{"id":66648,"date":"2018-04-10T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-10T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=66648"},"modified":"2023-05-06T21:45:42","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T01:45:42","slug":"for-the-spanish-entry-in-the-volvo-ocean-race-there-was-only-one-way-to-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/for-the-spanish-entry-in-the-volvo-ocean-race-there-was-only-one-way-to-win\/","title":{"rendered":"For the Spanish Entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, There Was Only One Way to Win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n For the Spanish Entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, There Was Only One Way to Win<\/span>\n Jen Edney<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

It’s early on December 13, 2017. We\u2019re somewhere in the Southern Ocean, between Cape Town and the big frozen continent at the bottom of Earth, three days into the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. It\u2019s been a full-tilt southerly blitz to the \u201cIce Gate,\u201d a virtual boundary established by race organizers, a no-go zone to keep the fleet away from bergs and growlers. The boundary lies ahead, but to our west is a low-pressure system that will pack a punch.\nThe smell of breakfast permeates the moist interior as the sailors who have just come off watch warm up and refuel with hot porridge. The conversation between skipper Xabi Fern\u00e1ndez and navigator Juan Vila seems to carry more weight than usual. They weigh the pros and cons of their battle plan. There\u2019s much to consider about the drag race to zone: how hard to push, the ramifications if something breaks, the strength of the storm, and how to get the most wind and stamina out of the crew.\nThe safe, conservative approach is to hedge north, like some of the other teams are doing. The alternative is to press on toward the zone. The danger is, should something break and they need to run downwind, there\u2019s no margin for error. Cross into the zone and get pegged with a penalty. But the rewards for those who dare to go deeper are tremendous. There\u2019s more wind and more speed. Once there, however, the routing software plots a manic line of zigzags along the boundary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Later, up on deck, Fern\u00e1ndez is at the helm and Sophie Ciszek is trimming when watch captain Pablo\u00a0Arrarte climbs out of the companion and into the cockpit to break the news of what\u2019s in store for the next few days. They\u2019re about to do about 50 jibes. \u201cOh my God! 50?\u201d Ciszek exclaims. \u201cDon\u2019t take your gear off for six days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The mood intensifies as news of the plan spreads across the boat. There\u2019s anticipation and an elevated priority of preparation. It will be hard living over the next few days, and soon, the gear stack is in order, the boat is bailed as best it can be, and the sailors are rested, eyes focused and filled with anticipation for what lies ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Vila\u2019s words ring out from his dark nav station tucked underneath the companionway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cJibing in five!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n

Fatigue is setting in and nerves are rattling, especially for those woken from deep sleep or interrupted from a good meal of \u00adfreeze-dried stew.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Tuke <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Tuke and Tamara Echegoyen pushing through the pain.<\/span>\n Jen Edney<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Part of the crew goes on deck, and the remainder stays below to move the gear stack. Initially, everything is orderly, nice and tidy, but after a dozen or so maneuvers, fatigue is setting in and nerves rattling, especially for those woken from deep sleep or interrupted from a good meal of freeze-dried lamb stew. That\u2019s when the lightest bags develop wings and reach the other side of the boat without touching the cabin sole. The once-organized stack becomes a muddle of bags, inevitably with the daily food bag buried at the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Willy <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Spaniard Willy Altadill braces against another Southern Ocean flush. With every wave that cascades across the deck, seawater finds its way into Mapfre<\/em>‘s bilges, requiring constant bailing.<\/span>\n Jen Edney<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

This entire tortuous pre-jibing stacking procedure can take up to 30 minutes, depending on sea state and wind conditions. It\u2019s worse at night, when conditions seem to worsen and visibility is difficult. The bags also get heavier with every jibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Captain <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Watch captain Pablo Arrarte takes his turn with the\u00a0bucket.<\/span>\n Jen Edney<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Water magically appears in the bilges seconds after it\u2019s removed. It\u2019s a full-time job to bail water before the jibe, which helps keep the stack \u2014 and the boat \u2014 as dry as possible. With gallons upon gallons of cold \u00adseawater washing across the deck, cascading into the cockpit from the hatch cover, it\u2019s a game of luck to time unzipping the cover and dumping the bucket of bailed water out of the hatch. Failing to get the companionway hatch closed in time results in water pouring into the boat, and another hour or more of bailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n

Too many jibes. Everyone\u2019s lost count, but I can see determination in their eyes. They know what\u2019s at stake.<\/p>\n\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n

While there\u2019s plenty of activity below, there\u2019s much more happening on deck. Wave after wave crashes over the boat. One knocks Rob Greenhalgh clear off the helm, causing his inflatable PFD deploy. He\u2019s OK, \u00adrecovers quickly, and keeps full steam ahead until the end of his watch. As the jibing continues, we skirt along the ice gate. Air temperatures plummet, and even in the relative warmth of the interior, every breath is visible against survival suits swaying on the rack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Sophie <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Sophie Ciszek organizes the cordage chaos of the pit, a seemingly easy task made more difficult by harsh conditions, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.<\/span>\n Jen Edney<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Despite the insane pace and harsh conditions on deck, the interior is eerily quiet against the usual symphony of creaking carbon fiber, rushing water and moaning winches. Everyone below is asleep. Vila sleeps sitting up, his head swaying with the movement of the boat as he steals a power nap before the next jibe. I\u2019m bundled up at the media station, in the last of my warm clothes, when there\u2019s a tap on my shoulder. Louis \u00adSinclair is asking me if I have a coffee mug he can use to make coffee for the crew on deck. It seems the rest of the mugs have perished in the sea. Hot chocolate coffees, or even cold chocolate bars, make a huge difference to morale, especially in conditions such as these. This one last-remaining coffee mug will become one of the most safely guarded items on the boat for the next 10 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Louis <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Meal time in the Southern Ocean finds Louis \u00adSinclair, Pablo Arrarte and Blair Tuke savoring a serving of freeze-dried breakfast between\u00a0jibes.<\/span>\n Jen Edney<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

The crew fights hard through every jibe, snagging sleep wherever possible in places normally deemed unfit to sleep but pass as acceptable when exhaustion wins over adrenaline. Too many jibes. Everyone\u2019s lost count, but I can see determination in their eyes. They know what\u2019s at stake, and Dongfeng is in sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cJibing in five,\u201d Vila hails out again. It\u2019s time to move the stack and put the ice gate in our wake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Editor’s note:<\/strong> Mapfre<\/em> emerged from its \u00adSouthern Ocean jibing duel with the Dongfeng Race Team with the lead, and eventually the leg win, putting them atop the overall leader board. Edney, of Omaha, Nebraska, was onboard reporter with Mapfre<\/em> for the leg and sustained a head injury while transferring gear belowdecks, forcing her to sit out Leg 4.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fight or flight<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Jen Edney","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20180410","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"159","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Why the Volvo Ocean Race Takes Mental and Physical Strength to Compete","_yoast_wpseo_title":"For the Spanish Entry in the Volvo Ocean Race, There Was Only One Way to Win %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"A7O5MM2UM4TP5Q3QFWHDTUHW6M","arc_website_url":"for-spanish-entry-in-volvo-ocean-race-there-was-only-one-way-to-win\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"no-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[949,178,304],"class_list":["post-66648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-mapfre","tag-sailboat-racing","tag-volvo-ocean-race"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}