by Thomas Johanson (SWE) – watch captain
We are still in the tricky Doldrums, fighting closely with Puma. The wind and weather is changing extremely quickly in this convergence zone and the wind just went from 10 to 30 knots. It was really what we call a ‘shitfight’, but we handled it well and actually overtook the Il Mostro.
We are now in second place.
Between the squalls and heavy air it’s really nice and calm onboard, and today I took the opportunity to give you some info about my fellow crew mates: So, who are we onboard?
I would say we are a bunch of very different guys but with same determination, winning spirit and never-give-up-attitude. We are all on a mission and trying the best ever we can to show ourselves we can do this race. Well, not only to finish, but to be on the podium. We have the talent, but not the experience. Gladly we are fast to learn.
We have, since the start, developed to a core team with some new faces joining lately.
No 1: Aksel Magdahl/NOR, our navigator and brains, is a young smart and sometimes grumpy guy, only because his nav station is so exposed to everybody and he gets the same questions 100 times a day. Who would not get a bit grumpy? He is also sneaking candies inside the nav desk. In short, an extremely competitive nature.
No2: Martin Strömberg/SWE is the next youngest onboard. He is always in a happy mood and would never say a bad word about anybody. ‘Strumpan’, as we call him, is a solid trimmer and takes care of all our sails and there is, every once in a while, a lot to do. He has really grown into his boots during the race.
No3: One of our two bowmen, the crazy Swede Martin Krite. He is a good laugh, joking all the time. But when he is in front of the mast there is definitely no room for jokes. He hates mistakes and if you make one, you will hear it loudly. He takes care of his job with a lot of attitude and pride, double check, even triple check if necessary. He has a good feel as a trimmer as well.
No4: Anders Dahlsjö/SWE, our other solid bowmen and one of the members of the Scandinavian coffee club. ‘Big Anders’ is boat captain Jens Dolmer’s right hand man, always working hard and technically very skilful. One of the guys you really need when stacking. Anders also makes a good helmsman giving his watch mate Mange Olsson sometimes a bit of rest.
No 5: Usually Richard Mason but on this leg our newcomer Arve Roaas/NOR, a race veteran. Coming to a Volvo boat for the first time during a night and starting immediately racing with a crew you don’t know and who had been together for 17 months, is not an easy task.
Arve is a happy fellow and has fortunately adapted very well in the team and his Norwegian is understandable, even for a Swedish-speaking Finn like me.
No 6: Eivind Melleby/NOR, one of the principal helmsmen. A dinghy sailor with a very nice feel for the boat. ‘Faster, higher, fortare!’ He knows a lot about the stars and maybe that’s why he is sometimes dreaming.
No 7: Magnus (Mange) OIsson, our skipper and motivator and the other member of the Scandinavian coffee club. He is always in a good mood and makes others happy too. The race veteran has played a vital role to have a Scandinavian boat and this crew in the race. He was one of the key people in the selection process and he has done a lot for our team. He is enjoying being with the boys and with the boat, although he is not allowed to do all kinds of maintenance jobs on shore. He likes using Sikaflex, which usually ends up everywhere.
No 8: is me, a rookie in this race, coming from the Olympic racing scene but really enjoying these boats, this team and this race.
No 9: Our second new crewmember on this leg, Magnus Woxén, a race veteran who has blended in very well with the team. He is a skilful, solid trimmer and helmsman with right attitude. He is the other principal helmsman.
No 10: Our boat captain, former farmer Jens Dolmer/DEN, the boat’s heart and soul. He surely is a workhorse who is always checking the systems and making others try to get to his level in their different responsibility areas. A real stacking police and if you are in a ‘shitfight’ you can count on Jens. He fixes anything from almost anything. Big guys need a lot of food so you don’t like to see Jens hungry. I learned that on leg three when we went light on food. He likes to be close to the navdesk so he is now working as a floater and is Aksel's backup, but also as our pitman.
No 11: Gustav Morin/SWE, our media crewmember and the youngest guy onboard. Beside his media duties he helps us making meals and keeping the boat clean and dry. That is much appreciated and he is really a part of our team, not only a media guy documenting what is happening. I have never seen him unhappy and we enjoy his adventures during the stopovers, as he is the only single one in the team.
Volvo Ocean Race
Thursday, 26 February 2009
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