Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2015 | Page 15
INTERVIEW
Becky is
riding on
crest of
a wave
A
former Cowes dental nurse has put a smile
on her own face by completing a transAtlantic adventure, just months after taking
up sailing seriously for the first time in her life.
Becky Guile was part of a six-strong crew that
took part in the gruelling 2,700-mile nautical
Arc Rally challenge from Gran Canaria to the
picturesque Caribbean island of St Lucia. With
hundreds of yachts of all shapes and sizes
milling around them, Becky and the crew, which
included her partner and skipper Dean Pettipher,
overcame a few anxious moments before
completing the crossing, and also picking up an
unexpected prize by finishing a very creditable
seventh in their class.
Becky admits sailing was the last thing on her
mind until she met Dean, who worked on tugs
on the River Thames until he wanted a career
change and came to the Isle of Wight to study for
his Ocean Yacht Master. She smiled: “Dean and
I lived very different lives, until we happened to
meet by chance in a Cowes pub. After he passed
his Ocean Master qualification he was offered
the captain’s position on yacht ‘Ælfgifu’, a 10year-old Beneteau Oceanis 473, registered from
Portsmouth, sailing around the Mediterranean.
“Then the owner decided he wanted to start
a charter company based in Elba, Italy. I was
offered the stewardess job so I completed a
course in marine cooking and gained some
sailing experience out on the Solent.”
Then came the opportunity to compete in the
Arc Rally on Ælfgifu. Becky said: “Just preparing
was challenging enough - 21 days of food, plus
emergency supplies just in case! The start was
fantastic. Hundreds of yachts all pushing to get
in front. We held back a little then picked up
great speed through the start line, with dolphins
swimming right beside us. Everything was pretty
straightforward, until days four and five - which
were days from hell!
“We headed into winds which made it very
uncomfortable to sleep, and our cabin was
what I can only describe as a human washing
machine. So two days without much sleep equals
grumpy crew, but on the plus side we made great
headway. We then sprang a leak in the forehead
cabin, which was of course ours. It was a case of
holding up towels to stop the water coming in,
while others were on deck trying to find where
the leak was coming from and sealing it.”
Becky continued: “One of our dreams was
to see whales, which we did, and they were an
absolutely incredible sight. We also tried our luck
at a spot of fishing and caught a mahi mahi, We
filleted it and cooked it up for dinner - you can't
get it much fresher than that.
“We had a watch system for the crew members
of three hours on six hours off. The cooking,
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