Cat Zero and the Eclipse
My Dad’s mid-life crisis.
Well that’s how my Mum described the mad antics of Dad when he went off sailing to the Orkneys from Hull in mid March.
It started in January when my Dad disappeared off to a scout camp in Yorkshire for a two day and one night stay to help supervise outdoor activities for a group of young people not in Employment, Education or Training (NEETs). The reason Dad did this was because he had volunteered for a charity based in Hull called Cat Zero.
Cat Zero is a charity that helps the young and unemployed get into work and build a life for themselves. It does this by taking them on a twelve week course involving a multitude of different aspects designed to build their confidence, skills, teamwork, qualifications and ultimately, through all this, their employability.
The 12 week experience culminates in a one week trip on a 70′ ocean racing yacht out of Hull Marina. Depending on the weather the trip often goes North up to the Orkney or Shetland Isles. The yacht and the whole organisation are called Cat Zero. Cat Zero is the category of the yacht – basically fit for anything: any ocean, any weather… – which isn’t surprising as the yacht is one of several built for the Clipper Round the World Race in 2007/2008.
“CatZero reaches out to young people who have lost their way and, through a combination of challenge and support, motivates and inspires them to get their lives back on track. It’s a truly life-changing experience that has propelled many young people into learning and earning. I congratulate all of those who have supported CatZero and helped so many young people to move off the NEETs register. CatZero was a bold and brave answer to a major social problem. It has paid dividends many times over by transforming the lives and life chances of hundreds of young people.” (Alan Johnson, MP for West Hull and Hessle, speaking at CatZero’s celebration event, 23/02/12)
The bit of volunteering that my Dad was aiming for was helping supervise the young people when they crewed the 70 foot sailing yacht for a week. But to start with he needed to meet his potential crew and, overnight in January, it was fairly cold.
That said, it was apparently a lot colder on watch at night on the yacht in the North Sea in March. The voyage took 9 young people for 8 days from Hull Marina out into the North Sea, up to the Orkney Islands and back again.
The landfall in Orkney coincided with a near total eclipse of the sun, which added extra purpose to the voyage.
The voyage north was cold and quite often foggy, but the boat had sophisticated navigational gear. So the skipper was able to keep a good electronic watch for any ships that might become a danger to the boat.
This is a short video showing the boat sailing. Note the poor crew member (with bucket) who is not feeling well!
The voyage south was quite exciting, starting out with a force 7, which provided some exhilarating sailing but calming right down by the time the yacht reached the Humber estuary.
A lovely sunset behind the famous Grimsby Dock Tower, completed in March 1852 to provide water pressure for hydraulic machinery in the docks. A great example of Victorian engineering and an amazing landmark for navigators less than a couple of hours downstream from Cat Zero’s home port at Hull Marina.
