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Sailing Logic Q&A: Prue Nash

by Beki Knowles 26 May 2016 13:45 BST 26 May 2016

Prue Nash runs the sea school and racing side of life for Sailing Logic Events and Britannia Events. She gets to work with lots of lovely people who come here to have fun and enjoy their sailing, so it's always a bit of a holiday atmosphere!

Q: How long have you been sailing for?

Prue: For about 30 years – eek!!

Q: How did you get into sailing, and why?

Prue: I started sailing in dinghies in the International Cadet class because my parents got into sailing with their local club and that's what the other children were doing. At Uni, I bought an RS200 which bought me down to the South Coast to go racing. Some of the RS gang had a Sigma 33 and they took me racing which was the start of an instant love affair with yachting!

Q: How did you get involved with Sailing Logic/Britannia?

Prue: I worked for them as a First Mate since about 2008/9 and then eventually, I joined them in the office full time in 2013.

Q: Big congratulations on your Yachtmaster! What did your Yachtmaster involve?

Prue: 44,000 nm of learning!! I'm very lucky to have had the chance to sail with some incredible skippers, instructors and crew over the past 20-something years. They've taught me very well and I'm very pleased to have been able to pull it together and pass the exam. I literally couldn't have done it without them!

Q: How did you prepare for this? Did you have to do any special training?

Prue: I spent a lot of time making sure I was ready and that my theory knowledge was up to scratch. My sister is now very good at the IRPCS (lights and shapes!) as she spent many hours testing me in front of the TV each evening. Before the exam, I had a week of preparation with Mason – one of Sailing Logic's regular race coaches and instructors. He'll tell you that I was a nervous wreck and he'd be completely right!

Q: What's your ultimate goal?

Prue: I'd really like to do my Yachtmaster Ocean this winter which means going out and doing ocean navigation with a sextant.

I'd also really love to do another transatlantic passage this winter and spend some time in the Caribbean. Other cruising grounds I'm keen to see include the Pacific and the Panama Canal.

Eventually I'd like to work up to skippering the boat for the ARC – but that's a long way off yet! Got to have a goal though.

Q: Do you have a favourite/stand out experience from sailing?

Prue: It's hard to pick just one! One of my proudest moments was being crew on 'Scarlet Oyster', an Oyster Lightwave 48 owned by Ross Appleby, for the ARC in 2011 when we led the class from start to finish and won the Racing division overall. But there are so many great things about sailing – anyone who has sailed under the stars with glow in the dark dolphins jumping around them will never forget it. I think trimming the spinnaker on the 120 foot Dubois sloop 'Bliss' at the Caribbean Superyacht rendezvous racing around Virgin Gorda is right up there up too!

Q: How can you work your way up to sailing on a bigger boat, from dinghies? What's your advice?

Prue: I was lucky enough to meet some friends who needed crew and that's still a great way to get involved. Sailing Logic's "Introduction to Racing" course is designed to give new crew basic skills to join a race team which is a useful bit of knowledge to take with you.

Q: What's the importance of team work when sailing or racing?

Prue: It's everything! There is literally no crew without teamwork.

Q: Where's your favourite place in the world to sail or race? Why?

Prue: It has to be the British Virgin Islands! Bright blue deep water, sunshine, superyachts and Painkiller cocktails – and a swim after racing to cool off! In fact, that's true for most of the Caribbean.

Q: What's your personal career highlight?

Prue: I have so many... Winning races, passing my Yachtmaster Offshore, laughing until I'm fit to burst with crew and clients, watching the young people on a respite day provided by Sail 4 Cancer drive the boat with the wind in their hair and a smile on their face, because they can forget about treatments and illness and just enjoy sailing, catching mahi mahi off the stern of Lancelot II, having a birthday present of 2 litres of fresh water so that I could have my first shower in ten days during an Atlantic crossing – it's the simple things!

Q: Who's your inspiration? Why?

Prue: Gosh – how do I pick just one!! Tracey Edwards and the Maiden crew in the Whitbread Round the World race were early idols. Dee Caffari is a legend, as is Ellen MacArthur. Ellen's trimaran was berthed in East Cowes Marina after her record breaking trip and I got a chance to go on board so I ran across the trampolines secretly pretending to be Ellen – epic... What Ellen and the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust have done is amazing and it's great to see so many young people with cancer regaining their confidence on the Trust trips.

Q: What do you do when you're not racing/sailing?

Prue: Errr – does that time exist?? I work in the Sailing Industry and I sail in every spare moment! I have been described as a sailing junkie... But my Jack Russell loves me, so that's OK by me.

Q: What's your favourite piece of sailing kit? Why?

Prue: A thermos mug with a lid. I love coffee but I never drink it fast enough, so it goes cold unless it's in my insulated mug.

Q: Do you have any "good luck" rituals pre-racing? What are they? Do they work?

Prue: It's not a 'good luck' ritual, but most of my crews would laughingly tell you about my OCD... The menu has to be laminated and stuck up by the galley, the boat has to be tidy and everything has to be in just the right place – and stay there!

Q: What advice would you give to someone starting out in their sailing career/hobby?

Prue: Sail on everything you can get your hands on! Knowing different boats and their quirks and how to fix them when things go wrong will always make you a useful crew. Be self-sufficient – have your own kit, check the tides and weather, turn up early to help the boat get ready and stay around to clean the boat when it's all over. By tidy on board – put stuff back where you found it and don't let your personal kit explode over the boat. When 10 race crew are sharing a 40 foot boat, that's really important.

Q: What's the best piece of advice you've been given in your career?

Prue: This came from a former Clipper Skipper at an after dinner speech at some regatta or other. He said, "Sail Safe. Once we are doing that, let's think about having fun. If we've got both of those nailed, think more about the racing and go fast." I always try to think that way 'Safe, Fun, Fast – in that order'.

To find out more about Sailing Logic and Britannia Corporate Events, please visit www.sailinglogic.co.uk and www.britanniaevents.co.uk.

To find out more about Helly Hansen, please visit www.hellyhansen.com

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