Mariquita Book - mk2.5

MATTY OATES
Mate
Despite the simplicity in the title, it would be a challenge to
find two Mates aboard classic yachts who have an identical
job description. Even year to year the challenges evolve; and as
some tasks become polished, new ones arise. You become the
absorber of stress from both directions: the middle management
of the command structure. Most importantly, you are nothing
without the captain and crew around you.
The year 2015 saw a new and exciting dynamic arise from the
unknown. Since her redux, Mariquita has always had part of
her crew living ashore, but this year we dropped our numbers
and moved all our sailors aboard. To have us all as one made
the Mate’s role not only easier, but far more fun. We had
to create and morph – had to change years of established
procedures and reassess all we knew about the Old Girl. Roles
on deck had to be readjusted and nowhere was that more
evident than with the jackyard.
Every year Mariquita has visited the United Kingdom, the
jackyard topsail has had a lonely time of it. Colder, denser
breezes and higher average wind speeds have meant that the
easily-handled gaff topsail steals the show. There have been
several occasions over the years where we’ve been reminded of
the power that the jackyard exerts, and each time has made us
feel slightly more mortal. We had that reminder once again at
the Fleet Review.
With a course set off to the east, and a return to the mid-
Solent on the expectation of a dying breeze, we instead came
back to wind speeds of over 20-25 knots. A powerful gybe at
the top mark had us sent hard over and rounding up into the
breeze in seconds. A buried lee rail gave us no access to the
runners and kept the mainsail in, while our main runner to
windward was shy of its mark in the hurried manoeuvre. A
second attempt saw no more success, and George wisely made
the call to abandon the race.
Often, this is where people end the story in their head: race
abandoned and the vessel heads home. But this is actually
where the day gets interesting, because not only do you have
to bring this mass of sail and spars to deck, but you must do
it fully exposed to the breeze. In the Mediterranean, you’ve
got runway galore for these evolutions, but in the Solent you
have very little time indeed. It’s only a matter of minutes until
you’ve sent your bowsprit into a forest or you’re keel-deep in
a mud bank!
These are the moments that a Mate lives for – when the wind
is blowing, the stress is rising, but the crew around you is
working in calm, focused determination. It is a very great
privilege to pretend to be in control of an operation like
this, but we all know that the dial of a watch is only the sum
of the workings behind it.
As with any boat, knowledge is acquired, compounded
and passed on to those who follow you, and I’ve been very
lucky to have been preceded as Mate by the likes of Andy
Cully, Robin Kenyon and George Newman – sailors who all
possess a keen eye for detail and unique styles of leadership.
I hope my three years as Mate have added a little more to the
understanding and experience of sailing Mariquita.
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