The Volvo Ocean Race is one of the most physically and mentally demanding round the world regattas in the sailing world. Find out more about the race.
Mike Sanderson, the skipper of ABN AMRO ONE, was unavailable for a face to face interview, as he and his crew were somewhat tied up battling the waves of the Cape Town to Melbourne leg of this remarkable eight month race. So he emailed us instead to tell his story of the thrills and spills of life on the ocean wave.
You’ve been on board since November 2005. How is morale?
The general mood onboard is good. As a team we feel in great shape. This leg has been pretty tough on all of us both mentally and physically and we are looking forward to finally finishing. We are very lucky in that we have a fantastic team but for any group the ups and downs of this leg have been quite a challenge. It’s not over yet and anything could happen in the closing stages. However, we will not give up anything without a fight and we will be pushing until the end. We also get the odd snippets of info about real life from back home which helps remind you of life outside your 70.5 foot 'home'.
Have you had any hairy moments?
I think the question should be when haven't there been hairy moments! In this race there is never a second of rest. Either you are flying down waves at 25 knots balancing between going fast and keeping the boat in one piece with wind and water flying down the deck, or you are fighting fires (we had an electrical fire on the first leg that got pretty hairy - at one point we realized we had to get it under control or it was into the life raft for us). Then there are the nervous moments when you worry about the weather and the boats behind catching up (at one point on this leg we were around 350 miles ahead only to watch as the boats behind caught up and we were then 7 miles behind)! Then there are the times that you hear the boat creaking and groaning and you wonder if something is going to break as you launch off the next wave. On the first leg one of our crew was swept down the deck with such force he took out one of the steering pedestals.
Is there any time to relax and put your feet up?
There is little time to unwind on these boats. The balance that we have to find of speed versus preservation is a very fine one. This means that there is the constant pressure of whether we need less sail, more sail, how the boat is doing etc. Add to this the worry about weather, the latest positions, if we've lost or gained miles and it takes up most of my time! Still, we do have a laugh as well. We have a great team which is essential for any crew in a race like this.
What are general conditions like on board?
We have 10 bunks on board and we tend to have sleep shifts organized by four hours on, four hours off. Food is kept in day bags which means we have one big bag for everyone’s food for the day. This includes three hot meals (any one of about seven freeze dried options), power bars and energy drinks. We cook in a big pot and leave it for each person to serve themselves when off duty. As you can imagine cooking is not so easy when you are launching off waves!
How important is it that you keep your lead position and win this race?
Winning is a massive part of this campaign for us. I think to enter a race like this you have to want, and believe, you can win, otherwise it makes all the work and stress a lot harder to deal with. I believe we have done everything we can to win this race. It won't be over, and won't be won or lost till the fleet gets to Gothenburg. There’s a long way to go.
The race ends in Gothenburg in July 2007. Get updates on how the team is doing at www.volvooceanrace.org.
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