Billie Weiss-VOR
When
reporters cover the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) every four years it invariably
becomes a rehash and analysis of the tactics surrounding each tortuous leg of
this round-the-world sailing slugfest.
These two boats sailed west while these three boats sailed east, and
this boat cruised down the middle. Throw
in some nautical jargon and you’re off to the races. But to non-sailors, it’s all pretty boring
and meaningless.
Armory Ross - Team Alvimedica
In the end,
there is a lot of guess work that goes into what course each boat takes. And the plain and simple fact is that the
route they choose to sail would be entirely different if they sailed between
the same two cities the following week.
The only constant in this crazy mix is that the conditions across the
planet’s oceans are changing every second and the wind charts, satellite
images, and ocean current models all get dumped into the navigator’s and
skipper’s mental blenders and then they make a gut decision.
Yann Riou - Dongfeng
One thing
that often gets lost in the shuffle is how the crew on each boat feed their
guts each day. In a sport where boat
weight is so important, sailors have been known to shave down their tooth
brushes, and drinking cups often double as food dishes. Every ounce matters with so evenly–matched,
one design boats and food is a big part of that equation.
Billie Weiss-VOR
So, what
would the grocery list on a Volvo-65 look like on one of the longer legs, like
from China to New Zealand ?
Ainhoa Sanchez-VOR
Here is the
food order sent by Stefan Coppers for Team Brunel to their shore crew for the
4,500-mile fourth leg to Auckland .
Billie Weiss-VOR
- 990 bars of which 445 protein bars (for
power) 220 grain and 225 tasty chocolate: Kit-Kat or Twix
- 22 bags beef
Jerky
- 22 rolls of
Isostar tablets. The only thing we drink is water. With Isostar we kill two
birds with one stone. It tastes better than the fluid of the desalinated water
maker and it gives an energy boost.
- 18 butane gas
bottles (I have too little onboard now). The men have not had coffee for two
days now. Would this be the reason why we perform so bad? ;-)
Sam Greenfield - Dongfeng
- 330 bags of
Crusli (Adventure Food)
- 330 servings
of freeze-dried spaghetti bolognese (Each on board get 1.5 serving per meal =
900 calories). Otherwise they will never get to 5500 calories per day.
- 165 servings
of mashed potatoes (freeze-dried)
- 165 servings
of chicken curry (freeze-dried)
- 6 bottles of chili
sauce (Sauce is the only way to make the meals a little edible)
- 6 bottles of
tomato ketchup
- 5 kilos of
sliced and vacuum-packed Serrano ham
- 5 kilos of
coffee
- Sugar blocks
(200 pieces total)
- Coffee milk (2
kilo)
- 11 kilo
protein Shakes (for muscle recovery)
Sam Greenfield - Dongfeng
- Salt and
pepper. Definitely no glass (dangerous) and no mill (will become clammy)
- Olive oil
(Many men become 'clogged' the sea, this helps a lot.)
- New suggestion
of Rokas: teriyaki and soy sauce?
- Tabasco
- Toilet rolls,
22 pieces
- Wet wipes, 11
packets
- 11 Dirt bags.
Strong, preferably for garden waste or something.
- Shaving Cream,
1 bottle
- Razor blades
- 9 toothbrushes
- 1 x toothpaste
(more than enough: some boys are brushing their teeth once every five days,
rancid!)
- 1 x wash brush
- 3 x lighters
Oh yeah, and
"last but not least". The highlight of the day: 44 bags Haribo
candies.
One of the unique aspects of the
VOR is that on the longer legs, after a few days the crews literally get to the
breaking point and can not eat enough food to offset the weight they are
constantly losing through such relentless exertion. They end up literally burning their fat like
hibernating bears.
Stefan Coppers - Team Brunel
For many years, numerous medical
experts from around the world have been studying the effects this physical and
mental abuse has upon the human body.
So, in addition to being world class ocean sailors, the Volvo crews are
heroic lab rats. And what is learned by
closely monitoring each sailor’s health during this year-long ordeal may one
day reap beneficial results for the entire human race.
Stefan Coppers - Team Brunel
Stefan Coppers - Team Brunel
But the VOR is ultimately a series
of nine brutal races, covering 38,739 nautical miles.
Billie Weiss-VOR
And on Leg 7 across the Atlantic
Ocean, a relatively short, 2,800-mile sprint in relation to all of the previous
legs, the pre-race favorite Team Brunel, skippered by the old man in the sea,
Bouwe Beking, took the early lead and never relinquished control, even though
the Spanish boat MAPFRE sailed within sight of the Dutch boat for the final week,
while the American entry Alvimedica finished a close third.
Billie Weiss-VOR
Next Stop –
Lisbon, Portugal
| Leg 1 |
Leg 2 |
Leg 3 |
Leg 4 |
Leg 5 |
Leg 6 |
Leg 7 |
Overall |
|
| 1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
16 |
|
| Alvimedica |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
27 |
| Brunel |
3 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
22 |
| Dongfeng |
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
DNF-8 |
1 |
4 |
22* |
| MAPFRE |
7 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
27* |
| SCA |
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
43* |
| Vestas Wind |
4 |
DNF-8 |
DNS-8 |
DNS-8 |
DNS-8 |
DNS-8 |
DNS-8 |
44 |
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