ON THE WATER
main reasons we are all out here. It’s also
good for bragging rights in the Pier View although those who have rounded the Cape
tend not to go on about it as it is such a
personal thing, and such an effort getting
there.
“The length of this leg - 12,300 nautical
miles and 40 days at sea - has been a
struggle. I think you probably get more
privileges in prison! Trying to come up
with stories every day has been hard. They
usually write themselves, but oh-so often
it’s very monotonous here onboard. I have
to write a daily report as part of the event
rules, and that’s been one of my toughest
jobs this time.
“I don’t think that I will manage to get
back to the Island during this stopover in
Rio de Janeiro, as there won’t be much time
and my wife and daughter will be with me
in Brazil. It will be great to relax with them
after being cooped up on this yacht with 10
other smelly blokes for so long. After all, you
choose who you wish to marry but you don’t
get to make the same choice with your crew
mates!
“I am just looking forward to getting
off the boat and eating real food and just
generally relaxing with my girls. We are
expecting our second child as soon as the
race is over and we plan to move house, so I
have plenty on my mind at the moment and
even more time to think about it without
being able to do anything productive about
it.
“I’m looking forward to a long hot
bath and to getting back to the Island
at the end of the race and taking it
easy, going for a relaxing pint at the
Woodvale or any other glorious pub
with a sea view.
“I am also looking forward to
mountain biking around Brighstone
and going for a stroll along Compton,
but at the moment, top of my list is
trying to get my hands on tickets to
Bestival. I missed last year, but had
a great time the year before. But
without doubt the most important
thing for me is catching up with my
family and with all my mates on the
island whom I haven’t seen in ages.”
As navigator, Jules has had his hands
full, working closely with multiple
Olympic medalist, Brazilian skipper,
Torben Grael. He says this leg of
the course has been an absolute
marathon. Here’s his take on his race
so far:
“This leg is 12,300 nautical miles from
Qingdao in China to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil
via a scoring gate off East Cape New Zealand
and two waypoints to keep us safe from
icebergs in the Southern Ocean and Cape
Horn. We have sailed more than 15,000
through the water around the various
weather systems so far. This is over halfway
around the world through a wide range of
climates.
“The intensity of the race has not seemed
let up and on day 35 as I write this, with
still a few days to go to the finish, the toll
of rationed freeze dried food is obviously
taking its effect. I feel 50% weaker when
I’m involved in stacking sails or grinding
them up and down, and I am probably seven
kg lighter.
“Our rounding of Cape Horn was in typical
weather, 30-40 knots short steep seas and
some sunshine. We were 30 miles offshore
so we couldn’t see the lighthouse, just the
rise of the islands.
“The significance of rounding Cape Horn
operates on a number of levels. In simple
terms it is no worse, or more dangerous or
more striking than rounding St Catherine’s
Point in a gale. Wind and waves are
similar everywhere. What makes it stand
out, I think, is its historical importance
as a gateway and another point of man’s
achievements in mastering his environment.
It is seen as a pinnacle of extreme sailing
- probably more people have summated
The Island's most loved magazine
life
Mount Everest than have sailed round Cape
Horn this year.
“It is a place where many seafarers through
time have battled bravely and not made
it. It was also a scoring waypoint for us on
our mammoth leg and it also marks the
end of the stressful, noisy, fast, cold, high
wind sailing of the Southern Ocean. I tend
not to dwell on the emotional side at the
time, as there are far more pressing things
to consider in navigating round this point,
but it is later that it is good to remember the
scale of the event.”
“What follows around the corner in the
Atlantic is a better sea state, less wind, and
a sense of relief, but this is normally brought
back into focus pretty quickly as there are
still 2,300 miles of the course to run up
to the finish in Rio and more points to be
scored.”
Unlike Guy, who will have his family with
him in Brazil, Jules is hoping to make a visit
back home to the Island during the short
stopover.
“I feel bad enough about neglecting my
wife and boys as it is, and to go another
month without seeing them would be
miserable. Things look OK for a quick trip to
the Island to feed up and reflect on rounding
Cape Horn a second time,” he says.
Keep tuned to www.volvooceanrace.org to
follow the Salter boys’ progress in the Volvo
Ocean Race, the world’s premier offshore
race around the world.
Photo: Guy Salter, captures the action on Ericsson 4
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