Julian Megson Sailing

Recently I got a call at work from my wife, Fiona. She had just taken another call saying that Steve White was sailing his Open 60 Race Yacht “Toe In The Water” that same night to France, to have some work done to the boat and that he had invited me to sail with him.

Steve lives a good 6 hours from me so If I was going I needed to go now. My boss at work was brilliant and allowed me to take the rest of the week off immediately. So I quickly dashed home to pick up my things and before I knew it I was on my way to the south coast.

I arrived at Steve’s house after a long drive through some nasty weather. I was really tired and beginning to wonder if I was going to be able to stay awake for much longer. A short time later we were at the marina but with over 40 knots of wind it was going to be very difficult to leave the pontoon without damaging the boat. So we waited until morning before attempting to leave. I must admit I was glad about that decision because I was so tired from the long drive that there was a good chance of me sleeping through the entire sail across the channel and missing everything.

Early the next morning however, we were under way. Once we left the shelter the land the wind picked up to force 8 and it stayed like that for the 120 miles across the Channel. Now I’ve been privileged enough to have sailed with Steve on board ‘Toe In The Water’ before and that was impressive. But in gale force winds this Open 60 really does comes into her own. I have to say that I wouldn’t have missed this experience for the world. It was just like you see in video footage from the Vendee Globe with the rough seas, spray cascading over the decks and whizzing along at over 20 knots. I realise that Steve has seen much worse conditions than this – or “better” conditions depending on how you view things – and I’m sure he doesn’t give them a second thought, but this was proper exciting stuff for me.  The waves were about the biggest I have seen but I was amazed how ‘Toe In The Water’ seemed to iron out the bumps. OK, it might have been a different story had we been sailing into the wind, but the whole experience was brilliant. After a short time I was wishing for even bigger waves but it was all over too quickly as we arrived in France later that afternoon.

The next day however, there was still plenty to do. I spent the second day helping Steve to prepare ‘Toe In The Water’ so she could be lifted out of the water. I actually quite enjoyed this, it was a really good way to get to know the boat. As Steve’s Open 60 was to remain in the boatyard for a while we packed up and took the overnight ferry back to the UK. After a short stop at Steve and Kim’s for bite to eat and some very welcome sandwiches for the drive home (thanks Kim!), I was on my way home after an excellent couple of days.

To get the latest news on Steve White you can visit his website at whiteoceanracing.com

PS: My camera got a real drenching and broke, hence the flaky photos from my camera phone!

On Saturday, I went for a sail on Steve White’s Open 60 race yacht ‘Toe in the Water‘. Yes i’m not joking. I’ve had to pinch myself a few times since but it really did happen, thanks to a kind invite from Steve and his wife Kim.

We met at the marina at about midday.  Steve and I walked to the boat to get her set up whilst my wife, Fiona and daughter Megan went with Kim to get a bite to eat.  There is a fair bit to do to get ‘Toe In the Water‘ ready for sailing, but it gave me a chance to have a good look around.  It was the first time I’ve seen an Open60 in the flesh and she didn’t disappoint.  She’s a beautiful boat and looks fast even when she’s stood still.

Soon enough we were ready to cast off.  We slipped the lines and were on our way.  As soon as we were in clear water we hoisted the Mainsaill and the Gennaker and we were away. I’ve never seen anything like it, the boat just took off.  I looked over the stern and it was like the parting of the red sea.

Now at this point I was told we had broached.  You would imagine that I would realise we had broached, so I may sound a bit dumb when I say that i hadn’t realised this at all.  Sure enough the boat was heeled right over and it did look like an awful long way down to the low side but I guess ignorance is bliss.  But I’ve not sailed an Open 60 before and so I just thought it was normal, besides, Steve looked calm enough so I was happy. Steve filled the ballast tanks and ‘Toe In the Water‘ was skimming across the water like a dream.

I then took the helm for a while.  I must admit I didn’t do too well at first I just couldn’t get the balance right. I went from sailing too high to too low, over powering the sails then almost stalling then back to over powering again.  Steve did say the tolerances worked within very small margins which is why I might be struggling.  However on the way back I did get the hang of it..

It was the most amazing afternoon’s sailing for me.  It was such a wonderful privilege and I am so grateful to Steve and Kim for the fantastic opportunity. I can’t finish without mentioning the man himself.  Steve White is modest with not even a whiff of ego. But then he has nothing to prove, his achievements speak for themselves. Steve and his wife, Kim have successfully managed a sterling offshore racing career culminating, so far, in an 8th place out of 30 competitors in the recent Vendée Globe. I have no doubt that Steve will do even better in the next Vendée Globe in 2012. So Steve, Kim a big thank you from us for a fantastic experience.

If you want to know more about Steve White and follow his race campaign please visit the whiteoceanracing.com website.