SURVIVAL
NICKNICK WARD ON...ON.
safety gear at the time.”….1979….199 79 sailingsailing gear:g ear: “If yoyouu go to tthe
…taking risks: “I always admire anyoneoilskins,oilskins, there was no Goretex, ththerere was
that takes a risk, but that risk has tono brr eathable clothing, no three-lee-layeray
be qualified. And qualified by the bestsystem,systee m, it was cotton-backed PVC.”PVC.
safety equipment.”…Grimalkin’…Grimalkin’s electronics: “David had
…modern offshore sailing: “The troublea 57-channel57-channel dual watch VHF, whiwhichc
is that you get a combination of newwas quitequq ite radical at that time. He hhada a
materials and people pushing the boattwo-waytwo-ww ay call buoy, an SAR radio, aandn an
too hard. Kevlar can snap, carbon canFM/AMFM/AA M radio, so you had three radiosrad
snap and keels can fall off, so you get aaboaraboardd.”.”
loss of life through damage, not through…the…thee crew: “When we did the qqualifyingua
lack of seamanship”racesracess we had no trouble. We dedealta
…doing the Fastnet again: “It’s goingwith fffororce eeights.ights. We worked ttogetheroge
to be a very emotional thing when I getwell. The boat was strong, well fofound. I
into the Irish Sea.”had nnnoo problem with the quality oof the
ofo f thettttttt hee mmmmmmmm annnnn thetttt hehh yyyyy thoughtthhh oouggghggggg tttt deddd ee aaaaaaa d.ddddd .... NN oneoooo nennnn e it.It is a ghost few want to confront.
exe x pppressedessee d delightded lighhhh tttt thh attttt hehhh eeee sursurvrr viiivveedddd ,, “I know five or six guys who were on
calledlledee d ooro r wrwwwwww oteotee..TTTT hehh onloooo nln y contoooo nttt aaaccttt mm aaaa de boats, and they’ve never gone offshore
waaaaaa sss byyyyyy MMMMMaattttttttt SSShhheeaaaahhaaaaaann tooo ooooooooorrggannnniseisssss ee aaa ttttttrip again.
tot IIIIIrell aaaaa nd tottttt ooo cc hehhh ee cccck ovv er thettt heh rer ettrtt riiei evveeeeee d “I bumped into two guys who are
shellshh ele ll lll ofo GGGG rimm aaaa lkinlkkkk in, aa ndnnnn ddd thenthhh ene aa cacccc alllllll llll tot his brothers and they saw a local newspaper
puu bbbblllisheriss herrr 272 yeyyy eaaaaa rss llll atertttt er tottttt ooooo queqquu esstiontii on the article that said I was doing the Fastnet
ff aaccttttssss innn WWWWWWaaa rrdd’’sss booooookoko k ,,,‘LLLLefeftttt foooo rrr Deeeee aa d’.dddddd ’.’ Race again.“They’d just come out of the
Thirty years on,Ward plans to do pub and the first thing they said was‘you
the Fastnet race again for the first time. bloody idiot, Nick’.”
He’ll join a well-trained crew on board a Left for Dead, written by NickWard
boat twice Grimalkin’s size, but says he and Sinead O’Brien and published by
understands why so many veterans of the A&CBlack, is available in bookstores
1979 race never want to hear mention of and online.
(Mainpictureandlowerinset)Ward back at the
helm of a reconditioned and raceworthy Grimalkin
in the Solent.(Topinsert) Protective clothing in
1979 amounted to cotton-backed PVC oilskins and
the most basic of safety kit.
26|June-July|OUTSIDER
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