clipper round the world- training part A and B, part 2

After almost one month, I got this reply from them:

Antonis



Thank you for your email regarding your part A and B Training. My apologies for my slow response, I have been away on business for a couple of weeks.



I am very pleased to here that you enjoyed your 2 weeks training with us and that you feel that you have learnt a lot during this time. I am sure you will continue to learn a great deal during the remainder of your preparation for the race and the race itself.



I would like to thank you for the detailed feedback that you have provided, it is always helpful to receive constructive feedback on the training and events that we deliver, and we always take it onboard in order to improve our service. You make many points in your email which I have noted however I would like to deal with the key issues that you raise at the end of your email.



· Better maintenance on yacht.



Clipper Ventures employs its own in house maintenance team to ensure that the fleet is maintained to the highest standards possible which is essential for a round the world race fleet. It does however sound that during your training you did experience several unfortunate failings, namely the starter motor, the gas leak and the gear box bracket failure. It is very unusual for our boats to have such issues especially in the space of two weeks. I think it is also important to point out that all of these faults were caused by general wear and tear and very difficult to identify prior to the problem occurring. When issues arise it is always our aim to minimize the effects on the training courses. The boats have also recently returned from 35,000 miles of tough ocean racing which of course takes its toll on them. The fleet is currently going through a thorough refit program in preparation for the next race, the fruits of which you will experience during your Part C training.



· Diet.



Victualling a yacht for an ocean race is an extremely complicated task. The boats that we race on are race boats and as such are fairly basic. It is simply not feasible to have refrigerators on board as the volume of fresh food required for 18 crew for 4/5 weeks would be immense. Also if something was to go wrong the food would perish very quickly, especially in the tropics leaving a crew thousands of miles from safety without any food. It is our opinion that this risk is not one we would like to take. The other issue is one of weight refrigerators can be very heavy and would impede the performance of the yachts. This is the reason you will not find refrigerators on any serious race yacht. I would agree with you that diet is very important on the race it is after all the fuel that drives the crew and without it the crews performance with suffer. During the race the victualling will be one of the responsibilities of the crew and therefore you will be able to have a say about what you eat both during your Part C training and the race itself. You will be amazed how difficult it is to keep everybody happy with the limited facilities available. I think your idea of taking vitamin supplements is a good one and most of the boats take a good supply with them.



· Fake tests.



The purpose of the assessments which are moderated by Falmouth Marine School is to allow the crew members to reflect on what they have learned during the week and to stimulate further learning in any area's that there are weaknesses. As such the Skippers and Mates helping with answers is an important part of the process, however I will be very disappointed if the Skippers are simply telling the crews what to write as this does not help anybody. I am also unhappy with the assessments being undertaken in the environment that you describe. Both these issues have been addressed with all of our training staff, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for bringing it to my attention.



I hope this addresses some of the concerns raised in your email, and again thank you for your feedback it is always very useful. I look forward to seeing you for your Part C training next year.



Kind Regards



James





James Allen

Head of Training - Clipper Ventures



Office: +44 (0)23 9252 6000

Mobile: +44 (0)7989 344 428

E-Mail: jallen@clipper-ventures.com

Web: www.clipper-training.com



Clipper Ventures

Unit 1A

Granary & Bakery Building

Royal Clarence Yard

Weevil Lane

Gosport

Hampshire

PO12 1FX

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So, I reply to them:

Dear James



Thank you for your reply; I would like to respond to some points that you made.



With regard to the tests; I would like to clarify that during the first week, the skipper and the mate were indeed helpful with their answers as you suggested. The problems occurred with the testing that was conducted during the second week in the pub. The system you described did not take place.



With regards provisioning: As far as the provisioning a yacht for a race is concerned, I find your answers somewhat naive. To assume that one has to provision entirely with fresh food for a long distance race is stupid and insults the questioner. I never said that it was necessary to provide only fresh food, but that it would be expected to be available for the first few days and weeks (lemons, onions etc). Numerous articles have been written by well-respected authorities on this subject, and I refer you, for example, to the following article written about the 1993-94 Whitbread, in particular the last paragraph at the bottom of the page ( http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1998/sailing/sailing.htm ).

My complaint concerned the fact that during the training weeks we were on board neither did we receive dry food, as you recommend (even for training purposes) nor vitamin or mineral supplements, but instead we had items like cheese and chicken that (after 4 or 5 days) had not been refrigerated (thus risking our health and well being) , without an adequate supply of supplementary fresh food. This is an important health issue and it shows that your organization did not really take the necessary precautions or educate your skippers with regards to provisioning and food preparation, thereby endangering the health of the crew for even the most limited time offshore during a training week...



After my experience in England, I have had many discussions with professional Captains both here in Greece and in the UK, regarding conditions on board. In addition to questioning provisioning they also mentioned various other issues including a safety problem which I did not previously know about.

You are currently using a 'single clip safety line'. The Hellenic Seaman Training Center and other professional offshore sailors have told me that they always use a double clip safety line, so that when you unclip from one location and until you get clipped on the next one, you are not left exposed with no safety line to falling over the side into the sea.

I find it extremely difficult to understand why Capt. Juan would not let JC use his double clip tether and why you haven't been using this system. I know that it's been used for many years everywhere else and may be included in the RORC Offshore Racing Rules, criteria for crew safety, but instead you take risks with the single clip safety line system.



With regards VAT: As an accountant, I read invoices and literature very carefully. The literature and invoice indicates that the part B Training is supposed to be off-shore, and therefore outside UK VAT jurisdiction, whereas in part A (the coastal part) you've charged V.A.T. It ended up that part B also took place close to the coast and we spent nights from port to port. How was part B different in this regards? Does this happen often? Or is there another reason why on the part B, VAT is not charged?



I have let time pass so that I could be objective about the conditions during this 2 week training experience before making any further decisions. Despite this, and even though at the end I had fun and a good break from work, I feel that I did not receive from you what I paid for.



In the first week we did not do any training in anchoring at night. Although I did receive some training in sail trimming, we lost more than a day due to poor maintenance on a yacht that did not go around the world (?). In the second week lost more time due to poor yacht maintenance (seized winches, transmission failure, the lack of working, accurate navigation equipment [GPS, RDF, accurate, updated charts, good log keeping and basic Dead Reckoning], and Capt. Juan's apparent inability to understand tide tables, the need to clean other peoples vomit and urine up immediately on coming onboard on the Sunday before training could begin. We did not experience any offshore sailing, either in the day or at night and had a skipper who thought it was more important to chase women than do his job. I was not trained fully in regards to my personal safety and my health was put to risk because of the way the food was stored during these two weeks.


Consequently I feel that I put my life at risk with your company and do not have any faith in your company's marketed ability despite your lucky track record. I could not put my life at risk in the in the middle of the ocean and rely on your company's level of professional skills as exhibited so far.



I had expected that in a place like England, the standard of yachting would be up to date in terms of health, safety and maintenance. I have been extremely disappointed. I am most surprised that health authorities and inspectors have not checked either the yachts or the level of training provided, and to be honest I was completely disillusioned by what I saw. I do not wish to continue learning 'the 'Clipper Way', (as was frequently quoted during my two weeks on board) as I do not feel that the high level of seamanship skills I expected to experience during my training period with your prestigious organization were in exhibited as standard practice on board.



Therefore, I do not wish to take part in any further training or the race, as I do not feel that the services you provide were satisfactory. I would like you to refund the balance of my account and maintain my rights for legal representation should it be required.



Antonis Mangos