IT
TAKES DEDICATION
25th March 2003
Have
you ever wondered what kind of dedication it takes
to do an Around Alone campaign? Let me give you
a few examples starting with Alan Paris aboard
BTC Velocity who is currently just under 600 miles
from the finish in Salvador sailing is light headwinds.
Since this race started on September 15 last year,
Alan has been at sea for 170 days. He has been
on land for 19 days. For every day spent on land,
Alan has spent nine at sea. On top of that he
sailed a qualifying voyage from Bermuda to the
Canary Islands and then back to Bermuda before
sailing to Newport for the start. Which ever way
you cut it, that’s a lot of time away from
home, yet Alan’s story is bettered, if that’s
the right word, by Kojiro Shiraishi. In order
to get to the start of the race Kojiro had to
sail half way around the world. He started from
Japan and sailed across the Pacific Ocean to San
Francisco, then to Panama before crossing the
Caribbean Sea and sailing up the eastern seaboard
of the US to New England, a voyage of around 10,000
miles, Kojiro left this morning with some friends
for two days vacation. Tomorrow will be the first
day off he’s had since leaving Japan.
These
two stories are indicative of all the stories
of the skippers in this race. Maybe Alan and Kojiro
have had more time at sea, but the other skippers
have not exactly taken it easy on land. "Since
April last year I have taken a sum total of 36
hours off," Tim Kent told me. "Just
before I left on my qualifying sail I went back
to Wisconsin to see my daughters. Even when they
were in New Zealand I worked every day, all day."
Same too for Bruce Schwab. "Since February
last year I have taken a week off," he said.
"While the boat was in the boatyard in Charleston
I went back to California for a short vacation.
Otherwise it’s been seven days a week."
And the days are long ones. Most of the skippers
arrive at their boats early and can still be seen
working well after dark. In some of the stopovers
they have rigged up lights and carried on throughout
the night.
This
stop in Salvador is the first time some skippers
have had a chance to get away from their boats.
Bernard Stamm has returned to France to see his
(very pregnant) wife. Simone Bianchetti has returned
to Italy to spend time with his wife who he married
during the stopover in Torbay. "I must go
home to see my wife," he told me before leaving.
"Since we have been married I have hardly
seen her. Just a small time in New Zealand."
With just under three weeks until the restart,
there should be plenty of opportunities for all
the skippers to get away from the boats and relax
a little. "The problem with boats,"
Tim Kent said, "is that the work list always
expands to fill the amount of available time.
I would like to think I could take a day or two
off, but you know how it is. We will probably
be working right up until the start."
There
is something to be said for making time for yourself.
Granted some of the teams that don’t have
shore support, or have only minimal help, are
not able to get away, but take Brad Van Liew for
example. During each stopover Brad has made it
a point to get away from the boat. In Africa he
went on safari. In New Zealand he took a small
plane to the South Island and relaxed for a few
days. "You can really tell how good it is
to take time off," Tim Kent noted. "Look
at Brad. He starts each leg in much better shape
than the rest of us, and it shows. The first few
days at sea he pushes hard while we are still
trying to catch up on our sleep. Before we know
it he’s well over the horizon."
The
two skippers that have found a balance between
work and time away from the boat are Emma Richards
and Thierry Dubois. Thierry has two small girls
and a wife who have been at every stopover, and
they have made a point of going off as a family
for a few days. "I take care of my boat when
I am sailing so that I don’t have too much
to do when I am in port," Thierry said. It
also shows in his performance. Dubois is able
to push hard as soon as he gets back to sea. Emma
Richards has learned to leave a lot of the work
to her shore team and take a little time for herself.
"It’s important for me to get away
from the boat, but you never stop thinking about
it even when you are miles away," she said.
"Only when I cross the finish line in Newport
will I be able to relax. And I am sure I speak
for all the skippers in the race."
The
long hard hours may be tough, but clearly the
work is rewarding. Many of the skippers are already
talking about doing the next race. "It’s
either that or get a real job," Tim Kent
said. "I would rather be doing this all day
every day for the rest of my life than go back
to the business world I was in before I started
this adventure."
---
Brian Hancock great.circle@verizon.net
Source:
Around
Alone Official Site
