What are you up to this new year? If you’re an expat, you may well be partying in your home country, but if not we reckon there’s a very good chance you’ll be marking the arrival of the flotilla of racing yachts that’ll be dropping anchor in Abu Dhabi as part of the Volvo Ocean Race. The arrival of the racers, sometime around December 31, will spark 10 days of celebrations in the capital, with an F1 style fan zone on the Corniche, and the promise of a big name musical concert on New Year’s Eve, so even the most ardent landlubber will want get involved. But away from the party planning, the 10-man crew of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing is undergoing intensive training for the 63,000km nine-month race that’s thought to be the most treacherous and physically enduring round-the-world team sailing event. Overseeing it is captain Ian Walker, who’s bagged a couple of yachting Olympic medals and competed in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2008. So will his team bring sailing glory to Abu Dhabi? We find out
Do you think you can win the race, despite having a relatively inexperienced team?
There are five new boats being built for the race, including ours, plus there are some older boats taking part. I’d say any of the five new boats have a chance of winning. I guess you wouldn’t put us as a favourite, but everything we’ve done so far has been at the highest level and the stated goal of the team is to finish in the top three. But I’d be disappointed if we finished third as really I believe we have a chance of winning it.
How dangerous is the race?
Obviously, you’re going to encounter bad sea conditions, and you can never underestimate the power of nature. Probably the biggest individual threat is losing people overboard and not being able to recover them. Someone died two races ago, but we have much better safety equipment than we used to have and we have a very high regard for safety. Piracy is also a threat, particularly in the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait, which we sail through. We don’t carry arms or have armed escorts, we just have to use common sense and avoid the worst areas.
What about the mental and physical challenge?
It is very tough. It’s fully crewed, with 10 crewmembers, so we’re driving the boat as close to 100 per cent as we can all the time. This means we have to rotate people as we need to have four people on deck constantly. So you work four hours on, four hours off, 24 hours a day. The reality is, you’re never really off-call as you may be called on deck to change sails, so it’s a lot of interrupted sleep. Because of this, we know we’re going to have low points. You’re in a confined space with 10 other guys, so that creates pressures, and over nine months any weaknesses will be exposed. There are also the dangers of the environment. We have a couple of Emirati crewmembers, so how they cope with the challenges will be interesting.
Do you have any concerns about their readiness?
Anyone who hasn’t grown up in an offshore racing environment would find the conditions and work rate of a life on board quite difficult to deal with. One of their biggest challenges will be getting to grips with the culture of life on board. We can teach them the specific sailing roles, but you have to be very tough inside to deal with the environment, and, unfortunately, you can’t tell if people have this in them until you’re out at sea. I’ve just done a 500-mile race with them in the Far East, though, and they came through that, so I’m confident they’ll be fine.
And what’s the first thing you do when you reach dry land?
Giving my children a kiss is pretty high on my list. But after the prize-giving ceremony, a shower, some fresh food and a sleep in a real bed is always first on my agenda.
The Volvo Ocean Race leaves Alicante in Spain on October 20, and arrives in Abu Dhabi around December 31. For more information, visit www.volvooceanrace.com.
