Craziest job in sport?
Bow of an ocean racing yacht ‘not for the faint-hearted’
His day job is insurance but come the week between Christmas and New Year he transforms into an action man on one of the smallest, most dangerous and wettest sporting fields in the world – the bow of a Sydney to Hobart racer.
It takes precision, planning, great balance, strength, agility, lots of communication and a little bit of insanity to take on the role and do it well.
Sven Runow and fellow bowmen and women are the daredevils of the high seas.
At any given moment, a buck of their yacht could fling them high or over the side, with only a safety harness and the skills of their steerers and trimmers between them and potential disaster.
It’s one of the reasons this is one of the most respected jobs in the Sydney to Hobart.
But it’s not for the fainthearted. These men and women are bucked around wildly at sea, fire-hosed with tons of water and often washed down the deck.
They are on call 24/7, working to ensure sails and halyard are neat and untangled.
One mistake can make the difference between a win and a result they won’t be boasting about later in the pub.
It’s also so wet that in the past it was common to see a bowman run up on deck in only underwear so as to dry off a bit before trying to sleep.
At 53, Runow is the oldest bowman and foredeck hand on a line honours contender but also one of the most winning sailors in the fleet, with nine line honours wins and four overall crowns on NSW yachts Sovereign, Bumblebee V and Wild Oats X1
Despite the physicality, he wouldn’t be in any other position – dry or not – for quids.
“You’d think I’d get wiser but I haven’t. I just love the adrenaline and being part of a team,’’ Runow, who this year is at the bow of defending champion Andoo Comanche, said.
"I like being part of a team but I like to be a specialist.’’
He also likes co-ordinating his “department’’.
“A lot of our work is driven by the winches but the hardest things is doing the (sail) drop, getting the sails into bags and lashing them down. Some sails can weigh 250 kilos,’’ he said.
“Especially when you are heeled over, it’s quite an effort and can take 10 guys.’’
Runow said being on an almost permanent heel makes life particularly difficult.
“The heeling is the hardest thing. There’s so much water coming over the boat,’’ he said.
“The water fills the sails, pushes them to leeward and you are forever trying to push them to windward.
“It’s a co-ordinated team effort and the helm needs to steer a safe course for it.’’
Runow said safety is a priority aboard yachts such as Andoo Comanche with much time and effort put into safety and man overboard drills.
The propensity for injury on the bow is also high, something Sydney sailor Emma May knows first hand.
May is one of only a handful of women who have made the bow their own on top yachts in recent years with 2023 her eighth race to Hobart.
She is on Disco Trooper this year, sailing alongside Clipper round the world winner Wendy Tuck and owner Jules Hall.
“It’s a crazy job, a bit manic and there are hours when you do nothing and hours and hours when you do nothing but change sails,’’ May said.
“It’s hard work on a volatile platform but I think its more thrilling than hard. It’s a thrill every time it (the sail) goes up the right way. It ticks so many boxes.”