Green Dragon's Navigator, Ian Moore. Image copyright Rick Tomlinson/Volvo Ocean Race.
Interview by Lucy Harwood
Ian Moore is back in Rio for the In-Port race and Leg 6
It is nice to be back, I am feeling a bit guilty for not being out there on the last leg, in some ways I was glad that I wasn’t there as it was such a long leg. But it is good to get back and see everybody, and hear a few stories and start looking forward to the next one.
You had a break, was it good?
Yes, seven weeks at home, it is probably the longest time I have spent at home in three years! It had to be done and we have another child on the way. Emily didn’t come to China and Singapore and she wasn’t going to be able to come to Rio, so if I didn’t do it then it just would have been too difficult. You have to set some priorities in life and obviously family comes right at the top so. It had to be done.
Batteries all recharged?
Yes fully, I’ve been working in the garden and doing a bit of cycling, and having a really nice time. I have been watching the race but even then not trying to fret or worry too much about it, but I am looking forward to getting my teeth into something again.
Were you contacting the boat at all, or was it one of those occasions where you said 'I’m not doing it and I will keep my distance'?
Obviously we’re not allowed to contact them about the race itself. I sent them the football scores and, of course, the rugby results. There were a few house keeping things Ian wanted me to do, but it was pretty detached really.
When they made a move or a decision, did you think ‘I’m not sure I would have done that?’
Yes you do watch it from afar, but because you’re not looking at every sched and every model, every piece of weather information, it is very difficult to say what you would have done. It isn’t the same situation. You don’t have the pressure of the risk/reward situation that you have on the boat. It is all very well to say well I would have done that, but you weren’t there so how would you know what you really would have done? It was interesting and a huge leg to watch from the shore.
It is decision time again. You have the In Port race and then the leg to Boston, what are you expecting over the next couple of weeks?
It is quite a long leg, 4,500 miles to Boston, lots of upwind and close reaching ahead and there may not be a huge number of tactical opportunities. We will be starting to work towards finding where there might be opportunities and when those arise I guess we will have to make the best of them. Before that we have the In Port race, and because it has been such a long leg and a lot of the guys are really tired and haven’t seen their families in a long time we may be a bit thin on the ground in terms of the usual crew. That will present a lot of opportunities and we have to decide if we keep the same line up that we’ve had before, with me doing tactics. We have Chris Main here so he could do tactics or we have also talked about putting Walker on tactics. A few decisions to make there as we have to make the most of it, hopefully two of these boats are still sorting out a few issues so we should be strong against those guys. We are half way through the race, and if we really want to be on the podium we need to start making an impact. Suddenly it is going to start slipping away if we don’t do it now, so we need to notch some podiums in the next few legs and In Ports.
Green Dragon on shore in Rio. Image copyright Yongtao Jiang/Green Dragon Racing.
Green Dragon's Mast Back On
Green Dragon’s rig team have been working around the clock in order to prepare the mast for the In Port race this weekend. In the early hours of this morning, the team craned the mast back onto Green Dragon. The shore team now have just over a day before the boat is lifted back into the water ahead of the practice race on Friday 3rd April. (The keel went back on the boat on 30th March.)
Since Green Dragon’s arrival into Rio last Saturday the shore team have been working around the clock, often for 15 plus hours a day in order to prepare for the In Port race this Saturday. With no major gear failure or breakages during the 43 day leg, the shore team have stripped the boat and are testing all systems and running general maintenance. Green Dragon is due to be craned back into the water this Thursday 2nd April in time for the In Port practice race on Friday 3rd April.
Green Dragon Racing
Volvo Ocean Race
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