Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race www.clipper-ventures.com - Übersicht 10.07.2006 Yachting World reports from pole position Yachting World's David Pugh reports back from Liverpool 08, currently leading Race 11 from New York to Jersey: It can be hard to believe this far on into the race that everyone on Clipper started out an amateur. Even watch leaders are often initially inexperienced, and Nick Moore is a typical example. Now 35, he cruised as a teenager with his parents at home on the south coast and from their holiday cottage in the Mediterranean, and admits to having a never-used Laser in his garage at home, but his sailing effectively ceased aged 18. Photo by: Liverpool 08 After 16 years selling used aeroplanes for BAE Systems, Nick felt in need of a change in direction. Initially thinking to simply move jobs, he spotted a newspaper advertisement for the Clipper Race, thought briefly about it and signed up for the whole thing. He found that he had no need to be concerned about his long break from sailing. "It's is like riding a bike," he said. "You get back on board and find you haven't forgotten." The race has required all of Nick's remembered skills. Up until the fleet reached Singapore he helmed every start for Liverpool, and being a watch leader has been demanding. "You're expected to be on top of everything for the entire four hours of a watch," he explained, "and the work doesn't end ashore. You're always accountable for allocating tasks and making sure everything gets done." The biggest challenge though, both for Nick and all the participating crew, was the North Pacific. "It was just relentless, bitterly cold," he remembers. "I was wearing thermals, leggings, mid-layer, wooly hat and salopettes even in bed, and that was inside a sleeping bag - some people didn't even take their jacket off. It wasn't until I got to my hotel room in Victoria and started to peel all those layers off that I realised it was possible to wear the same clothes for three weeks. As it was, the feeling didn't return to my toes for days - I started to wonder if there was permanent damage." Despite the hardship, Nick has no regrets. "I wouldn't repeat the experience, but I'm glad to have been there. We had some tense moments - once on the foredeck we were swept by a wave which lifted us all 7ft down the deck. We broke the forestay, we ripped the index, and I once got swept from my feet at the wheel. But it's amazing how we were able to pull through as a team." He continued: "I think it's because there's no option to stop off and walk away. A headsail change in the North Pacific has to be done. You can't give in, you just have to work it out. That kind of thing is bound to change people, to help you realise that anything is possible." At present, the Atlantic race is a very different world. We're reaching at around 10 knots under spinnaker to a steady north-westerly Force 4, making good progress up towards the Newfoundland coast but trying to stay sufficiently south to retain the lift of the Gulf Stream and avoid the Labrador current which swings west around Newfoundland. The forecast looks similar for the next few days, with south to north-westerly breezes between Force 3 and 4. The clouds of the past 24 hours have shown the signs of an approaching low, and some more developed depressions and stronger winds are expected further offshore later in the race. David Pugh/Yachting World, 10 July 2006 Read David's daily reports at: www.yachting-world.com/ Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE