Tall stories (From Living Northeast)

Tall stories

1:04pm Monday 19th July 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

Hartlepool is the only UK host port for the Tall Ships Race 2010, putting the town on the worldwide map.

Ruth Addicott talks to a crew member to find out what life is like on board these magnificent vessels.

CROUCHING on deck, clinging on for life as waves crashed over the side of the 45ft Bowman Corsair Ocean Racer, Oliver Peek thought he’d never see dry land again.

A torrential hailstorm and huge gusts of wind were rocking the boat from side to side and at one point, he was convinced it was going to tip over.

Yet, looking back now at his first time sailing on the Tall Ships, Oliver says it was the best experience of his life.

A 26-year old trainee teacher from Billingham, near Hartlepool, he is among 6,000 young people worldwide who take part in the Tall Ships races every year.

This summer is the first time that Hartlepool has the honour of being the final host port. Organisers are expecting 67 ships in total and up to a million people. It is the largest free event in Britain this year.

Having sailed on the Black Diamond of Durham and seen first-hand what it’s like to be out at sea (he’s done three races to date), Oliver is working as a liasion officer this time, looking after the crews on shore.

The main aim is to give young people a chance to learn new skills and make friends from other countries. At least half the crew on the Tall Ships must be aged between 15 and 25 and it’s seen by many as the opportunity of a lifetime.

Oliver was 19 when he took part in his first from Hartlepool to Brest in France and onto La Coruna in Spain. A laid-back student with long hair and used to a life of luxury, Oliver admits he was “a bit of a delicate thing” when he set off. He came back a changed man.

“It gets pretty desperate on board,” he says. “You can’t shower or wash and it’s hard to keep the loo clean when the ship is tossing around all the time. Once you’re wet with sea water, it’s difficult to get dry again and there’s nowhere to hang things.”

Working four hours on, four hours off, for five days solid, Oliver soon found himself pushed to his limits – not only deprived of sleep, but with a sodden sleeping bag and tilting bunk to boot.

“There were seven bunks on board, but we couldn’t sleep in half of them because the ship was tilting to one side and we’d roll off,” he says. “With the boat bouncing around constantly, it was difficult to get into bed without hitting your head and then you’d get drips of water on your face and down your sleeping bag.”

But after a four-hour stretch getting cold and wet on deck, after the first few days, Oliver says it felt as comfortable as a cabin on the QE2.

As if conditions weren’t demanding enough, on his first trip Oliver also struck down with a severe bout of sea-sickness. “I could feel myself turning green,” he recalls.

“I was sick non-stop for 24 hours, off and on for another 24 hours and queasy for the remainder of the trip. The skipper said there was only one cure for seasickness and that was to tie yourself to an oak tree. In other words, I had to sit it out.”

When he didn’t have his head down a bucket, one of Oliver’s key tasks was to keep a lookout for passing tankers, oil rigs and lobster pots. With the lack of sleep, this was no mean feat and at one point he felt he was hallucinating.

“It can be eerie out on watch: sometimes you start to see things that aren’t really there,” he says. “I saw a light coming straight towards us once. I thought we were doomed but it turned out to be nothing.”

If there’s one thing guaranteed to take a sailor’s mind off the lack of sleep, it’s stormclouds looming overhead.

Oliver says the worst weather he experienced was in the Baltic.

“It was bright and sunny one minute, then suddenly the wind picked up and it started to get a bit choppy,”

he says. “We were skirting around the edge of the squall, then the skipper said, ‘right, we’re going through’. The next minute, it was like a tornado had hit us. It was hail-stoning, the wind was so loud, we had to shout to be heard. We only had a tiny bit of sail left and I was terrified the boat was going to get blown over.

I remember hanging onto the handrail for dear life. It was extremely scary.”

As soon as they reached the middle, it was totally calm, then they had to go through it all again to the other side.

Passing tankers and storm clouds aside, the crew also had to keep an eye out for flying cutlery. Oliver remembers one crew member standing in the galley putting his trousers on when there was such a strong wave one of the drawers came unhinged and a knife came flying out, missing him by inches.

While the mental and physical exhaustion was certainly testing, the worst thing about being on board, according to Oliver, was not knowing the football scores.

Although there is a “work hard, play hard” mentality amongst the crews (who have a tendency to get hammered as soon as they hit dry land), organisers are trying to put more of an emphasis on the sport, health and fitness side. Oliver admits he was a bit on the hefty side when he set off and lost a stone in weight – despite a diet of Mars Bars, Cup A Soups and Supernoodles.

Apart from one day’s training in Hartlepool, Oliver had no previous sailing experience when he headed off on his first Tall Ships race – something he hopes will encourage other people to volunteer.

“One of the old skippers once compared sailing to standing under a cold shower, tearing up tenners,” he says. “But there’s nothing like approaching a place by sea. It’s no holiday, but it toughens you up as a person and you make really fabulous friends. The crew will do anything for each other. It’s an experience I’ll never forget. It changed my life.”

■ UP to one million people are expected to visit Hartlepool during the event, the 54th Tall Ships Races, spending an estimated £16m in Hartlepool and the surrounding area.

■ Each year, between 60 and 100 ships from 15 to 20 countries take part in the event. The first race in 2010 will see ships sail from Antwerp in Belgium to Aalborg, in Denmark. The fleet will then cruise to Kristiansand in Norway for the start of the second and final race to Hartlepool.

■ The largest vessels in the fleet are Class A square riggers, which are over 50 metres (about 150 feet) in length.

■ The main aim of The Tall Ships Races is to provide an opportunity for young people to develop their personal skills in a challenging and memorable sail training environment.

■ The Tall Ships Races will not return to UK waters again until 2014.

■ A 66,000 square yard (55,000 square metres) Tall Ships Village will be established for the event. There will be three firework displays as part of the event on August 7, 8 and 9 at 9.45pm.

■ While the event officially runs between August 7-10, vessels could start arriving as early as Wednesday, August 4. The Tall Ships Village will also be open to the public on Friday, August 6.

■ At least 25,000 Park and Ride car parking spaces will be provided per day.

USEFUL WEBSITES

hartlepooltallships2010.com;

destinationhartlepool.com;

hartlepoolmaritimeexperience.com;

sailtraininginternational.org;

visitteesvalley.co.uk; onenortheast.co.uk

Hartlepool Tall Ships Office:

Tel 01429-523636 or e-mail tallships@hartlepool.gov.uk

While you’re in Hartlepool...

■ The Museum of Hartlepool tells the story of the town from prehistoric times to the present day.The largest exhibit is the PSS Wingfield Castle, a fully restored paddle steamer, with the Coble Cafe on board.

■ The Lion Brewery has been established in Hartlepool for more than 150 years and has been the home to Camerons since 1865. Brewery tours are available seven days a week, when visitors can see how Camerons beers are made.