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DRY SUITS - ARE THEY WORTH IT?

24/3/2025

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what to pack for clipper race training - level 1 training

24/3/2025

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Clipper 68 crew bunk, located in the sail locker. Shower curtains were regularly fitted to keep bunks dryer during sail changes! The 70s are much dryer!

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SUGGESTED PACKING FOR LEVEL 1 (THIS IS PRETTY EXCESSIVE)

  • ​1 x Kit Bag (We suggest your bag is no more than 90 litres and should be soft - not a suitcase! You shouldn't be filling a 90L bag! 70 litres is a good size and should also do you for the race. A bag with rucksack straps makes for easier travelling when on foot or transferring from airports, etc. Waterproof is a good idea - but certainly not essential. A separate zipped up area for laundry is useful).
  • 1 x Washbag (If it has a hook to hang it up in the showers ashore, so much the better. Consider packing breath mints and aerosol deodorant. Even if you don't need the breath mints you can always offer them to more needy souls and aerosol deodorant is known in the industry as 'a shower in a can' and, apparently, a 'pommy shower' if you are a 'colonial type'...)
  • 1 x Towel (A chamois style travel towel makes for a less smelly environment below decks! Remember, there may be 12 on board - and 20+ on the race itself).
  • 2 x Clothes pegs (For airing out towel on deck - saves it blowing away).
  • 1 x Sleeping Bag (Again synthetic is best but for L1 Training a warm sleeping bag of any type will be fine.  There are specialist marine sleeping bags on the market, made by Ocean Sleepwear in the UK. For training, you can hire a freshly laundered Ocean bag from us. 
  • 1 x Pillow  A synthetic is best. Down will absorb moisture and mould.
  • 1 x Woolie Hat / Polartec Beanie / Sealskinz waterproof beanie
  • 1 x Sun Hat    We do have sun in the UK sometimes! When it is sunny, a sun hat is useful. As with skiing, the sun on water intensifies the effect.

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How to organise your kit below deck

24/3/2025

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Your Kit & EquipmentYour kit is likely to be split into three parts on any one leg. These are;
  • Deck Gear & Kit
  • General Kit
  • Sleeping Bag

If you are doing multiple legs, you may decant your warm and cold weather kit into different dry bags so that you have less kit to manage on any one leg. The redundant kit can be stowed in a dry bag under other bags (space is very limited on each yacht).
​
Deck KitEvery watch change you will need certain kit. Dependent on whether it's hot or cold and day or night, this kit might include everything from warm beanie hat, sun hat, peaked cap, gloves, mittens, balaclava, lip balm, leatherman multi-tool, safety knife, head torch, etc.

I kept all this kit in a 12L Lomo Bag which I had clipped to my bunk by a carabiner clip. This enabled me to quickly and easily stow and find essential kit needed on watch change. Time is of the essence when getting to deck and this speeds things up and saves you scrabbling around in the bilges late at night, trying to find your head torch!
General KitI kept this kit in a larger dry bag (maybe 60 - 80L) with back pack straps so it was easy to travel with. Having a dry bag saves your kit getting wet in its storage location (usually due to a leaking deck stanchion). This keeps your clothing, underwear, etc dry and in one place. Your wet gear is kept in the crew wet lockers near the galley.
​Sleeping BagMost boats have a dedicated bunk which they use to store the on-watch's sleeping bags. You can't leave them on your bunk, after all. Someone from the off watch is using it! Ocean Sleepwear bags are very popular for RTW crew and cold leggers.

These bags have a Goretex outer and come with a bag which is great for storage on a bunk because, in rough weather, bags can fall off bunks onto a wet floor. With a down-filled bag, this can be disastrous. With an Ocean bag it's no drama.
This video goes through kit organisation.

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how to pack your ocean sleeping bag for travel

24/3/2025

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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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keeping warm for winter training

24/3/2025

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Clipper 68 yacht with snow on deck

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As we approach the UK's winter, it's worth noting that Clipper Yachts are not heated! Some will have a small oil-filled heater & dehumidifier which is aimed, largely, at trying to keep the crew area and sail bags (in the same place on a Clipper 68 training yacht) as dry as possible when alongside and between courses.

However, overnight and when at sea, Winter on a Clipper Training Yacht is cold. When there are lots of people below, it can also get wet, with lots of warm breath and a cold deck making for a chilly rainforest in some conditions.
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The best way to plan for this is to invest in a specialist marine sleeping bag. Ocean Sleepwear do one which is Goretex ™  lined and has dual fleece interiors. These are great bags, but not cheap. The basic mummy-shaped bag comes in at nearly £300 and the square 'Volvo' bag is over £390.

​Our 
pre-used classified ads also have Ocean Bags from time to time. Or you can hire bags from us for as little as £69 for one level of training.

Hire an Ocean Sleeping bag for Training.
An alternative to this has been sourced by me and is available online for about £50. It's the Mountain Warehouse Sutherland sleeping bag. 

We did a quick review of the Sutherland Bag here. And the Ocean Bag here.
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  • HOME
  • ARTICLES & VIDEOS
    • ARTICLES AND VIDEOS
    • QUICK TIP VIDEOS
    • PREMIUM ARTICLES
    • BECOME A MEMBER
  • KIT FOR SALE
    • ALL SAILING KIT
    • ALL UNSOLD KIT
    • DRY SUITS
    • SAILING BOOTS
    • BASE LAYERS
    • MID LAYERS
    • FOULIES (WET GEAR)
    • SOCKS GLOVES AND HEADWEAR
    • KIT BAGS AND ACCESSORIES
    • SLEEPING BAGS AND PILLOWS
  • CLIPPER CREW ADVICE
    • FIERCE TURTLE - THE BLOG
    • SLEEPING BAGS FOR HIRE >
      • Sleeping Bag Returns
    • SELL YOUR SAILING KIT
    • SELL YOUR OCEAN BAG TODAY!