Jarvist Frost
Qualifier's Mug - 2006
(Fantana - Contessa 26) – For his account of his qualifying passage from the Azores to Falmouth to be published in the next Flying Fish. He sailed from Ponta Delgada, single-handed with a slow, typically high-pressure start, heading northwards and a near-miss in the middle of the night with a tanker not showing any navigation lights! This was then followed by a full gale in which he had to heave-to for 48 hours and then a great, galloping run under storm-jib alone. Another few gales one of which was spent hove-to for 12 hours followed by a day senselessly trying to beat into a F7 but then a few days perfectly broad-reaching in a F6. 300 miles out from Falmouth his paraffin stove develops a terminal fuel blockage and he has to use a blowtorch to heat cups of coffee to keep him awake around the Western Approaches. He entered Falmouth Harbour at night with barely any sleep in the previous 3 nights, “vomiting with fatigue” before tying up.