James Peel Takes his Day Skipper

With help from the James Race Memorial Fund I signed up to a Day Skipper practical course provided by Southern Sailing.

Sunday

Fresh off the train in Southampton I made my way over to Southern Sailing HQ, under the bridge near Ocean Village. Soon everyone arrived and we made our introductions.

Rafael Westers was our instructor. Hailing from The Netherlands he played the role of salty sea dog extremely well. Marcus and Max were my co-participants for the week. It turns out they were both preparing for their Yachtmaster exam. Max crewed on large private yachts and Marcus was hoping to do the same. They had plenty of boat experience but less so of sailing.

After a cup of coffee we were straight over to our sailing boat for the week, a Sadler 34 called Phoenix of Broadway. She was basic and had many miles on her clock but as the week progressed she turned out to be a fine vessel.  Steering with a tiller was a first for me and simplicity is a virtue when learning the ropes. After a safety briefing and some admin we were the out into the River Itchen.

Dusk fell as we headed along the River Test towards the Western Docks. This was the first time I’d been out at night and it was apparent just how many lights were competing for attention. After reaching the Western Docks we headed back out along Southampton Water and eventually located the South Cardinal buoy for the River Hamble. We moored for the first night on the Hamble.

Monday

Up bright and early for boat handling practice on the Hamble River. This was my first introduction to ferry gliding and not surprisingly, this became a reoccurring theme throughout the week. After ducking in and out of the mooring pontoons for a while we headed back out into Southampton Water and on to Beaulieu river.

This trip was my first opportunity to practice passage planning and it was helpful to go somewhere I’d been before with HOEOCA. We succeeded in avoiding the bramble bank, commercial ships and mud flats, then navigated a short way up the Beaulieu river before heading back into the Solent.

Next stop Newton Creek and mooring buoys, the tide was out and the creek was popular which made this a tricky spot.

After a late lunch we practiced man overboard drills and then navigated over to Portsmouth.

Tuesday

Awoke in Portsmouth and was soon immersed in more boat handling around Haslar marina - some of it in reverse. We then motored towards Gosport in the hunt for mooring buoys. After successfully catching (and releasing) a few buoys we watched a Type 45 destroyer leave Gosport and then trailed it out to the Solent at a respectful distance.

Plenty of navigation practice in the Solent including back bearings, three point fixes and transits. To liven things up, an occasional fender made it over the side and was duly retrieved. After a brief interlude in Cowes were were back out on the water again.

We headed out into the Solent as night fell, raised the main sail and set a course for Beaulieu. A stiff breeze took us out and before too long we could clearly see the Millennium Lighthouse guiding us into the Beaulieu river. After passing close to the entrance we tacked back towards Cowes. In the background Fawley provided an apocalyptic light show.

By the time we returned to Cowes it was getting late, fortunately we had remembered to stow some beer.

Wednesday

Breakfast then boat handling in the River Medina. The tide offered good opportunities for ferry gliding practice. Out to the Solent for some more sailing, passage planning and navigation; eventually taking us towards Lymington.

We were fortunate with the weather and there was a decent breeze. This offered the opportunity to try plenty of man over board and buoy-mooring practice under sail.

Next on the agenda was blind navigation for the Yachtmaster students. I got pretty good at following the depth-gauge as Max and Marcus shouted out instructions from below. Eventually we made it back to Cowes and retired to The Anchor for a debrief.

Thursday

Thursday morning brought more boat handling in The Medina. A few valuable lessons were learned while moving around the finger pontoons and at one point fenders had to be deployed in a hurry.  Emerging mostly unscathed into the Solent with the sail up, we headed towards Southampton Water.

We made our acquaintance with all the buoys in Southampton Water as we practiced everything we had covered so far in the week. The final blind navigation attempt had us back at the Hamble Point south cardinal, so we took the opportunity to head up the river towards refreshment.

On Thursday night we stayed in Port Hamble and enjoyed steak night at The King and Queen.

Friday

I planned the passage from Port Hamble back to base at Ocean Village and we then motored our way over. Having been fortunate with the weather all week our luck finally ran out and we got drenched.

Back at base we all said our goodbyes and I wished Max and Marcus good luck with their Yachtmaster exams.

Spring Rally

The Day Skipper course was well timed and within a month I was back on a boat, sailing towards the Channel Islands on the HOEOCA Spring Rally. This provided a good opportunity to reflect on what I had learned and put much of it into practice.

Something that struck me when I initially took up sailing is the daunting breadth and depth of the subject. This hasn’t been diminished but I now feel like there is a foundation on which I can build. I also reflected on the role of the skipper and how the most important aspects of this role are those of leadership.

My focus now is getting some solid sailing miles under my belt but I expect it won't be too long before I'm considering which training to do next.

I only met Jim Race briefly but whenever I talk with HOEOCA members who knew and sailed with Jim, they all speak of his passion to get more people sailing. I would like to thank Jim Race and HOEOCA for this opportunity and I feel that it has further kindled my own passion for sailing.

James Peel