Ericsson 3 new crew memeber Norwegian Arve Roaas hoisiting together with pitman and boat captainn Jens Dolmer, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Image copyright Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Gustav Morin (Media crew member)
There is good mood among the guys. Everyone is joking, telling stories and laughing while we are trying to make the boat go as fast as possible. This is the seventh day at sea for the guys who sailed the boat from Taiwan. The new guys, Magnus “Bagi” Woxen and Arve Roaas, have been blending in well with the old crew.
Arve sailed the race with the Norwegian syndicate Djuice 2001-02 with the VO60s. And he is thrilled about the new boats.
“The VO 70s are better in every way. They are a lot quicker and actually a bit drier, under deck that is… And if the swing keel system is as reliable as I hear it is, it’s a lot better than the water ballast system.”
Magnus Woxen, 38, is one of the most experienced ocean sailors of his age in Sweden with experience from the three latest Ocean races. Just after a couple of hours sailing with us he was amazed with the differences between the old VO 70 and this one.
“It’s a complete different boat, so much quicker and more controllable.”
How does it feel to join the race so late and for the longest leg?
“I have been keen on doing this leg since I heard about it,” he says and continues:
“It includes everything, tropic conditions, Southern Ocean, Cape Horn and finish in Rio. Very challenging, of course, but fun. And it feels good to be on the Nordic boat. It very seldom happens that I can speak Swedish when I sail, so that is fun. I only knew two of the guys from before, but so far I like everyone and it feels great to be a part of this crew.”
Ericsson 3 new crew memeber Magnus Woxen, on leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. Image copyright Gustav Morin/Ericsson 3/Volvo Ocean Race.
Arve Roaas adds:
“Yeah, I feel the same. There is a good spirit in this crew and I feel I am blending in quickly. Also I start to get a good feeling on how to handle the boat and I get more confident with it every day.”
Today the sun is shining and the temperature is really comfortable. But the wind has been very shifty and it’s been tricky to keep good speed and making the right choice of sails. We have between 10 and 20 knots of wind and the angle has constantly been going back and forth from 30 to 55 degrees
Obviously the other boats are in the same situation. The results we see on the scheds are a lot up and down.
Everyone is pretty happy about having less wind and warmer air and water. We have been punched around pretty hard in the cockpit the last couple of days and everyone is a bit bruised. Some have twisted their knees and ankles and hit their ribs, but nothing really serious.
“It has really been an inferno of water,” Arve Roaas says. “But my body is now getting use to this environment. I am also starting to get use to taking on and off the wet clothes, knowing were to put your boots and socks while sleeping and how to fit in to the sleeping bag and climb up in my bunk which has only 20 cm to the roof. It feels like we have a good setup for making a good result to Rio. We seem to have alright food and fortunately a lot of snus,” he ends, laughing.
Volvo Ocean Race
No comments:
Post a Comment