OFFSHORE RACING
OFFSHORE RACING CONTRIBUTED BY CRAIG NUTTER SPONSORED BY MEDINA YARD
Craig has an awesome sailing CV, which includes competing in two British America’s Cup teams and working to win two Olympic Medals. He gets special pleasure spending time on the water with his family.
Photo: Paul Wyeth
It had been a long day. The sun set shortly after 8.30pm following 15 hours of daylight. We had sailed on the wind throughout and tacked six or eight times as Skipper and tactician worked small shifts in the wind to move us along the course. We were racing in an average 16 knots of breeze, so the No. 2 Jib was getting a good workout. The coast had occasionally been visible off to the right in the summer haze. Now, as evening drew in, daylight dimmed and temperatures dropped, a steady procession began. One at a time the on-deck crew slithered down below to don extra layers and lifejackets, before re-appearing to resume our adventure. There is a love-hate relationship with the lifejacket. We all know the benefits but they only work when they are on and fitted properly. Often harness lines get tangled and they restrict movement. But they do provide an extra two kilos per man as we sit on the rail and should keep us alive long enough to get found and picked up should we go overboard. In accordance with the racing rules and collision regulations at sea, we turn Nav lights on and check to see they are working. I like to do this half an hour before sunset to allow time to effect repairs if necessary. We are a crew of 15 sailors on a 52-foot race boat in an offshore race. We are in it together, committed to the contest with a real appreciation that the faster the boat goes the shorter the race will be. Going offshore sees you enter a different place that alters your values. Here a tepid coffee tastes great and being able to lie resting on a wet sail for your allotted hour or so is refreshing. I state the term ‘rest’ deliberately, because sleep is not always possible. Most yachts are capable of going offshore and doing long passages. But it is the unrelenting effort of pushing a performance race boat that provides the sense that the boat and the sails above are pulling 30
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