Martyn Brush

Martyn Brush
(inducted 2007)

In October 2001, realizing that I had 2 weeks of holiday left to take, I decided, somewhat randomly, to stay at Sunsail's Club on Antigua. As we all know, sailing is amongst the world's best sports for hardcore boozing and tall tales. \

Just shortly after I arrived, realizing that I was somewhat 'thirsty' from my long flight, I wandered in search of refreshment. A very attractive redhead, standing at the bar, not only proved interesting company but she was also drinking Mount Gay and orange. Now, ask any sailor what might attributes you need in newly found bar friends and a predilection for Mount Gay will be placed very close to the top of the list. Needless to say, we got on famously.

Lisa, for that was her name, was 'relaxing for a week' before flying back to Europe to sail in the ARC with her boyfriend. Somewhere between my 10th and 15th Mount Gay [I was so ill the following day], I rashly said that if she was ever going to do something similar, I would be happy to crew.................

On a damp and foggy evening in London, some time the following February, I received a call from Lisa who wanted to get a crew together again for the 2002 ARC. Being caught off guard and reminded of my promise [I'm still a bit hazy as to whether it was a promise or just a maybe], I finally agreed to go.

I heard nothing for several months until the RORC season started and I was then 'required' to help crew some of the South of England to France races as practice.......... There is something uniquely terrifying about sitting on the rail in reasonably heavy sea mist sailing across the English Channel 'passing zones'. Hearing fog horns, without being able to see where the boats are, as you try desperately to cross the designated channels without getting rundown by freight shipping traveling at 15 knots plus is character-forming experience.

In late November, in the final days before my ARC, I scanned the weather forecast, noting some large systems that appeared to be heading our way. I was going to be sharing the next 15-18 days with 5 other people I really didn't know too well on a 38 foot, transom-less inshore racing yacht...... Oh, did I mention that we had removed the head door to save weight and that as only 3 bunks were left after all of the food and water was stowed that we would be 'hot-bunking'? We could only carry enough water to drink, so washing was going to be difficult, so a trip to the drug store was called for and a rather amused retailer sold us an alarming amount of baby wipes.........

As we left the pontoon, I remember looking at a progressively greying sky, feeling the rain start to sting my face and thinking............ when will I learn to say no at the 9th Mount Gay? The weather wasn't too pleasant at the beginning, punching waves with about 35-45kts of apparent wind was an all together soddening experience that gave one of our crew severe sea-sickness, something that would put him out of action for 4 days.

Six days out at 2:00 am, with everybody exhausted from the extra load of one man's sea sickness, we wrapped the heavy duty spinnaker around the forestay in heavy winds. In 10ft seas we wound our skipper up the mast to try and untangle the kite, to no avail. He had to slide down the forestay, cutting it down in pieces as he went. As the pieces of orange sail floated away in our wake, so did our hopes of arriving with a good result

Finally at 5:30am, 17 days after leaving Lanzarote we tied up in Antigua............ the early arrivals party had finished just an hour before........... I thought to myself, it was a little disappointing but nothing that a little Mount Gay........... Wait, wasn't that how I got involved in the first place...............

Regards, Martyn T. Brush - March 2007