Tahira - TAHIRA ARC BLOG D-Day 18 [08-Dec-23

TAHIRA ARC BLOG
D-Day 18 [08-Dec-23]
Location: St Lucia - 3 days out
Lat 14.17N: Long: 54.39W

TOP TIPS
As we approach the end of our voyage, we look back and reflect on what we have learned. As the author of this blog, I have had the pleasure to sail with some of the most experienced sailors I have known - each of them happy to share their thoughts and insights as we crossed the Atlantic. But some of the top tips below have also come from the less experienced members of the crew - people who can take a different perspective on things as they look in from the outside:

The crew
" Enjoy your sailing: in a long event such as an Atlantic crossing , too much focus can be on getting to the end or beating a particular time. Ensure you 'live in the moment' and enjoy the sailing itself. It is a unique experience that will be over all too quickly.
" Plan - communicate - manoeuvre - review: before conducting any manoeuvre such as changing the sail configuration, take time to plan who will do what, communicate this effectively and then afterwards, review how it could have been done better?
" Learn continuously: no matter what prior experience you may have had, during your 3,000 mile open water event take time to challenge yourself and to learn from others.
" Get to know your team: everyone arrives with different skills, experience and attitudes. Whether you are the skipper or one of the crew, the more you understand each other, the more likely it will be that mould into a cohesive team. Think about what makes everyone tick, what are their strengths and weaknesses, what do they each want to get out of the trip?
" Stay on top of issues: things will always go wrong, and it is how they are dealt with that determines whether they become crises. Put together a central issues log that is reviewed daily.
" Ensure you get enough sleep: the watch system will disrupt people's sleeping and it is easy to get to the end of the first week and have a completely knackered crew. Ensure you get enough sleep and downtime. Remember also that it is easy for crew members to get injured and the watch system is suddenly thrown out - how would you deal with this, and what contingency do have you in place?
" Comms, comms, comms: perhaps the most common tip from the crew. Lots of things get in the way of effective communications - whether it is crew members feeling they cannot raise issues or a signal from the foredeck is washed away by the wind before reaching the helm. Whatever the cause, the implications can be extreme.
" Seek feedback: as part of having effective communications, seek feedback on your work and your decisions - you will get great tips from your fellow crew members. But remember not to get defensive if you hear something you don't like!

Safety
" Prep for the night watch before it gets dark: as soon as the earth turns its lights out every job gets 10x more difficult. Get ready for the night early - can you find your life jacket in the dark, what about your head torch, water bottle or your sleeping bag?
" First light checks: it is amazing what happens and changes overnight. Enforce a discipline of completing all safety checks every morning.
" Morning inspection: take a pair of binoculars on to the foredeck and lie down on your back - then you can inspect the ropes at the top of the mast for chaffing in complete safety.
" Sort your shoes out! You may have a policy of ensuring crew always wears shoes for safety reasons, but everyone likes to take their shoes off for the barefoot sailing experience. So have a place where shoes can be thrown easily so they are not constantly cluttering up the cabin and getting under people's feet :

Supplies
" Overnight oats: this is a great cooking tip for those that enjoy oats / porridge. Simply pour water or milk over oats the night before and let it sit, then serve it cold in the morning - very easy and delicious with chopped fruit and nuts mixed. 4 cups of milk/water to 4 cups of oats will feed 5 people.
" Boiled rice: many meals are rice based so it is important to get this right - the key is to not overcook it. Simply put the correct amount of rice in a saucepan, and fill it with water so the rice is only just covered. Then boil for five minutes, cover and leave for the steam to work its magic for 10 minutes.
" Fresh products: definitely worth doing a daily check. We enjoyed fresh tomatoes for 60% of the trip but needed to change some of the planned dinners to consume some veg that were about to go off.
" Labelling your tins: one of our fellow ARC boats had a problem where water got into their tin cupboard, and all the labels came off - so what they have for dinner each day was a complete lottery :
" Constantly adjust your space filters: as your journey progresses your cupboards empty, and as they empty, stuff rattles around. The noise in Tahira overnight is enough to stop us sleeping so this has become a critical item.
" Buy more Cointreau!: this was a surprising choice for the 'rum' ration, but proved massively popular.

This is not a definitive list but just some quick tips on living in a boat for several weeks for the Tahira crew.

Blog author: Andy Bruce