Log Entry No 4 - 17th August 08. (Discoverer)
FROM THE CAPTAINS CABIN
Across the foredeck.
Leaving Jan Mayen the wind dropped to almost nothing but as we cleared the lee of the island the breeze filled in, Discoverer came alive and as Jan Mayen Island slipped astern both yacht and crew settled down to the final phase of this leg.
The sailing was excellent and morale soared – not that it has at anytime been low. But by morning the wind was frustratingly light. So for the second time we broke out the spinnaker. With our speed back up at 6 plus knots we laughed at the irony of high winds in high latitudes and wondered how we could spin our story so as not to quite reveal that sailing through The Arctic across the revered Norwegian Basin was not actually as demanding as by reputation it might appear. No matter an easy passage could be talked up, and suggestions of how to misemploy Photoshop were made. . If only we had known what lay ahead.
As the wind rose to 20 knots discoverer’s leeward rail dropped closer to the water and was even occasionally awash; time to reduce sail. Dropping the kite was not yet old hat but never the less executed without difficulty. The speed dropped marginally but the wind rose as if to compensate. More significantly it was accompanied by a falling barometer and rising waves. Gradually we reduced sail until we had our smallest yankee headsail (just one bigger than the storm jib) and 3 reefs in the mainsail. This sail plan matched the conditions with wind strength consistently above 35 knots and gusts of wind up to the high 40s. No need to excaudate now but with reducing sail, Discoverer was in her element. The crew less so.
The fore deck rose and fell as waves crashed over it and ran back as far as the cockpit and on occasions catching the unwary if the hatch was left open. Below decks our tidy home was looking more like a post strike battlefield and the scourge of sea sickness returned with vengeance. Working in such conditions is potentially dangerous and requires courage and determination, two of the Army’s core values and not only central to our ethos but also the very challenge and conditioning that Adventure Training in general and LTTA in particular seek to reinforce and develop. The qualities of teamwork and leadership are thrown into sharp and realistic focus. There is no place for crew members to hide without placing greater stress and even danger on their mates. This is for real.
After 36 hours the wind abated. This doesn’t happen suddenly and there is a gradual easing of conditions, typically the winds decreases before the sea state An air of normality only returns as the yacht is tidied and of course there is now the opportunity for the mother watch (or what remains of them) to prepare a hot meal and the crew to hold it down.
Richard Pattison
Expedition leader
FROM THE FOREDECK
Easing Wind.
SIG ALEX COUPE RECALLS:
Our next and final leg of the trip was more than 500 miles to Tromso, Norway. The first 2 days were plain sailing as the winds were good and we got to use the spinnaker sail which was huge. As we got further in to the Norwegian Sea the waves got bigger and the winds got stronger. Every time the wind picked up we had to do sail changes and put reefs in the main sail, we did this to stop the yacht from getting over powered and capsizing. We were sailing right through a powerful storm and the waves kept coming over the deck and it became too dangerous to even try any more sail changes this resulted in the 2nd mate getting tossed 10ft down the yacht and almost over board.
AlEX:
No two legs are the same, each has a unique experience and opportunity. As well as having sailed to the furthest north and east points of LTTA, participants on Leg 11 have uniquely enjoyed meeting and working with Members of The Royal Navy. Below Petty Officer Andy Scott (in Army speak the equivalent of a sergeant) gives his impressions. These are unedited but I have made a couple of notes below.
Richard Pattison
Expedition leader
A Naval take on the Army run Expedition Leadership through the Atlantic (LTTA) (Leg 11)
No let up during the night.
BY PETTY OFFICER ANDY SCOTT RN (AND LMEA MAT PAGE RN):
I am a Petty Officer (Communications and Information Systems (CIS)) in the Royal Navy and I have had the privilege through my career, to take part in several Expeditions. They have always formed some sort of Adventurous Training and have been in the main, run by the Royal Navy.
I was recently asked to support the British Army’s major Sailing Expedition Leadership Through the Atlantic (LTTA) Leg 11. Even as a last minute replacement, the information and assistance I received from the Project Office was first class even down to the Exped T shirt they had at the airport for me.
The crew were made up from the top 2% of phase II Army Recruits who through their units, have been identified as having the right stuff. On being selected as the top flyers they were offered the chance to take part in Leg 11 of LTTA and were then asked to pay £250 for the privilege. This was then open to individual units to support the chosen one and raise the cash.
SO ON TO THE LEG ITSELF...
Hold on.
Arrival in Reykjavik found us at the airport trying to get the staff at the coach company to get us to where the yacht was berthed, the location of which non of us knew. After a short while, they duly obliged and even went out of their way to take us all the way down to the marina to save all the lads and lasses the pain of carrying all their kit. We were welcomed on board by the larger than life Major Richard Pattison (1st Mate) and the Skipper Cdr Nick Trundle RN. They had prepared a rather smelly concoction of fish soup which actually went down really well.
The next day we awoke to absolutely stunning weather and we started showing the ARTD recruits and some of the Afterguard shore drills i.e. raising a sail and taking it down again, putting in a reef etc. After a couple of days we were ready for the off to Scoresby Sund, Greenland. This is where the Exped really began.
Leaving Iceland, we saw our first whale and then saw several more. They were later identified as Minke Whales. Spirits were high until we got into our first bit of bad weather. The seas and the wind rose to about F7 on the Beaufort scale and with it along came the sea sickness. I have to say though with nearly all the ARTD guys being sick, not one of them wanted to quit. They gutted the next 2 days out and finally managed to get over it and gained their “Sea legs”. All except for one poor sole that just could not shake it and had to be turned in.
We arrived just off Scoresby Sund and were greeted by a sighting of a massive Blue Whale and then a mass of Icebergs guarding the entrance to the Fjord. With a bit of careful driving and a good lookout maintained by the on watch ARTD, we arrived at the Inuit village at Scoresby Sund well inside the Arctic Circle. Everyone had the chance to go ashore and all took it, a quick look around and a bit of a shop and we were off to what was later to be described as “Mossie Island” the very remote Danmark Island, some 100 nautical miles up Scoresby Sund. Here, the ARTD were split into 2 teams and the first team landed with a tent and a sniper rifle (as protection against Polar Bears).
As the parties were preparing to be landed we came into contact with the devils that are Mossies, they were to have a major effect over the next 2 days and became a particular talking point. The first team were landed and instructed that they were to trek over the island and meet the yacht in a beautiful inlet on the other side of the Island. The next day came and along came the intrepid explorers along with bite on bite on bite. Then it was the turn of team 2, who retraced the steps of team 1 and resulted in the same mossie bites. Off to Scoresby Sund again and we came across a lovely Baltic Trader called “Activ” after a brief look around we were off once again and this time headed east out of the Sund and off to Jan Mayen Island on route to Tromso.
The trip from Greenland to Jan Mayen was very quick and the weather was fantastic. With the Spinnaker flying, speed was at a maximum and arrival in Jan Mayen saw a low cloud base over the volcano. The opportunity to go ashore was again greeted with enthusiasm and a very successful visit to the Norwegian Weather station and a brief tour of the living quarters was well received by all, the visit seemed to make a big impression on some of the recruits.
The final leg of this trip was from Jan Mayen to Tromso, Norway was a bit more of a test. The weather rose and we entered our first F8 gale. This really did sort the men from the boys even though we had girls onboard they still managed to man up and crack on with the job at hand. As I am writing this now, we are approaching Tromso, and I can’t help but notice the level of effort and dedication given by all the ARTD recruits. They are all hardworking and never let the smile go from their faces; they are a credit to themselves and to the British Army. It can clearly be seen why they are the top 2% of all phase II recruits and as a Naval NCO, I believe that the Army is recruiting the right people and actually rewarding effort which is something the Navy rarely does. Over the last year, LTTA has seen approx 250 young boys and girls and given them an experience which will hopefully sink in and follow them as they move onto what is undoubtedly going to be a dangerous and arduous couple of years.
I am very pleased to say that I have enjoyed the last 3 weeks with the British Army on Leg 11 of LTTA and were the opportunity ever to arise again, I would jump at the chance........
NOTES:
Funding is always challenging! Current Army regulations require all soldiers participating in AT to make a personal contribution. We have striven to drive this down, particularly for ARTD soldiers. This has been achieved thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and the support of the Army both of whom have recognised the enormous benefit of participation for primarily the young soldiers.
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