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  • Crew Advice
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How to pack your Ocean Sleepwear Bag for Travel

16/3/2019

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I recently came across a post on a #ClipperCrew what's app group.  Thanks Keith for the tip!  You can buy a vacuum pump and various bags for just over a tenner on Amazon and the result is that packing your Ocean Sleepwear bag just got a whole lot more manageable!
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Kit Review | Le Chameau Neptune

29/1/2019

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Kit Review | Sunderland Sleeping Bag

29/1/2019

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If you are training in the UK between October and April, I seriously suggest you consider buying one of these warm, fleece-lined sleeping bags. The Volvo Ocean bag is brilliant, but about 5 x the price of this bag.

The Sutherland bag can be ordered on Amazon and delivered in the UK. They sell for about £60 at the time of writing.
VIEW ON AMAZON
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Kit Review | Ocean Sleepwear Bag

29/1/2019

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What to Pack for a Cold Race Leg?

28/1/2019

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In this short video I discuss what you should be thinking about packing for a cold ocean leg. In this context, I consider Cold Ocean Legs to be Legs 2, 3 , 4, 6 and Leg 8.

Fierce Turtle (Packing for Training)   : http://bit.ly/PackingListfortraining
Check Out our Classified Pages for pre-used kit:
​https://www.fierceturtle.co.uk/pre-used-kit

Le Chameau Boots:  http://bit.ly/sailingboots
Ocean Sleeping Bag Hire: http://bit.ly/oceansleepingbag
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KIT REVIEW | Ocean Sleepwear Marine Sleeping Bag

11/3/2018

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The Ocean Sleepwear Bag costs a big chunk of change. Is it worth it? This brief video shows you what you get. We hire bags for training or the race and you can find pre-used bags in the classified ads section.
HIRE SHOP
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Fleece-lined sleeping bag Review - Save £££s!!

10/3/2018

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Keeping warm at sea is very important, especially on long, cold high latitude races such as Legs 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 of the Clipper Race. The last week of Leg 5 is also very very cold!

​A warm sleeping bag is a must-have for sailors doing a 'cold ocean'. Here, we review the budget option - The Mountain Warehouse Sutherland Sleeping Bag.
View product on Amazon
If you'd like to receive reviews and crew tips and tricks, be sure to subscribe for our monthly newsletter or podcast.

​We'll be reviewing the Ocean Sleepwear bag soon. We also hire the Ocean bag for crew looking to try it out during training. Click here for details.
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KIT REVIEW | Le Chameau Neptune

15/2/2018

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The Neptune is the top of the range sailing boot from Le Chameau stable. Le Chameau is well known for its high-end boots and the Neptune does not disappoint.
 
The boot is made from rubber. It is robust and extremely hardwearing. It has a thick sole to reduce loss of heat through conductivity, it has an excellent all-grip sole, gaiters to prevent leakage and water ingress and a thick neoprene lining to ensure you have warm feet even on the coldest night watch.

Fierce Turtle sell the Le Chameau Neptune. Register with us for a significant member-only discount offered throughout the year.
 
The RRP is £315. Needless to say, we do a much better price for Clipper Crew. 
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What are the best boots for high Latitude Sailing?

9/2/2018

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Volvo Ocean Race - Southern Ocean
Sailing in the Southern Ocean in Summer is a tough old gig, even for the pros on The Volvo Ocean Race. It seems no coincidence that so many use the Le Chameau Neptune boot for the really tough, cold race legs.

Click here for our review of the Le Chameau Neptune. Clipper Crew can claim 15% OFF the Le Chameau Neptune if purchased in February 2018.

The DISCOUNT CODE is WARMFEET.  Just enter the code at checkout.

Sail safe.
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The Pros and Cons of Leg 4

15/3/2017

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Sydney's not a bad place to stopover!
If you look at the geography and the prevailing trade winds, it's pretty obvious that to sail around the World today (if you start in Northern Europe) then you have to sail South across the Atlantic and then either go East or West.  Going East is far more sensible.

With this reality in place, it becomes likely that Brazil and South Africa are going to be two of the first ports of call. Going East, Western Australia makes sense and then you have to get to China for the Qingdao stopover (which is not to be missed for spectacle).  Whilst in Oz though, it seems appealing to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race so continuing East, either around New Zealand or Tasmania, Sydney has been a regular stop for the last few races. Before that New Zealand and then Australia's Gold Coast were stopover ports.

Leg 4 is, therefore, usually Western Australia to East Coast Australia, perhaps including the Rolex Sydney Hobart after Christmas and then a short hop back up the East Coast. The leg needs to advance the race to China. Going East around Australia makes some sense as there's a large continent on our doorstep.

Because it's Christmas Sydney Hobart is a possibility. Then you need to go North to get around Australia and back towards China. This means lots of races The advantages to Leg 4 are, in my opinion, as follows;

PROS
  • More than one race per leg (usually). The leg has previously been split into as many as 4 different races. As a 'legger' one of the big advantages is that if one race goes wrong due to breakage (people or yacht) then you still have more bites at a podium.
  • In the past, there have been some great stopovers on Leg 4. Plenty of fun stopovers (and a long stopover in Sydney sometimes) makes for a fun time. However, I noticed the fleet has just had copper anti-fouling treatment, so the Sydney stopover may not be as long in future (they used to lift the boats to apply antifoul at this halfway stage).
  • Southern Ocean! You get to dip into the Southern Ocean again. A real box-ticker for most sailors.
  • Sydney Hobart. OK, so you've already done more Southern Ocean miles that a Sydney Hobart racer before you get to the start line, but the race has real kudos and that first reach down to The Heads in Sydney Harbour is a real blast and worth experiencing.
  • Weather - It's the Southern hemisphere's summer when you're there, so generally the weather is good. OK, the Southern Ocean always has the potential to be a cold and ornery beast - but the sail North is usually good and the Coral Sea in January is a nice place to be (except for the Cyclones).

CONS
  • Australia is a long way from the UK. If you're resident in Europe, Oz is an expensive return fare if you are doing one leg.
  • You are away from home for Christmas... Of course, some people might see this as a benefit!
  • No Ocean Crossing - You get the Southern Ocean. But you don't get to cross an Ocean. If that's important to you, this may be a deal breaker but read on..
  • It's Cyclone season. These monsters are very predictable and the race works around any forecast problems, but this can change the timetable. That said, this is normally relevant to Leg 5, not leg 4.

All in all, I'd say Leg 4 is a good leg. It has several races, it's set in a great part of the World and there are iconic events and locations all around you and a mix of conditions. What's not to like?
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    Mark Burkes is a former Clipper Race Skipper, Round the World Crew, Clipper Training Skipper & jobbing RYA Yachtmaster Instructor (Ocean). He has over 200,000 miles logged.

    Mark also writes professionally both online and offline and has written for Yachting World.

    Fierce Turtle is not linked to nor is it in any way accredited by the splendid folk at Clipper Ventures. All opinion is our own.

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