliant to watch from the sidelines.
I found myself on board one of these high-tech catamarans at Skandia Cowes Week last year, heaving the sail up side-by-side with the professional team of sailors. This was my practice run before joing a race with another crew and it was terrifying. It is important to get the rhythm right, and all pull together. Richard Feeney, one of the sailors on board, reeled off a shanty
and everyone laughed. The 75 square metre mainsail proceeded up the mast, showing the distinctive Tommy Hilfiger design, of jeans being zipped – or unzipped, depending on whether you’re a cup half-full or half-empty person.
The Tommy Hilfiger crew, which consisted of skipper Stan Schreyer, Jonathan Farrar, Mark Van Gelderen and Richard, did a good job in making me feel relaxed on this beast of a boat, which I was anxious would buck and throw me off into the drink.
Richard, who normally sails Tornadoes [an Olympic class of catamaran] told me where to sit and got me used to the basics of clinging onto this amazing high-speed boat.
The next thing I knew, I was taking over the helm from Stan, another Olympic star yachtsman, and actually driving the £200,000 carbon fibre and Kevlar monster. My mistake had been to let slip that I once used to be a dinghy instructor, many moons ago. Stan swallowed his nerves, and said, ‘Why don’t you have a go?’
‘Who, me?’ I replied.
‘Go on, it’s just like sailing a beach cat,’ Richard egged me on.
A-ha. Alright then. I took the tiller extension (which reaches from the centre of the boat to where the skipper sits) from Stan, and I was in the driving seat as we flew upwind. Intimidated by the power of the wind in the sails and the prestigious sailors who were watching and sailing with me, I made them go over the basics of powering up and
de-powering the sails, in case I completely lost my head. ‘Turn away from the wind to power up and head towards it to de-power, right?’ Right.
And then, I was suddenly doing it... My instincts took over, and it did feel like sailing a big beach cat, like a Hobie or a Dart. Except, it was so smooth as the hull sliced through the water. I gently corrected my steering to make sure the hull that was up out of the sea was only above the water a metre, nothing too daring.
‘The idea is that the windward hull flies but that the centreboard is still in the water – that’s the fastest way to race them,’ says Stan, ‘so when they are sailed at an extreme angle, that’s just showing off!’ Stan pointed out the series leader, UK team Basilica, wowing the spectators as it raced past crowds watching on The Green in West Cowes.
I managed to squeeze in a tack (a kind of turn) and another long run upwind, before getting transferred back into the RIB, bumping over waves back to shore. Richard said goodbye, and ‘Good job!’ as we high-fived. ‘Don’t tell anyone our secret tactics,’ said Stan.
With my feet back on dry land, I began to wonder how sailors, such as the ones I’d just met,
get to the top of their game, or how they became that good in the first place. I found the ideal person to tell me, surrounded by autograph and photo-hunters – Dame Ellen MacArthur.
‘The best way to start as a youngster is yachting with the family or dinghy sailing, such as in the Optimist fleet, which is really competitive. A couple of years ago, I was at an Oppie Championship in Plymouth and there were 800 Oppies like daphnia on the water. It was amazing,’ said Ellen. Some of these Oppie sailors come through the ranks and fleets, feeding into the Youth Squad, and are groomed for Olympic success.
‘Sailing gives a sense of responsibility to kids that we try and take away from them in life, because it’s ‘not safe’. When they are in their boat they are in control,’ Ellen added.
And if you do manage to prove yourself as a top sailor, is it then easy to find sponsorship? ‘It’s hard work – there’s no magic formula, you have to be persistent,’ said Ellen.
Another very driven and successful female sailor is Shirley Robertson, double Gold Olympic medallist, and the skipper of the Extreme 40, JPMorgan, that had allowed me on to crew and experience the full pressure of a race. This was the first time she had raced an Extreme 40 and she was understandably tense. I was expecting some potty-mouthed instructions in the heat of the moment – as a guest, I had signed a disclaimer accepting that strong language might be used on board. Instead, Shirley is the queen of cool, and orders are rallied back and forth between the crew members in a very professional, direct way. Everybody had their own role
– America’s Cup sailor Dave Carr was in charge of tactics, bowman Nick Hutton called the gusts (‘Three, two, one gust on’), and Victory Challenge sailor Fraser Brown trimmed various ropes and provided extra muscle-power for Shirley in the tiller when the going got tough.
The Extreme 40 racing, called The iShares Cup, runs over three days at Cowes Week, and there are five short races a day. The start is just offshore from the Royal Yacht Squadron and the course runs alongside The Green. We were slaloming in-between the moored yachts to sail the fastest course and edge in front of our rivals. An edge at the start line means 75 per cent of the result, so concentation is intense in the minutes leading up to the starting gun.
I was getting in the way as Shirley helmed us around the upwind-downwind course, three times around the marker buoys per race. Hands pushed me out of the way as I leapt about on the trampoline netting, moving forwards on the upwind leg, and to the back of the boat as we were turning downwind to counter-balance the hull digging in at the front.
The fierce atmosphere on board JPMorgan, and the excitement of the whole day’s sailing left me a quivering wreck, elated and exhausted, all in equal measure.
Must-do Cowes Week
1. Give sailing a go, even if you’re not a competitor, with free sailing sessions, sponsored by Skandia. You can sign up at 9am at the ‘Try Sailing’ booth on Cowes Parade, and later spend some time aboard a 27ft-yacht with a UK Sailing Academy instructor. Last year 2,500 people enjoyed free lessons.
2. For a more substantial day’s sailing and racing you can ‘rock up and race’ on one of On Deck’s large sailing yachts (subject to availability).
On Deck has more than 20 boats and professional crews at Cowes week this year. The cost of a day on a Volvo 60, for example, is £395, including a gourmet lunch and champagne reception.
3. There won’t be a fancy hat nor seven-inch stiletto in sight at the Liz Earle Ladies’ Day (7 August), so don’t bother to dress up. The main event is an award ceremony to honour the best female contributor to the sport (you can nominate online), but the best bit for visitors is the freebies on offer: free hand massages from the Liz Earle stand on Cowes Parade, a discount on clothing at Henri Lloyd, and champagne promotions at the G H Mumm bar in the Yacht Haven.
4. The best place to watch the racing depends on the tide and wind direction. If the fleet of boats is heading west, head to The Green, or if the fleet is heading east, head for The Parade. The Green is a great place to hang out, especially if you have young children.
5. For yummy Thai food, a seafront view, and the chance of celebrity-spotting, head to Dame Ellen MacArthur’s favourite restaurant in West Cowes, Baan Thai.
6. To get as close as possible to the action, arrange a place on a spectator cruise boat for the day for around a tenner. Bookings are being taken now over the website, skandiacowesweek.co.uk.
I found myself on board one of these high-tech catamarans at Skandia Cowes Week last year, heaving the sail up side-by-side with the professional team of sailors. This was my practice run before joing a race with another crew and it was terrifying. It is important to get the rhythm right, and all pull together. Richard Feeney, one of the sailors on board, reeled off a shanty
and everyone laughed. The 75 square metre mainsail proceeded up the mast, showing the distinctive Tommy Hilfiger design, of jeans being zipped – or unzipped, depending on whether you’re a cup half-full or half-empty person.
The Tommy Hilfiger crew, which consisted of skipper Stan Schreyer, Jonathan Farrar, Mark Van Gelderen and Richard, did a good job in making me feel relaxed on this beast of a boat, which I was anxious would buck and throw me off into the drink.
Richard, who normally sails Tornadoes [an Olympic class of catamaran] told me where to sit and got me used to the basics of clinging onto this amazing high-speed boat.
The next thing I knew, I was taking over the helm from Stan, another Olympic star yachtsman, and actually driving the £200,000 carbon fibre and Kevlar monster. My mistake had been to let slip that I once used to be a dinghy instructor, many moons ago. Stan swallowed his nerves, and said, ‘Why don’t you have a go?’
‘Who, me?’ I replied.
‘Go on, it’s just like sailing a beach cat,’ Richard egged me on.
A-ha. Alright then. I took the tiller extension (which reaches from the centre of the boat to where the skipper sits) from Stan, and I was in the driving seat as we flew upwind. Intimidated by the power of the wind in the sails and the prestigious sailors who were watching and sailing with me, I made them go over the basics of powering up and
de-powering the sails, in case I completely lost my head. ‘Turn away from the wind to power up and head towards it to de-power, right?’ Right.
And then, I was suddenly doing it... My instincts took over, and it did feel like sailing a big beach cat, like a Hobie or a Dart. Except, it was so smooth as the hull sliced through the water. I gently corrected my steering to make sure the hull that was up out of the sea was only above the water a metre, nothing too daring.
‘The idea is that the windward hull flies but that the centreboard is still in the water – that’s the fastest way to race them,’ says Stan, ‘so when they are sailed at an extreme angle, that’s just showing off!’ Stan pointed out the series leader, UK team Basilica, wowing the spectators as it raced past crowds watching on The Green in West Cowes.
I managed to squeeze in a tack (a kind of turn) and another long run upwind, before getting transferred back into the RIB, bumping over waves back to shore. Richard said goodbye, and ‘Good job!’ as we high-fived. ‘Don’t tell anyone our secret tactics,’ said Stan.
With my feet back on dry land, I began to wonder how sailors, such as the ones I’d just met,
get to the top of their game, or how they became that good in the first place. I found the ideal person to tell me, surrounded by autograph and photo-hunters – Dame Ellen MacArthur.
‘The best way to start as a youngster is yachting with the family or dinghy sailing, such as in the Optimist fleet, which is really competitive. A couple of years ago, I was at an Oppie Championship in Plymouth and there were 800 Oppies like daphnia on the water. It was amazing,’ said Ellen. Some of these Oppie sailors come through the ranks and fleets, feeding into the Youth Squad, and are groomed for Olympic success.
‘Sailing gives a sense of responsibility to kids that we try and take away from them in life, because it’s ‘not safe’. When they are in their boat they are in control,’ Ellen added.
And if you do manage to prove yourself as a top sailor, is it then easy to find sponsorship? ‘It’s hard work – there’s no magic formula, you have to be persistent,’ said Ellen.
Another very driven and successful female sailor is Shirley Robertson, double Gold Olympic medallist, and the skipper of the Extreme 40, JPMorgan, that had allowed me on to crew and experience the full pressure of a race. This was the first time she had raced an Extreme 40 and she was understandably tense. I was expecting some potty-mouthed instructions in the heat of the moment – as a guest, I had signed a disclaimer accepting that strong language might be used on board. Instead, Shirley is the queen of cool, and orders are rallied back and forth between the crew members in a very professional, direct way. Everybody had their own role
– America’s Cup sailor Dave Carr was in charge of tactics, bowman Nick Hutton called the gusts (‘Three, two, one gust on’), and Victory Challenge sailor Fraser Brown trimmed various ropes and provided extra muscle-power for Shirley in the tiller when the going got tough.
The Extreme 40 racing, called The iShares Cup, runs over three days at Cowes Week, and there are five short races a day. The start is just offshore from the Royal Yacht Squadron and the course runs alongside The Green. We were slaloming in-between the moored yachts to sail the fastest course and edge in front of our rivals. An edge at the start line means 75 per cent of the result, so concentation is intense in the minutes leading up to the starting gun.
I was getting in the way as Shirley helmed us around the upwind-downwind course, three times around the marker buoys per race. Hands pushed me out of the way as I leapt about on the trampoline netting, moving forwards on the upwind leg, and to the back of the boat as we were turning downwind to counter-balance the hull digging in at the front.
The fierce atmosphere on board JPMorgan, and the excitement of the whole day’s sailing left me a quivering wreck, elated and exhausted, all in equal measure.
Must-do Cowes Week
1. Give sailing a go, even if you’re not a competitor, with free sailing sessions, sponsored by Skandia. You can sign up at 9am at the ‘Try Sailing’ booth on Cowes Parade, and later spend some time aboard a 27ft-yacht with a UK Sailing Academy instructor. Last year 2,500 people enjoyed free lessons.
2. For a more substantial day’s sailing and racing you can ‘rock up and race’ on one of On Deck’s large sailing yachts (subject to availability).
On Deck has more than 20 boats and professional crews at Cowes week this year. The cost of a day on a Volvo 60, for example, is £395, including a gourmet lunch and champagne reception.
3. There won’t be a fancy hat nor seven-inch stiletto in sight at the Liz Earle Ladies’ Day (7 August), so don’t bother to dress up. The main event is an award ceremony to honour the best female contributor to the sport (you can nominate online), but the best bit for visitors is the freebies on offer: free hand massages from the Liz Earle stand on Cowes Parade, a discount on clothing at Henri Lloyd, and champagne promotions at the G H Mumm bar in the Yacht Haven.
4. The best place to watch the racing depends on the tide and wind direction. If the fleet of boats is heading west, head to The Green, or if the fleet is heading east, head for The Parade. The Green is a great place to hang out, especially if you have young children.
5. For yummy Thai food, a seafront view, and the chance of celebrity-spotting, head to Dame Ellen MacArthur’s favourite restaurant in West Cowes, Baan Thai.
6. To get as close as possible to the action, arrange a place on a spectator cruise boat for the day for around a tenner. Bookings are being taken now over the website, skandiacowesweek.co.uk.
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