Stranded strangers rescued from Caribbean thanks to ex-Royal Marine from Portsmouth

HUNDREDS of people were left stranded in the Caribbean with no way home after lockdown hit the sun-swept region following the coronavirus pandemic.
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British, Europeans and Commonwealth citizens were suddenly thrown in at the deep end as tourism work dried up within hours, while the regatta racing season was swiftly abandoned.

But 10 lucky people were given a route out of the nightmare engulfing the island of Antigua by a Portsmouth-based ex-Royal Marine prepared to shepherd the desperate people home.

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It left some sailing novices with the daunting prospect of embarking on an epic 4,000 mile voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in Gunwharf Quays-based yacht Telefonica Black in order to return home.

Crew led by captain Lance Shepherd on yacht Telefonica Black on voyage back to UK from Caribbean.Crew led by captain Lance Shepherd on yacht Telefonica Black on voyage back to UK from Caribbean.
Crew led by captain Lance Shepherd on yacht Telefonica Black on voyage back to UK from Caribbean.

Fortunately for the hastily assembled crew, who were picked on a ‘first-come, first-served basis’, they would be guided across the ocean by Lance Shepherd - a man who skippered in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 2017/18.

The 56-year-old had been left in limbo too after his original crew were left marooned in Europe as flights in and out of the Caribbean were stopped.

It meant an unlikely mix of strangers all came together with the sole purpose of getting home.

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Lance, describing events just prior to setting sail on April 12, said: ‘Everything suddenly shut down with all events cancelled and airports closed leaving people stuck on the island including lots of Brits and Europeans.

Lance Shepherd skipper of Telefonica Black.Lance Shepherd skipper of Telefonica Black.
Lance Shepherd skipper of Telefonica Black.

‘The British consulate gave us little information, which was disappointing. But we knew we had to get the boat out before the hurricane season in June. We didn’t have our original crew who couldn’t get out of Europe after the lockdown.

‘So we decided to put a crew on board from those stranded on the island by offering it up as a first come first serve basis.

‘I had people begging to be let on the boat but we decided we could only have 12 of us in total. Our plan was to go across in one stop which meant we had to take a mountain of food.

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‘When we left there were still 500 yachts left in the Caribbean - there were a lot of people left behind.’

Crew led by captain Lance Shepherd on yacht Telefonica Black on voyage back to UK from Caribbean.Crew led by captain Lance Shepherd on yacht Telefonica Black on voyage back to UK from Caribbean.
Crew led by captain Lance Shepherd on yacht Telefonica Black on voyage back to UK from Caribbean.

The mishmash crew of eight Brits and individuals from Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland and Canada set sail on the 70ft yacht in beautiful conditions. But the journey was far from plain sailing.

After a relatively uneventful voyage to the halfway point disaster then struck when a ‘microburst’ weather system hit the Telefonica while it was zooming along at 60 knotts.

‘A big gust came along and blew the top out of the mainsail and head sail and the boat mast came down and hit the water,’ Lance said.

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‘It happened as far away from land as possible, right in the middle of the ocean at the halfway point.

‘It was over in two minutes but everyone on board was like “wow” but it bonded everyone together.

‘We put up our emergency sail. We are always prepared for situations like that and luckily it happened after our crew had been trained and knew what to do.

‘Our journey took a week longer because of that.’

The incident, which Lance has previously experienced when involved in the Clipper races, was severe enough not to mention on the daily diary blog.

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It was only when they were back in UK waters that Lance opted to reveal what had happened.

In his diary entry on May 3, he wrote: ‘It’s time to come clean with you all… now don't be angry we just didn't want to worry anyone until we could speak with all the friends and family of everyone on board.

‘So halfway through our journey, 2,000 miles from Antigua, 2,000 miles from the UK, 1,000 miles from the Azores, we had a knockdown and ripped the main sail.

‘Unfortunately the rip in the mainsail meant there was no way of fixing it. So (we have been sailing with the) trusty storm tri sail ever since. As you can imagine it has been slow going. However we are safe, well and always have back-up plans.’

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Lance, who performs in races around the world when not delivering sailor training with his company Fearless Projects, was supported by first mate and his partner Claire Fulton, who was in charge of catering.

Lance and Claire also received offshore support from Mike Pickering, who is co-founder of Kraken Travel, the charter broker for the Telefonica Black.

On board duties were shared out with crew, who took shifts of four hours on before having four hours off.

Despite the challenges of getting to grip with sailing in treacherous conditions with giant waves, there were also moments to soak up the beauty of their surroundings.

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On April 24 Lance wrote: ‘The sun came out to surprise us today and while we were showering/doing laundry and generally tidying and drying the boat out some dolphins came and gave us a show. There were about 30 of them all playing round us. Magic.’

‘After a sudden surge of stormy weather, Lance then added: ‘Unfortunately the trip line for the bullet lock snapped so the wonderful Connor had to get hoisted up the mast.

‘Everyone is still laughing and on great form, even while they are getting huge cold waves over them.

‘Just 1,500 miles to go, the wind just needs to start behaving itself!’

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Another post on April 30 revealed how the Telefonica weathered another battering. ‘We have been bobbing around not quite going in the correct direction quite slowly,’ Lance wrote.

‘We also have two big windholes over the next three days and some headwinds, so our arrival may be a day later than expected.

‘I think it’s fair to say everyone would like to be home now, this trip is taking a wee bit longer and is a lot colder than we all imagined.’

Despite intending to finish the voyage in Portsmouth, the crew were forced to stop-off in Plymouth to refuel before concluding their journey after 21 days in Hamble where facilities were open.

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Lance added: ‘Everyone was elated when we got back. There was a big reception committee.

‘It was a massive undertaking for everyone especially for those with no or little sailing experience.’

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