Wouter Verbraak (left) and Andy Meiklejohn (right). Image copyright Jean Marie Liot/Barcelona World Race.
by Wouter Verbraak
“Nice work, I got this. Put your head down.” A few words, that mean the end of a three hour watch in which I have been struggling to keep my eyes open. Light wind transition yesterday morning, then three hours with squalls, then fast reaching behind the cloud line, then changing modes to fast upwind fetch. Oh, and don’t forget the tricky weather situation ahead, which requires our full attention on the strategy...
HUGO BOSS. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Alex Thomson Racing.
The tanks are empty, and need refilling. Our heads are overflowing with information to digest, and need to be cleared. Yet, every meter counts, so we are constantly trimming the sails to the never ending train of puffs, headers, lifts, and lulls. Up a bit, traveler on a bit. Cloud line, dump traveler in the gust, easing jib sheet. In the end it all becomes a haze, with considerations for the strategy going through my mind at the same time... winds will be underestimated in the area around the front, so we should skew our course slightly more south.
I grab my fleece jumper, stuff it roughly in the shape of a pillow, take off my board shorts and T-shirt and pop into the sleeping bag. Within a minute I am fast asleep. All worries gone, as I know Andy will do a great job the next three hours. Like me he is focused on every metre, and he is fantastic at keeping a sharp eye out for anything that might be slightly different then it should. This extreme endurance race will find any weakness in your armor. Whether it is a weak technical aspect of the boat, or a ten year old injury in your body, it will be brought to the front line. Ignore it, and what might seem a small issue today, can quickly spiral out of control and be a huge issue tomorrow. So we need to be on our toes all the time.
HUGO BOSS. Image copyright Barcelona World Race.
“Wouter, time to get up.” I have no idea where I am, completely disorientated. Our sleeps on the boat are very very deep, and when waking up you have no idea whether you slept for 10 minutes or three hours. “What time is it” is the standard question followed by “How long did I sleep?”
“You were down for two and a half hours. Put in a reef not long ago We are doing well. Just got position report in. Everybody in our group has gone the same direction through the night. We have been 1-2 knots faster.” Now that is good news to wake up to! Batteries charged, a sip of water, some chewing gum (we still have a strict ration on toothpaste…), ready to go. “Nice work Andy, put your head down.” A grateful little smile on a very tired face. Andy is doing an awesome job. Couldn’t wish for a better team mate. My turn to squeeze the last digits out of the boat speed. Need to pass these guys ahead!
HUGO BOSS. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Alex Thomson Racing.
Note from SailRaceWin: HUGO BOSS is up to 10th overall now. Until the fleet turns the corner into the Southern Ocean proper, some of the rankings are going to look a bit odd, due to the variety of routes taken.
Wouter Verbraak
Andy Meiklejohn
Alex Thomson Racing
Barcelona World Race
