You're an experienced sailor and someone who's competed in boats of various sizes with large crews. What's the most important thing you've learned in the Barcelona race?
Patience! It’s a very long way you know! With long distance races a sailor needs a very strong mental attitude. On our way down the Atlantic towards the Southern Ocean there were days when the weather wasn't working for us and we saw other boats just far enough away to have better breeze and gain valuable miles; there is nothing more frustrating. I am very competitive and this kind of situation was very difficult for me to deal with. Over the race I have learned to temper myself and take the good with the bad. The rewards came later on when we were blessed with a few good runs gaining back those lost miles.
Otherwise I have learned, or rather, I have confirmed in my head that the race does not start on the start line. It starts months beforehand with the preparation of the boat and the team. I know this boat very well and I know that she has been prepared by a great team; previously, I worked on her for over 3 years when Roland Jourdain was the skipper. At this stage 4 boats have had to stop the race due to technical problems; I really feel good that our preparation has stood the test of time - or, rather, is standing....
Can you explain the significance of sailing around the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn)? Was this always a dream of yours?
Yes, definitely, to race non-stop around the world has always been a dream of mine and to have passed the three capes is a great feeling. The most impressive was when we passed Cape Horn, we were close enough to see land, it was sunrise and there was a great atmosphere. To race nonstop around the world, be it solo, double handed, or fully crewed puts you in an elite category- I think there are less than 10 Americans in the history of organized sailboat racing around the world to have accomplished this feat. It is an incredible journey, and a privilege to be able to say you have accomplished it.
Have you experienced any scary moments, injuries or mishaps that had you questioning the choice to compete in a 25,000 mile race with two people?
Nothing that would make me question why we are out here but yes, we did have a couple of scary moments. One in particular in the Indian Ocean. We were in big seas sailing with the spinnaker up. We had a problem with one of the ballast tanks which is a tank we fill with water to balance the boat; all of a sudden we had a huge amount of water inside the boat causing us to lose control and do a Chinese gybe (when the sail goes over to the wrong side of the boat) this caused the boat to tip right over and one of the large sails that was in its bag on the deck of the boat was lost over the side. The sail in its bag weighs around 150lbs. We managed to get the boat back under control and then decided to go back see if we could recuperate the sail. It took us two miles to turn around and get back to where we thought we had lost it and we were just about to give up on finding it when we spotted a group of Albatrosses in the water. As we got closer we noticed that one of these huge seabirds was sitting right on our sail! Incredible. It took us an hour to get it back onboard because of the large seas, its size and weight but we managed. Then we had to turn around, get the boat going fast again and go down below to clean up all the water inside the boat! We have both been lucky to have had no injuries at all. We are both still in good health, if a little thinner.
It's amazing to see the video from the race on your Twitter feed. Have email and Internet access been an important part of this experience? Not just for staying in touch with family, but also current events, sports scores?
From the boat we have a strict budget with regards to communication and I can't 'surf' the net. However, to overcome that, I send a daily update email to our boat captain, my wife and the race direction. I always try to add a line for twitter/FB as I know that lots of people are following online. It’s a great way to communicate and I think that sharing the adventure is as important as being in the adventure. With regards to news and current events; I do receive news by email from a family member. I also follow ALL sailing news avidly be it America's cup, offshore, inshore dinghy, Olympic so I also receive an email with articles about sailing events taking place around the world as well. In today’s world it would be impossible to do something like this without the communications side, plus it is the easiest way to keep Neutrogena, our sponsor happy which is my main goal!
What books have you read (you mention you have 4-5 on the boat)?
- Our kind of Traitor- John Le Carre A spy thriller
- The Lost Symbol- Dan Brown A thriller/suspense mystery
- How to Practice- the Dali Lama Buddhist teachings
- The Next 100 Years- George Friedman A forecast for worldwide geopolitics of the 21st century
- 100 Pionniers pour la Planète- Dimitri Caudrelier A collection of small scale environmental projects from around the globe.
These were all hastily collected in Barcelona in the days leading up to the start. Honestly, I have to say they were all quite good, even if they are quite diverse. I can recommend the last one particularly; it is a good inspiration for anyone concerned with our planet’s well being.
Competitive sailing generally doesn't get a lot of attention in the U.S. mainstream media outside of America's Cup. Do you think your success with Herrmann -- fifth place in your first race at this distance -- can make a difference in bringing the sport more visibility in the future?
I agree that historically it hasn't had a huge amount of coverage but I think that is in the process of changing. Puma with the Volvo Ocean Race made big inroads with that in 2008 and I certainly hope that what I am doing now will help. Sailing racing is very diverse and I hope my effort will help with putting offshore racing on the US map. If I can inspire some young people who have not done any sailing before to go out and give it a try, I will have succeeded even more than my possible 5th place finish.
Through this race I also hope to encourage upcoming young sailors to consider offshore racing as a career and not watch it enviously from afar. As an example I am supporting the All American Offshore Sailing team which is a new team organized by Kings Point Sailing Foundation and has as aim to form young sailors to seriously compete in the big races, starting with a transatlantic race this year. I also hope that the non-sailing public can discover this kind of racing and learn that you don't need to be a sailor to appreciate this kind of racing; there is the human adventure; the diversity of the course sailing through the world’s difference oceans and different climates; the technical aspect of the race with the boat on the cutting edge of technology (and the reparations we do at sea!), and of course the professional and human relation between the two skippers and the outside world.
You've had a lot of freeze-dried food over the last 90 days. What's the first meal you'll have once you're in port?
I love to eat! I know that there is a really good little pizza place in a little street not far from the port where the boat will be docked - I think I'll be heading straight there. Otherwise, I am going to be very happy to sample the huge variety of foods on offer in the world; after eating the same things for 100 days, I am ready to have something different – bring on some culinary diversity!
Where are you and how much longer until you're finished with the race?
Aha! The question we all want the answer to! We are currently heading due north in the north Atlantic; just west of the Cape Verde Islands. Unfortunately we don't have very favorable winds so to get to Gibraltar and then Barcelona. We have to zig zag into the breeze sailing upwind. I am still optimistic that a nice big cold front will roll across the ocean and push us through but for now our ETA in Barcelona is looking like around 2 weeks time. Nothing really considering we have been out here now for 3 months already.
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