LIFE AT AN ANGLE - Onboard an ocean racing yacht, it's not all plain sailing

An assault on every sense, a physical and mental test beyond parallel. Life below deck onboard an ocean racing yacht uses every muscle, requires constant concentration, humour and humility.

The Clipper Race teams will spend a lot of their time at sea living on an angle. What is life below deck at 40 degrees actually like?

Here, two crew members – one preparing for his adventure and one sharing her experiences from the previous edition – give us a glimpse of the realities of life on a Clipper 70.

The first thing anyone living on the ocean will say is that even the simplest job below deck requires a huge amount of energy. When the yacht is heeled right over and the walls become floors, tasks that could take a minute on land could take ten times that when below deck and racing upwind.

Les Perry, a 60-year-old from Merseyside in the UK, will be taking on the Southern Ocean in Leg 3 of the Clipper 2019-20 Race. During his preparations to spend over 23 days at sea, he has been getting to grips with life at an angle.

He says: “The deck work was no problem for me as I am a roofer by trade, and so it is like walking on a roof. However, getting about below deck and getting into my top bunk at 3am left me exasperated and educated all at once.”

Les Perry knows how difficult life below deck can be

Les explains: “Rolling out of a bunk in the middle of the night to get kitted out is one of the hardest tasks on board.

It’s especially tough when the boat is heeled over and even worse when beating against the wind.

“The pressure is on you to be on deck ten minutes before the allotted time to keep the off-watch in good spirits, but when you are propped up against the bulkhead or with your back to the bunks and standing on one leg trying to get your mid layer, foulies, boots and life jacket on, it becomes an absolute pantomime.

“The biggest drama of all though is getting into a top bunk while on the high side without treading on your lower bunk mate’s head. As it is very difficult to level your bunk upwards while lying in it using the pulleys alongside, it’s easier to level it off the floor.

“The trouble is this leaves a small letterbox gap to try and get into your bunk, so you have to settle for a happy (uncomfortable) medium. And after finally getting into your sleeping bag, the Skipper nine times out of ten then decides to go on the opposite tack and you find yourself sleeping in the lee cloth.”

Due to the trials down below and the work up on deck, the Race Crew use huge amounts of energy. This means the crew on galley duty are required to serve large amounts of food daily to keep the team fully fuelled. And if you think cooking for 16-plus people on land is hard, imagine draining huge pans of pasta while at 40 degrees without spilling boiling water on yourself or teammates.

Bex Sims knows only too well how difficult it can be to cook on board. The 38-year-old firefighter from Derbyshire, UK, raced across the North Pacific on Visit Seattle after winning an ambassador place for the Clipper 2017-18 Race Official Timekeeper Elliot Brown.

She says sometimes the conditions forced her to improvise when it came to cooking.

Bex Sims celebrates with the Visit Seattle Race Crew

Being a firefighter massively helped me as I was used to working in a team that looked out for each other.

"My hairiest moment in the race was during a two-day storm, when we had the highest possible sea state. We had phenomenal waves – 14m high or the height of a four-storey building – and Force 12 hurricane winds.

“On the first day of the storm I was below deck on galley duty. The boat kept slamming down on waves and the team on deck came down below absolutely shattered and soaking wet. Ordinarily we’d bake bread and cook pasta but during the storm I prepared freeze-dried meals. Even then, a wave would come over and make life difficult.

“Reaching the finishing line after 31 days and 5,900nm was a long time coming, but when we crossed the finish line we all cheered and hugged.”

Where are they now?

To catch up with the team in action, follow them on their YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/clipperrtw.