Life onboard is tough; the trimming, hoisting, lowering and moving sails drains every ounce of energy that you have. We sail in watches with four people on deck plus two of us on standby, while four people get to rest. It is four hours on, two on standby and two hours off in every eight, if you are lucky. Everybody gets up for any tacks, gybes and heavy air sail changes. All of the food is freeze dried, and there is little respite from the constant motion and intensity of the boat. So why on earth would anybody choose to do this? The answer is simple – it is a chance in a lifetime to be part of an incredible sporting event and to pitch ourselves against some of the best sailors in the world - we all want to win. We have a fantastic team both ashore and afloat, and we will share life-changing experiences over the next 10 months. Yes it will be unbearably hot, yes it will be unbearably cold, and at times it will be dangerous. And yes, this will certainly be the biggest test of our lives. It will also be an incredible journey for everyone involved.
So now we are in countdown mode for the start of the Volvo Ocean Race on October 11th. We are tied up in the race village in Alicante and we can see the Telefonica boats just across the water. Soon others will be arriving too. In this race the other teams are our competitors, but we are all acutely aware that we could also rely on each other for rescue in the most remote oceans of the world. This fact separates this event from many others. With a little over one month to go there remains much to do. Tomorrow, the boat will be lifted out of the water for our shore team to start work on our final re-fit. The mast and keel will be taken off for servicing and our new livery will be added. We will then be back in the water for some final testing before we kick start proceedings with the In Port race on October 4th. We can't wait to get started".
