The oceans, they cover the planet, 75% of it to be exact. They are vast, beautiful, plentiful and deadly. Crossing the oceans and going around the world was once something thought to be impossible, but explorers like Magellan and Columbus proved those doubters wrong. Today circumnavigating the globe on a sailboat is a sport, a harsh grueling deadly exercise that takes skill, wit and knowhow.
This past oct, seven teams set out from Alicante, Spain on a nine month journey around the world. A race to see who is really the best of the best, and in the words of Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad, “Compete in the last great human adventure.” The teams are made up of nationalities from China, UK, France, the USA, Spain, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, Argentina, Brazil and Antigua. They are competing to see who is the best.
Each team has the same boat, a Volvo Ocean Type 65. An incredible piece of engineering. Made of carbon fiber and capable of reaching up to 40knots. Fast and slick they are not meant for comfort. “Because the carbon fiber (hull) is so thin, it sounds like being on a freight train, on the boat,” said Walter Whalen. Whalen, who works for Federated Investors, a Boston native was chosen as a guest of honor for the Mapfre boat at the team Vestas Wind’s in harbor race in Newport on saturday. The type 65 is a far cry from the yachts you’ll find at your local yacht club and are designed for speed on the high sea’s, not just your local waters. In the original race in 1973, sailors had no idea what to expect in a round the world race and were pretty much amateurs at best when saying they were round the world sailors. That year 2 sailors died. In the past 40 years, Volvo has studied and designed the type 65 to deal with the rough waters of the southern oceans and move on those windless dead zones of the Atlantic and Pacific. The boat even features a movable keel which can swing up to 40 degrees to help stabilize the boat in different situations.
“This is a chance of a lifetime,” said Whalen. “I have been around boats my entire life and have had an experience like this.” Sailing on these boats takes skill and mental strength. For nine months sailors live and breath with each other, taking four hour shifts on manning the boat, but no one really sleeps. Food is kept to dry goods like rice and pasta and its not unusual for crew to loose more then 10% of their body mass during the race.
Each team also has the same exact boat, they are all identical. “It comes down to pure seamanship, sailing ability takes all the tech out of it,” said Whalen. Mark Towill a USA crew member of team Alivimedica said that this is a test of pure sailing skill. There are no engines, no motors, every sail is pulled by hand and with the use of manual power winches. Volvo Ocean race magazine says its like doing a four hour gym workout every eight hours for the entire trip around the world.
Talking to some of the crew and support crew members it also becomes clear that skill alone will not get your crew anywhere. “You have to be able to get on with each other,” said an Abu Dhabi support member. “Some teams have fell apart and dropped out when they couldn’t work with each other.” That makes sense. Nine months at sea, one non private Korean made toilet, no shower and the ocean. Getting along with your fellow crewmates seems to be a clear necessity to be a team. Imagine if the Patriots were crammed together in a bus for nine months, no shower, just rice and pasta. That bus might get awfully smelly and cramped after a few days. Frostad jokingly said in his opening speech to the guest riders that these boats today won’t smell like they did when they arrived in Newport.
Between sailing across the vast emptiness of the ocean, the boats have eight stops at various ports to replenish water, food, repair their boats and get a few days rest. One of these stops this year was Newport, RI. All the teams minus Team Vestas Wind which ran aground and has been out of the race, made it to Newport on May 5th for a short reprieve and to compete in a in harbor race to score points they may have lost during the race.
“The sailors have to race today like nothing else matters,” said Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean race. “Today could make or break a team.” The race started at 2pm on what started as a sunny day but ended up being a overcast cloudy day with relatively no wind. With all the boats starting at the exact same time, you could clearly see how sailing skill and luck comes into play as team MAPFRE clearly gained a huge lead early in the race leaving the other teams scrambling to catch up. MAPFRE kept its pace and came in first with team ALVIMEDICA coming in second and team Abu Dhabi coming in third.
Newport harbor had 10,000 plus people watching from the shore and an untold amount of viewers from boats from on the water. Newport PD, the Harbor Master, Coast guard and Volvo security boats were all on duty keeping pleasure boats and spectator ships out of the race zone and out of the way of these fast moving ships. They even had to clear the way at one point during the in harbor race when team SCA and Dongfeng looked to gain a more favorable positon and made there way out of the main sailing path and into the spectator zone to gain some speed. Everyone cleared out pretty fast as not to be in the way of these fast ships.
“Never did we expect that kind of a turnout during a chilly May weekend in Rhode Island, but instead we were treated to a Narragansett Bay mob maybe bigger than it ever was!? Alby (Alberto Bolzan a crew member from Italy) thinks he finally knows what it feels like to be a “footballer.” Housty (Ryan Houston is a crew member from Auckland, New Zealand ) says it was the most impressive sight he’s seen in three Volvo Ocean Races. Nick imagines it as busy or busier than Newport in the 80s, during the America’s Cup glory days his father always reminisces about. It was almost overwhelming--the energy and enthusiasm that everyone showed for this little event of ours--and even if just for a few hours you made us feel like rock stars. Thank you!!,” said Amory Ross the on board reporter for team Alvimedica in a recent blog post.
Of special note, Boston Bruins Capt. Zdenko Chára was a guest on the team Abu Dhabi sailing team. Chára signed autographs and had some fun with the crowed before downing race team ocean wear and embarking out for the race. Chára, who has never taken part in a sailing race before seemed very excited to be a part of it. Although all he would be doing is being an on board observer, he exclaimed, “I have never done this before, at a stage or level like this. I’m very excited.”
At the end of the race when team Abu Dhabi pulled back into dock, Chára gave some observations on what he observed to be goals in winning. “The timing of the start, it was so important for the start to be in the right place at the right time. Reading the position of the wind and the sails,”
Most the teams are also all male and some of veterans of previous Volvo Ocean Races, but then there is the new entry to the race. Team SCA. A team composed of eleven all female sailors. “Not one of us has competed in any of the last Volvo Ocean Races!” said SCA skipper Sam Davies. Although the team is in 6th place now, they still have the chance to make up points and place in the top three.
Currently in 1st place is team Abu Dhabi with eleven points. The teams are expected to make land in Lisbon on or around May 25th, from there its off to Lorient and finally ending on June 21st in Gothenburg. “Leg 7 has started. It’s a highly iconic route and a classic among most sailors. It took Christopher Columbus five weeks to cross the Atlantic in 1492, we are counting on arriving to Lisbon within 9 days. It’s the last ocean leg of this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race and we are determined to make the best out of it,” said Anna-Lena Elled the on board reporter for team SCA in a recent post to Volvo’s live online race blog.
Charles Caudrelier, skipper of the Chines racing team Dongfeng has this to say about the sailors in this race. “The thing all the competitors have in common is that they love what they do and given the choice would do it all again. Because they’re nuts!”
Zdenko Chára sings autographs and gives out signed pucks.
The start had all the teams in close quarter, making way to get the best wind.
Team Abu Dhabi and Alvimedica were close the entire race, here they make their way to the first buoy,
Mapfre leads with Alvimedica and Abu Dhabi in pursuit.
Team Mapfre cruises past the thousands of fans who came to watch this world class sailing event.
Rounding the buoy, the team are tacking their sails.
Team SCA do what they can to make up time.
In an effort to get more wind, team SCA pulled away from the main boats to try to get better wind and suddenly found itself in the line of many spectators who quickly moved out of the way for the team.
Team Mapfre round the bouy and tacks.
Team Abu Dhabi rounds the bout and tacks.
Sailors hurry to the bow to help get the jib out.
Team Mapfre has won the race and now sets to taking down her jib and prepping the boat to dock.
Support crew for Abu Dhabi take off the jib sail.
Mapfre captain Iker Martinez gives a post race interview. "The day on the water was fantastic, when you're winning everything looks great and you are happy so that's how we are feeling now, super happy.
