Water
Water from the sink faucet is fine for rinsing dishes/mugs etc. but tastes awful so don't drink it and bear in mind we only have a 10 litre water tank. Drinking water comes from bottles of Volvic or whatever comes to hand in the supermarket and you’ll find these kept in the ‘pantry’ which is the box that forms the cabin step - lift the lid and voila! This is also where the beer and other provisions are kept.

WC (The Heads).
The all-new throne in the fore cabin is for essential use only so please unload before coming aboard and if the worst does happen, then make sure you have been shown how to use it. Offshore the time to have a go is between watches when there isn’t anybody sleeping in the fore cabin!

Girls are of course welcome to use the facilities for a pee at any time with chaps encouraged to pee over the side (at night or in rough weather you only pee off the side if you are clipped on - no lanyard then no piddle).

If you need to use the club loo or showers ashore at Southwick then ask Steve or one of the other crew for the magic key fob that ’ll get you in the door. Don’t be shy about asking - I’d rather leave the dock 5 minutes late than have skid marks down below (oh and the rule is that if you block the loo then you get to unblock it as well - nice).

Weight
We are out to win and no matter how good we are excess weight kills boat speed, which is why Barda doesn’t have lockers full of crap and we only carry enough beer and drinking water to last for a day afloat. The sails are lightweight and although we carry all the mandatory safety equipment I choose everything with a view to keeping it as light as possible.

The only weight I don’t control is what comes aboard in your bags, but for this season I’m asking you to think about what you are packing. If when we are day-racing 5 crew can change into waterproofs by the cars and leave their bags behind that makes perhaps 5 kilos less of parasitical weight we are dragging around. If we’re going further afield offshore then that’s a different matter and although I don’t want to be a weight Nazi I will get the hump if your kit bag makes the boat heel over when you come aboard.

When it blows - weather & safety.
Racing a yacht like Barda is an intrinsically risky business and by the very act of stepping aboard you are accepting that risk. Having said that, the safety of the crew and the boat itself is more important to me than any result and if I don’t think we are up to the forecast conditions then we won’t go. Usually I’ll have a good idea of the conditions 24 hours before the start and if it is looking doubtful then watch out for a text saying ‘go’ or ‘no go’ arriving around 07:00 on the day of the race. If you don’t get a text or call then assume we are going.

As a general rule if there’s 6 in the forecast I’ll only go if we are well crewed up, and if there’s a 7 mentioned then you can probably assume you can enjoy a lie in bed. Mind you, I also have every intention of breaking the 20 knot barrier and to do that we’ll have to get out there in some serious breeze and waves which is why it is so important we all work on staying slick and safe with championship class boat handling skills.

Winch handles.
The retaining clips on our winch handles have been drilled out so they can be used in a hurry without fumbling, however this means they can fall out so don't leave them on a winch. If a handle goes over the side then that's not a problem as long as you weren't thowing it at me and missed.

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