Volvo Ocean Race

Auckland celebrates – and farewells – the VOR fleet.

Iwas lucky enough – during the fleet’s two-week stop-over – to sail on one of the Volvo 65 boats and speak to crew members from various teams. Let me say at the outset I think they’re insane, every last one of them – but they did offer intriguing insights into the VOR experience.

Here are a few of my impressions: Multi-national and polyglot – with the 68 crew members on the seven vessels representing nationalities from all parts of the globe, the VOR is truly an ‘international’ event. I was a guest aboard China’s Dongfeng Racing Team in one of the Pro-am races on Waitemata harbour. Thanks largely to my heroic grinding on the jib-trimming winch, we came second. I have a medal to prove it! I was also knackered...

But the real sailors included two Chinese, two Frenchmen, two Dutchmen and a Kiwi. Though many spoke multiple languages, commands were barked in English. An inspiring lesson in easy co-existence.

Simple & complex – a Volvo 65 is an enigma – ridiculously basic and at the same time impossibly complex. The boats are effectively lightweight, carbon-fibre shells with minimalist interiors. Pipe berths and not much else. By contrast, sail/boat controls and deck fittings are ultrasophisticated – and labyrinthine.

Noisy – it’s like living inside a drum. Every crash, creak and groan of the rigging is amplified a thousand-fold. Most crew prefer to sleep (if you can call it that) with ear-plugs. They also wear fancy wrist watches (with built-in accelerometers) that monitor sleep patterns, heart rates and movements. I’m not sure how this data is used – it proves that deep sleep is wishful thinking?

Bodily functions – the boat has one toilet, and impressively, it too is carbon-fibre. But there is bugger-all privacy, to put it mildly. Besides, I was told by numerous crew members that no one uses the toilet – except when the weather’s really bad. Most prefer to hang off the transom – and receive a free douche in the process. And yes, most boats also have female crew...