Rib injury makes Rae’s tasks a lot more difficult
TEAM New Zealand’s round the world yachting veteran Tony Rae is hoping the Southern Ocean leg will bring some cold comfort to his sore body.
At 50, Rae is the oldest sailor in the six-boat fleet contesting the Volvo Ocean Race and starts the fifth leg – a 6705 nautical mile haul to Brazil – on Sunday with two fractured ribs.
He got washed into the pedestal in an awkward moment 10 days out from Auckland on the last leg from China and is still in some discomfort.
Rae, who doubles as Camper’s onboard medical man, says time and conditions are on his side. But the helmsman-trimmer knows he’s going to have to be careful, especially with the extremely rough conditions expected to greet the departure and the first few days out of New Zealand. Then there is there is the treacherous Southern Ocean to deal with.
‘‘They don’t seem to go away very quickly, ribs are annoying like that,’’ Rae said. ‘‘At least I can wear a bit more padding with the colder conditions than I could after it happened initially.’’
Rae is contesting his fifth round the world race after his debut as a 24-year-old on board the late Peter Blake’s Lion New Zealand in 1985-86.
He’s been lured back after a 13-year absence to a race with new destinations and challenges. He’s philosophical about taking the race to places like Abu Dhabi and Sanya,
Veteran sailor Tony Rae, who doubles as Camper’s on-board medical man, stitches up a fellow sailor. saying it’s commercial reality.
‘‘You could always go back and say the original course is how it should be. But as we know with all sport with sponsors, and the money involved in running these campaigns, you have to go to places that give you some sort of return on your money.’’
But there’s nothing like the romanticism that comes with what now lies ahead.
‘‘When I’d never done it before and I looked at the photos, this race was always about the Southern Ocean and the Roaring Forties and the boats surfing down waves.
‘‘I’m sure it is still like that, but then again, these boats now surf down waves whether you like it or not because of their speed.
‘‘The Southern Ocean is one of the places you really have to respect. Not because the breeze is so much windier but it is so much heavier. To have 30 knots in the Southern Ocean is a lot of wind compared to 30 knots in the trades. It’s a place you have to respect and take a lot of care.’’
Having slipped to third overall and at the halfway stage, Rae says it’s time to make a move. All indicators point to Camper being bet- ter suited to the downwind conditions they should encounter rather than their struggles on the reaching conditions of the first four legs.
‘‘We certainly hope that’s the case. We got a taste of it in the first leg and before we started the race, we were pretty happy with the performance trialling downwind it felt very nice. But till we get out there, and mix it up with the other boats, we will never know.’’
Another innovation to this year’s edition is the in-port racing and before Camper heads to Brazil, she faces a pressure appearance on the Waitemata Harbour tomorrow with vital points up for grabs.
There’s bound to be a huge spectator fleet and a big presence on land with the course basically running on a loop from the Harbour Bridge to North Head.
Camper needs a good showing after arriving in the City of Sails in fourth place last Sunday.
‘‘It would be fantastic to win the in-port race. Getting a good start is very important on these short races, especially here with the harbour because you run out of room pretty quickly for manoeuvres,’’ Rae said.