Meet the Crew: Preparing for the 2027 Yacht Race

Our excitement is building as the 2027 Yacht Race approaches, but there seems to be ages yet before the race is due to start. Sailors from around the world will be gearing up for this thrilling event. But what does it take to prepare for such a monumental challenge? In this post, we will meet the crew of Yacht 49.

Let’s dive into the preparations and meet the crew of Yacht 49 who will navigate the waves in 2027.

The Crew: Who Are They?

SKIPPER:MARK HOWELLS

Mark started sailing dinghies aged 14. Pretty much the usual progression of single handers (like Topper, Optimist and Laser) through to double handed racing (especially GP14 and International 505). He had a fairly uninterrupted ownership of dinghies from his early 20’s till early 40’s.

Mark started yacht sailing in his mid 20’s (40 years ago). Initially on friend’s boats (28-38 ft) and also on flotilla and bareboat charters in the English channel, Mediterranean and Caribbean. He bought his first yacht (a Beneteau Oceanis 351) in 2008 and has enjoyed continuous yacht ownership since then. 

Relevant Qualifications include Yachtmaster Offshore, VHF Operator, RYA First Aid, RYA/World Sailing Offshore Personal Survival and RYA/MCA Small Craft Basic Sea Survival.

Overall, Mark has sailed around 28,000 nautical miles - the large majority as skipper. This includes hundreds of night hours. Sailing areas as skipper are extensive, including the English Channel (Southern Brittany to Holland), North Sea, Mediterranean and Caribbean.

The Azores and back won’t be Mark’s first offshore race, he has previously competed in the RORC Cervantes Trophy as crew and has competed as watch leader in the RORC Channel Race, the RORC Myth of Malham and in one of the most famous races of all, the Rolex Fastnet Race.

Other notable passages include Mate as a delivery crew on board a passage from Barbados to New York. 12 days at sea and co-skipper on a North Sea crossing - three days at sea.

CO-SKIPPER:MARTYN BATEMAN

Martyn has been sailing in some form or other since the 1970's. First learning how to sail and then racing a National 12 dinghy on the river Trent in Nottinghamshire, then in a Fireball on the river, lakes and then the sea around the Channel Islands. Work and life then got in the way and sailing was limited to chartering cruising yachts in the Mediterranean and Scotland. He retired in 2021 and bought a Hunter Legend 38 cruising yacht which he has since used extensively, cruising the English Channel, Channel Islands, Brittany and the south coast of the UK, including single-handed passages from Weymouth to Ushant and St Nazaire. In 2025 he cruised eastwards along the south coast of the UK, then northwards up the east coast, finally making a single-handed crossing of the North Sea from Peterhead in Scotland to Stavanger in Norway. He spent 10 weeks cruising the Norweigan coast reaching Kristiansund, finally crossing back from Stavanger to the UK in August with Mark as a very welcome crewmate!

WHAT THE CREW NEEDS TO DO

We are entering a race. That means that we will need to sail the boat as fast as reasonably possible from the moment the starting gun fires to the moment that we cross the finish line over 1100 nautical miles later. That means that we will need to use all of our existing skills and experience and develop lots of new ones. Things that we will need to be able to cover include:

• Basic competence: The simple mechanics of knowing how to handle the yacht in conditions ranging between light air and smooth seas to gale force winds. Which sails to use in each type of condition to keep the boat moving safely and as fast as reasonably possible

• Strategy:Yacht race strategy involves a combination of planning the course, anticipating the wind, optimizing boat speed, and during the race, managing position relative to other boats. Key strategies include creating a pre-race plan with the flexibility to adjust the planned course to find favorable wind. In-race tactical decisions will prioritise speed, wind shifts, and position, often by making trade-offs between risk and reward. Deciding which sails to fly to make best use of the conditions.

• Navigation: Charting the course and ensuring that the yacht stays on track. Using both traditional methods and technology such as GPS, navigation will play a crucial role in the race.

• Sail Handling: Raising, changing and trimming the sails. Trimming the sails in a race will be a constant activity. Tweaking and trimming the sails to achieve best speed.

Training: Building Skills

Training is a critical part of preparing for the yacht race. We will be spending lots of time on the water, honing our skills and learning how to keep the boat moving as fast as possible. However, we will be doing some classroom and practical training too. First Aid, with a focus on coping with water based incidents such as hypothermia and water immersion. We will also be getting training in offshore survival in case the worst should happen and we have to vacate the yacht into a liferaft.