Vince Pearson had barely been on a boat before setting off on a round-the-world yacht race. Now he has sailed oceans, battled storms and was feared washed overboard by a freak wave.
Vince, of Norwich, worked in catering businesses before joining the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race part-way through the 40,000-mile circumnavigation of the world, sailing a total of around 12,000 nautical miles from Seattle to Panama and then through the Panama Canal to Bermuda and on to New York and across the Atlantic back to Britain.
The amateur crews, led by a professional skipper in 11 specially-designed identical boats are ordinary people seeking an extraordinary adventure.
Vince was also raising many thousands of pounds for charity.
Before joining the race Vince had barely been on a boat. “Just a few holiday cats and three sessions on the Broads for a few days with a skipper friend,” said Vince.
But he had always loved adventure, and while he has worked in many different roles in catering, including as an army officer, he knew that the race would be something completely different.
“I spent nearly 40 years in business. You spend so much of your life planning ahead, and trying to work stuff out, and so the whole notion of just living totally in the moment has not been a big feature of my life.”
He decided to take on the challenge at 60, but the pandemic delayed the latest race.
The crew of his yacht, Imagine your Korea, ranged in age from 25 to 67. “Many had taken career or unpaid breaks and quite a few had retired or largely stopped work like myself,” said 62-year-old Vince.
He loved learning to helm the boat, and flying through a dark night-watch with the spinnaker sail ballooning in front. “The physical and mental challenge was huge and yet the support and teamwork you build with your crew mates was so rewarding,” he said. One night, heading down the Pacific coast of the United State, the yacht was accompanied by dolphins.
However, it was not all plain sailing. Vince vividly recalls the terror of being out on deck in a storm as 50mph winds raged. And the night crewmates were convinced he had been washed overboard. He had been sitting chatting when a huge wave slammed into the boat from behind. He was thrown from the front deck to the netting at the bottom of the boat. “Other crew members were convinced I had gone overboard but I was tethered on. I was bashed about a bit and sore as I passed between two winches.”
Whatever the weather, and whatever the wind and sea threw at the yacht, Vince never felt his life was in danger an did not even get seasick, although some of his crewmates suffered badly – and one was hit in the face in the dark by a flying fish.
“The clipper training is all about safety, and our skipper, Rob Graham, is a world-class safe sailor who ensured you stayed safe,” said Vince.
For him, the worst part of the experience was personal - the cramped quarters meaning a lack of space. Low points included ‘Trying to go to the toilet when the boat is angled at 45 degrees and sailing up wind with regular slams into big waves.’
Each crew member was allowed just three sets of clothes – and bunks were shared between shifts so that as a fresh crew member reported for duty someone just finishing a shift would roll into bed.
For a man whose career was based around food he might have been expected to worry about what would be on the menu. Vince and Lynda were part of a four-person team who took on the Last Wine Bar for 18 months, to ensure the Norwich restaurant flourished until the new chef proprietor took started and he has been chairman of a big private contract caterer and is now a non-executive director for national hospitality and facilities management consultants Litmus.
Each crew member was in charge of cooking around once a week and he said: “As a caterer I certainly enjoyed providing something different. I think my best meal was on a relatively calm sailing day. I did shashuka with flatbread followed by fresh pineapple drizzled with a home-made chocolate sauce. Went down very well!”
Back at home in Norwich his artist wife Lynda received only sporadic updates.
“New York was special because Lynda surprised me by arriving unannounced on the jetty when we moored,” said Vince. But the place he was happiest to see land was in Costa Rica, when they reached a port for an emergency refuel after 30 days at sea.
The final leg was across the Atlantic to Northern Ireland, and then round the north of Scotland and down past Norfolk and Suffolk to a finish celebration in London.
“One place I do want to revisit from the land is the tip of Scotland. We had a magical passage through Pentland Firth with John o’Groats one side and the Orkney islands the other,” said Vince.
Although his yacht came in last out of the 11 clippers the crew had won battles against wind and waves and come away with a world of experiences and memories, life-long friendships and money for a wide range of charities.
One of Vince’s reasons for joining the race was to raise £15,000 for the Sir Norman Lamb Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, via the Norfolk Community Foundation, and for the hospitality industry charity Springboard which gives young and disadvantaged people the skills to launch their career. “The hospitality industry has given me a fantastic career over 40 years and I want to help with the challenges that hospitality is facing," he said.
To help Vince reach his £15,000 target visit justgiving.com/campaign/Sail4Recovery
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was dreamed up by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to sail solo non-stop around the world.
The journey of 40,000 nautical miles, aboard one of 11 identical 70-foot racing yachts, is split into eight legs.
No previous experience is necessary. Each yacht is led by a fully qualified skipper and first mate and all crew members are equipped with the latest extreme protection gear.
If you are interested in taking part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht race visit clipperroundtheworld.com
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