If you are signed up to do legs 1, 4, 5 or 7, then you are likely to see the tropics at some point. Legs 1, 5, and 7, in particular, can be very warm for at least part of the time at sea. This brings with it several challenges, mainly revolving around choosing the correct deck clothing and apparel, managing fluid intake, personal hygiene and keeping cool below deck when off watch.

Trying to sleep in 38-45º C, especially when it's humid and you are salt-encrusted & sweaty, is almost impossible until you are very very tired.

Good, lightweight, wicking base layers with long sleeves (for UV protection) are critical. Don't use cotton. It gets wet, retains moisture once saltwater is on it and will get smellier, faster! A lightweight merino wool is good for comfort, performance and odour management. Icebreaker is a well-known Kiwi brand, although it is pricey.

Many crew will purchase sunscreen for the crew but make sure you have a plan to protect yourself against exposure to the brutal tropical sun. This will also mean a lightweight, ventilated wide brimmed sunhat with a chin strap (unless you want to lose it on day 1). 

Bare feet on the deck of a Clipper 70 is a no-no. There are too many hard things to break a toe on. Believe me, you only kick a stanchion post once with bare feet to learn this lesson. Therefore, some robust, grippy well vented shoes are required. They should also be of a material that allows for them to get wet and not get smelly.

Keen Newports (open sandals with toe protection) are very popular amongst crew for this reason. Below deck, many crew swear by Crocs. This fashion crime is between you and your own personal God!

Finally, if you plan to send emails from your ipad or phone and run a fan, etc then you will need the option to run the fan and charge your gadgets. Clipper 70s have various charging points, but it is easy to overload the batteries and the circuits, especially as the boat needs to run satcoms, navigation equipment, water maker and things like rice boilers.

When I was skipper, I set up a charging schedule which allowed the on-watch to charge phones and personal battery banks whilst they were on deck. This seemed to work quite well, but it was something else to remember on watch change. Forget to charge your battery and you may end up having no fan for your next sizzling off watch.

For this reason, I'd suggest you consider a battery bank for charging your kit. 30,000 mA as a minimum, should suit. You will also need a means of fixing this to your bunk when in use. I used some heavy duty velcro. 

I'm particularly impressed with some new battery banks which have a solar charging option. They are claimed to be robust, dust & splash proof and are able to be secured somewhere appropriate on deck by way of a carabiner. This gives you the option to always be able to charge your battery. 

Last of all, in the tropics, the opportunity to shower in heavy rain showers presents itself from time to time. Keeping the crew and the boat as clean as possible is important, especially in the tropics, unless you enjoy tummy bugs and pink eye.

​A small bottle of soap, easily to hand, will allow you to take advantage and soap up and rinse off (assuming you are not sailing the yacht, of course. Some crew are less modest than others, but a good place to wash is behind a helm station, offering some privacy.

Even without a rain shower, a clean bucket and some sea water can be refreshing in hot weather. However, you really need to rinse in fresh water after, because salt water showers just make you sticky and salty.  Some boats carry one or two fresh water solar showers which work really well when hung off the A frame on the stern. Finally, remember to stay clipped on at all times where SOPs require and keep your lifejacket on. 

Many crew us crocs for below deck, but on deck I think you have to go a long way to beat the Keen sandal / shoe. It is ventilated and has a closed toe, protecting you from all the hazards on deck.

 (aKnown as one of the 'glory legs' because you get to start the race with all its associated excitement, leg 1 is a long leg (about 5,000 miles). Sometimes split into two races, the leg takes you across the North Atlantic, the Doldrums and equator and delivers you to the southern hemisphere on the South American continent. It is generally warm (sometimes very hot) and the weather is generally less demanding than most of the other legs - although you will see what you think is big weather along the way.. That's until you've finished leg 3!
 
Pros; 

• You cross an ocean and sail from Europe to South America - that's pretty cool.
• As the first leg, you get to leave as a team. You also get to enjoy all the razzmatazz at race start including prep week which I really enjoyed as it gets you into the whole spirit of the thing!  That said, you can do prep week without being Leg 1 crew.
• You have all received the same training and have the same experience on a Clipper race boat . You will be entering this adventure together and you are all equally good - and bad ! The round the world crew and the leggers are all pretty much equal and you are all learning as you go.
• It's a learning leg for all the teams and you get to know the boat, the crew and probably yourself pretty well as a result!
• The weather is varied. There's a chance you'll get a blow as you go through Biscay and you can't generally expect to cross an ocean without seeing some bad weather, but lots of the race is in trade winds and so there should be lots of sun tan cream, shorts, T shirts and spinnaker flying. It's also quite tactical as the Canaries and the crossing into the Southern Hemisphere need to be considered carefully.
• You cross the equator, so Neptune will pay a visit (usually in the form of the skipper or a crew member dressed in odd clothing with a bucket on his head). Pollywogs become shellbacks and it all gets very sticky.
• Arriving in Rio after a long sea passage is pretty special with Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer towering over you (assuming Rio is the destination). It doesn't get much better than that. The beer is cold and the rum is cheap - at least I think it was - I don't properly recall.
• If you are combining a leg with travel then landing in South America is pretty good. I know several people that do 2 or 3 legs and travel continents in between. That's a great way to spend a year!
• Leg 1 is fairly rare in that as a UK-based 'legger' you only have to fly one way. If you don't like flying, that's a bonus.

 
Cons;

• This leg is probably one of two relatively 'easy' legs. That's not to say it's easy. By no means is that the case. Racing across any ocean is never easy. But when you consider some of the other legs, Leg 1 is generally acknowledged to be less 'sporty', less uncomfortable - and warmer! If you consider this to be a pro rather than a con, then Legs 1 or 7 are generally for you - that said, the odd tropical storm can make for interesting sailing.
• A large part of the whole race is downwind (which is good), but Leg 1 especially has large sections of downwind sailing in what are generally referred to as 'champagne sailing' conditions. You should get pretty good with the light and medium weight kites but before you do you're likely to damage one or two spinnakers. If you are a sail repairer you'll be busy!
• My experience of the race was that in the first couple of races, racing is generally not as close as the last few. The fleet tends to close up as everyone (in particular the round the world crew) become more experienced and they gel into a team. So leg 1 might not be quite as close on the water as leg 8 for example.
• The biggest downside of Leg 1 for me is that you don't get the days and weeks of surfing down monster waves that you will almost certainly experience on legs 3 and 6 in particular. If you want a really wild ride and a full-on 'testosterone challenge' then legs 3 and 6 are for you. The two toughest legs in my book, you get to experience the Southern Ocean and North Pacific at their raw best, and worst.

 
That's my view but if you have a different take on things, please feel free to comment below. If this blog is helpful please consider liking and sharing on Facebook.

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