Royal Air Force Yacht Club

(Article by John Falla)

Following almost four years of preparation, Banjaard, a Swan 36 which I had owned for seven years, and I awaited instructions to leave Queen Anne's Battery in Plymouth to line up for the start of the OSTAR, the Original Single Handed Trans Atlantic Race against the prevailing winds and currents of the North Atlantic. Completing the final preparations had taken most of my energy, and although I had been lucky enough to have the assistance of friends and family, I was exhausted and slightly frustrated not being able to resolve the satellite-phone -to-computer impasse which would mean that I would not be able to access web-based weather information.

Following the "last breakfast", the final part of the wonderful hospitality of the Royal Western Yacht Club, it was time to say goodbye to my family and friends, and in particular to my wife Elizabeth, and to my young children Florence six, and Alexander four.

This was more difficult than I could have ever imagined, and with the official briefing on the weather and ice still fresh in my mind, the full enormity of the challenge was resting heavily on my shoulders. Although I had every confidence in my Swan, I hoped I would be up to the challenge.

So what had persuaded me to take part in the OSTAR in my family cruiser racer? I wanted a challenge that I could accomplish in a relatively short period of time, and in my own yacht. With two young children, and with responsibilities on shore, although I wanted an adventure, realistically I could not be away for too long. I had stumbled across the publicity of the end of the previous OSTAR in 2005 and in a moment of madness thought-why not? I had no reason not to do it other than excuses. My father had died of cancer just before I was 21 years old, and I have always been mindful of the importance of doing today what one might not be able to do tomorrow. It was at that stage that I also thought that I wanted to, as part of my entry, try and raise money for a cancer related charity and after speaking with some other competitors settled on the Institute of Cancer Research, a world leading UK based research organisation which this year is celebrating its centenary, for more information see www.icr.ac.uk .

I then embarked on a major refit to prepare Banjaard, and to a lesser extent, myself for the race. Although I could still think of a number of things in a perfect world I would have liked to do, I was as ready as I was going to be, and keen to put to sea.

HRH Prince Philip started the race, but the favoured end of the line was away from the THV Galatea, and so although my family saw him, I did not. Light winds took us out of Plymouth Sound, en route to the Eddystone Lighthouse, the only mark before the finish in Newport.

The quiet start soon gave way to the force six to seven that we all knew was on its way. There was little time to ease into the race, and we had to just get on with it. It was the first of many occasions when the wind was solidly over 30 knots, often over 35 knots and at times consistently over 40 knots.

Space here prevents me from providing a detailed account of what was an experience of a lifetime, but hopefully this summary will whet the appetite of readers to look at the more comprehensive blog on the website. www.jamorph.com/blogstar/johnfalla. The blog has a full tracker player, audio and video blogs from myself and other competitors. Although put together to a very professional standard what marks the OSTAR out from many other events is that the OSTAR has returned to its Corinthian routes embodying the spirit of the first competitors of fifty years ago. Other than some of the youngsters, who could not realistically take part without some sponsorship, most competitors were people like myself-taking their own family cruiser racing yachts on a bold adventure. No great sponsorship deals, no shore support teams, just a very interesting selection of characters who, like me, wanted to see if we were up to the task of following in the wake of sailing legends of the past who had sailed this race.

After twenty days at sea the last few days were characterised by almost no wind and the ever present Gulf Stream, which meant frustratingly slow progress, but finally topped off with an increasing following breeze and then a thunderstorm with torrential rain, poor visibility, thunder and lightening for my arrival. At this time I was running low on fuel and getting messages from my battery monitor that the batteries were flat, although the voltages remained good. The last night was therefore an anxious one as I was concerned about making a landfall, having seen no land for the best part of 3,000 miles, and worrying about losing all electronics if there was a sudden drop in voltage. I was relieved when I was able to get a final hour of charging in, identify the fairway buoy on radar, before the thunderstorm abated revealing the lights of Newport.

Sadly, the conditions and the fact it was one in the morning did not make it possible for the family to meet me on the finish line for a true "Sheila Chichester" welcome, but there was a wonderful reception on the pontoon when I arrived at the Newport Yacht Club. Indeed, the welcome from the Newport Yacht Club, and the people of Newport was fantastic. Although it was a single handed event, the camaraderie amongst competitors and the family atmosphere shared by all who were in Newport to welcome their loved ones was exceptional. We enjoyed a week in Newport but sadly experienced the worst weather they say they had had for 20 years. Finally we set off cruising to Block Island and Martha's Vineyard, before we ran out of time, returning to Newport in the "mother of all Thunderstorms" in which another competitor was hit by lightening, wrecking most of his electronics.

I left Banjaard on a buoy in the middle of Newport Harbour waiting to be shipped back to Southampton. I must admit to shedding a tear leaving her. Although all of the practicalities had been organised for her return, I still felt I was abandoning her; after all, we had been through so much together.

After a few days in my favourite city, Boston, I was back in the office in Guernsey, as though I had never been away. Three weeks later I collected Banjaard from Southampton, for the short trip back to Guernsey, the end of the great adventure.

Would I do it again-yes I would. The whole experience gave me even more confidence in Banjaard and in my own abilities. Did I ever feel lonely? Being able to speak via satellite phone meant that I did not feel lonely, although I must admit, morale dropped through the bottom of the boat when the satellite phone stopped working. That was undoubtedly the toughest time, partly as it coincided with the strongest winds. I suppose my lasting impression was that I was lucky. Partly through preparation and good fortune I took the 25 days I always predicted it would. I had only one severe gale, virtually no fog, little rain, and probably more time with the wind free than one could expect. I could certainly see that if all of the opposites had been true, then it could have been very hard. Indeed, fellow competitors with some of the gear failures that I feared stoically finished in over 40 days-that must have been very tough. One Italian competitor who was attempting to complete the OSTAR on his third attempt was on this occasion taken off his yacht after it had been rolled over and dismasted. The dramatic pictures of his rescue on the race website again remind me of how fortunate I was.

Highlights of the trip were undoubtedly the visits from pilot whales, dolphins, combined with sighting icebergs-they did seem to be a certain rite of passage. The spectacular weather and the huge variety of colours that the sea and sky can be turned by nature were an ever changing canvas of which I did not tire.

What did I gain from the experience? It was the first time I crossed an ocean, indeed the first time I had done any single handed race. I very much enjoyed it and I would encourage anyone who has an opportunity to do so to embark upon an ocean crossing, be it fully crewed, or less so. Nowadays we have the yachts, the equipment and the skills-we just need to get out there and do it. For any one contemplating an ocean passage I would just note with grateful thanks the advice I received. Preparation is important-speak to anyone and everyone who has done something similar-I know the expertise within the RAFYC should be invaluable too anyone looking to undertake extended cruising or an oceanic crossing.

Oh yes, and how did I fare in the race? Out of 31 starters, I finished 18^th on handicap, which bearing in mind I had been without detailed weather information was good enough for me. Members may be interested to know that Elmarleen, a Sigma 33 won on handicap. Sailed by Will Sayer, who had bought the boat with a student loan and worked on her for five years, all were delighted that there was such a worthy winner. Having been forced to give up his job to take part, he truly epitomised the spirit of the OSTAR.

I need to strip Banjaard back to her fighting weight for her usual role of being our family cruiser, which I also race around the cans with friends. The last job will be to take off her OSTAR bow stickers, but perhaps not just yet.....

Some people commented that I must be very brave, a suggestion which I always felt slightly uncomfortable with. I was spurred on by the knowledge that I was hopefully raising money for a good cause, and after all I was doing something that I was enjoying. Compared with those who find themselves battling against cancer and do it with such courage and dignity, any hardship I enjoyed was as nothing. I hope you enjoy the blog site www.jamorph.com/blogstar/johnfalla if you visit it. Any donations to the Institute of Cancer Research via www.justgiving.com/2009OSTAR will be gratefully received, with every penny received going directly to this very worthwhile cause.

(C) John Falla August 2009