Puma | över Atlanten 2
Day 6
I was laying in my bunk here on PUMA’s il mostro wondering what all Volvo skippers must be wondering but afraid to ask out loud. Is our boat fast enough? Is it strong enough? Will it go the distance?
The crazy thing is that 7 of these Volvo 70’s have been built in the last year and nobody knows the answer. It’s like opening day of the baseball season. All teams have great hopes of winning the pennant and reaping the rewards. Fact is nobody really knows what their team is going to be like over the long haul. This race is exactly like opening day.
As the last skipper to join the blogging fray, it has been fascinating to read the upbeat reports from all the teams on how great the boats are and how their programs. Why wouldn’t they be optimistic? All is rosy when none of us have ever lost a race against another Volvo 70!
But the simple fact is we are all fibbing in a way. We don’t know what this race has in store for us. Well, maybe Ericsson knows because they had the distinct luxury and foresight of purchasing the winner of the last race and testing their new boats against it. As for the rest of us, we can only guess. And am I willing jump in and say we have the be all/end all boat of the century? Absolutely not! We like our boat, but fact is we won’t know anything until the gun goes in the beginning of October.
I think that unanswered question brings quite a fascination to this race in a way. Even the America’s Cup now tests against all other teams prior to the Cup being held (that is when the America’s Cup is actually being held). Even most of the open 60’s have sailed against each other in one form or another prior to their big events, but the Volvo Ocean Race is the only race that I can think of which allows you to make a class of boat specifically for one event. Amazing actually. For the Volvo we will literally show up, shake the hands of our competitors, probably have a beer or two with them and wish them good luck and be safe and we’re off! Withabsolutely no idea if we have a fast or slow horse to get around the track. Unreal.
Sorry, I digressed, now onto the boat. We are tearing across the pond. Working on a 500 mile 24 hour run (stands at 465 right now but I think we have a good chance of breaking 500). This is cool simply because it really hasn’t blown very hard, nothing over 25 knots over the last couple days. The wind on average is mostly around 20.
By far the best part of my day was going on deck and stirring up a very interesting political debate between Jonathan McKee (Obama supporter) and Jerry Kirby (McCain supporter). I kind of rode the fence enough to get the two of them jabbing pretty good. Although Jerry’s intellect far exceeds expectations when you first meet him, I have to give the nod to Jonathan. He must have spent time on the Yale debate team while planning on winning multiple Olympic sailing medals. Not that he is a screaming liberal, and not that Jerry is just to the right of Attila the Hun–it was just very interesting to hear their views while ripping down waves in the middle of the Atlantic in the mid 20 knot range. Ah, life aboard il mostro.
Sorry this has become so verbose but I have just had a great hour of driving and am in a terrific mood, listening to my ipod which my daughter Tory has figured a way to stuff full of teeny bopper tunes. Oh well, reminds me of my great kid. All’s good aboard il mostro.
Kenny
Day 4
The North Atlantic has provided us with some fantastic sailing over the past 48 hours. I presume she’s making up for the thrashing she gave us in day 2. Warm southerlies are a wonderful treat over the typical polar northerlies that can chill you to the bone out here.
Our routing has us sticking with the low that beat us up on day 2, and it is miraculously moving just about at our speed. If we can ride this out for a few more days and all goes well, we’ll approach the Portuguese and Spanish coasts in good time. We are now about half way to Gibraltar and from there it is another 325 or so to Alicante, Spain.
My daily reports so far have been trying to introduce you to the team onboard by telling a different, fun story everyday, and today will be no exception. Casey Smith, our Australian bowman started the day by going up the mast for a rig inspection and basically took his jaw off on a spreader in the process. On the way down, the boat jerked off a wave a little more violently than any of us expected, especially Casey. As he does, he shook it off with an attempted smile and went on with his work – efficiently as ever. The day finally got better for him as we had a few issues and the power tools came out. What a smile came through on his swollen face. It is clear that anytime Casey can play with power tools he is a very happy sailor. We love when Casey is happy but hopefully he doesn’t have to break the tools out very often.
Right now I am typing at 1:30am Spanish time and the boat is ripping along, averaging about 19 knots. Capey the navigator is snoring like a fiend next to me. The interior of the boat is beginning to smell pretty ripe and the food is as bad as ever. Pretty much business as usual aboard PUMA’s il mostro.
Kenny
A few days at sea? I do not count any more. The days follow themselves and pile up like the pearls on a necklace.
I’ve been thinking about my last navigation offshore – the Barcelona World Race. The sensation is still the same but the Ocean is no longer Indian but Atlantic and my fellow crew are not one but ten. “il mostro” our boat carries her name well; power is her first characteristic, she crosses the waves with ease and with her I have rediscovered the pleasure to swallow the thousands of ocean miles we must cover. Despite several months of work in common this is the first time we are on a big leg together as our preparation has been with two boats but we are connecting well and covering the miles together.
This transatlantic journey for us is the ideal exercise, life-size, bringing with it, its batch of surprises and of uncertainties but also of apprenticeship of our race machine. One of the discoveries is this 11th man, this passenger-tourist camera at the sharp point of the race. In our case Rick Deppe is the “media man”, the person that the rule of the Volvo Ocean Race places on each boat. It is still strange to see Rick there during a maneuver but not being be allowed [by the rules] to come to our help. For him also, this transatlantic race is used as a test and a reference mark before starting the race in October.
Our discovery [across the Atlantic] started on the pontoon of Newport and for some families this is their first experience of an round the world tour. Leaving our shore base was a taste of what it would be like on the first leg of the race. The emotion was particularly notable for the three local members of our team: Ken, Jerry and Casey. Under our first stars in the sky, Casey acknowledged that this departure had been one of the moments hardest of his life, leaving Sophia (his baby of only a few months only) and his partner. It made me remember my departure from Southampton, for my first “Whitbread” [the previous sponsor of this race before Volvo] when Chade, my 10 year old daughter, had not even been born yet but tears still flooded.
Must go now as have to go and relay Nico and Justin in a few minutes, just time to awake Salty and to jump into my sleeping bag. Still 2600 miles of ocean await us before Alicante!!!
Sidney
Day three
1000 miles behind us with about 2000 mile to go to Gibraltar.
Here is a rundown of some testing conditions we’ve encountered in the past 24 hours. A nasty low parked to the south of us and we had to beat around the top of it. Mix in a little adverse current from the gulf stream and you have a bit of uncomfortable sailing on your hands.
But, all is good now and we’re on a beam reach and churning up the miles after getting into the southerlies. These winds should stick with us for a couple of days.
It’s been pretty interesting getting to know people’s idiosyncrasies. For example, I have never seen Capey (Andrew Cape) get into his bunk until I essentially until tucked him yesterday for a little bit.
He is always sleeping at his nav station or on the floor, or wherever he seems to want to. A great tendency I guess, to be able to sleep anywhere, anytime, in any condition, always in his foul weather gear ready to jump at a moments
notice.Michi Mueller claims he is going around the world with his ponytail intact. I couldn’t imagine all that hair covered in salt for days at a time, but he appears committed. The boys claim that King Neptune may have something to say about Michi’s hairstyle when he crosses the equator for the first time. But only time will tell.
Michi is the biggest guy on this boat and I for sure could seem him beating down the person that cuts his locks. Boat handling on the lousy sea is going well so far. Still working out a bunch of little bugs but that is what we are doing this for.
Kenny