Sailing
This is what it’s like to sail in the world’s toughest sailing race
For nine months, the best sailors on the planet are pushing themselves to the limits in an epic round-the-world marathon. This is not your normal sport event.
At the Volvo Ocean Race, there is no pre-game massage, or half-time team talk. With world-class athletes living, sleeping, eating and working in cramped conditions onboard, winning or losing becomes a way of life. Since 1973, the race has been a rite of passage and the ultimate test of a professional sailor – and winning the trophy, an obsession.
Small margins are everything in this game. Sailors have been known to snap toothbrushes in half just to save a little weight on board – and one skipper even made his crew have their appendixes removed before leaving the dock (mostly for health reasons, but still).
Living life on the edge
© Sam Greenfield/Volvo Ocean Race
This is a race which is not just about the destination, but the journey, too. The Volvo Ocean Race changes you – and once you’ve had a taste of life on the edge, everything else is hard to do. Be warned: the Volvo Ocean Race is highly addictive. It’s not so much about ticking off the bucket list, more, tearing it up and writing a whole new one.
A love of sailing on the open sea is behind all the hard work
© Jeremie Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race
Here’s everything you need to know about the race many call the toughest test of a team in sport, from those who have been there, done it, and still have the damp underwear to prove it. This is the story of four sailors, racing across four oceans, over one year, with only one goal in mind: the Volvo Ocean Race trophy.
Blair Tuke
Team: MAPFRE
Who is he? One of the world’s top sailors… and a round-the-world rookie
4 min
Blair Tuke at the Volvo Ocean Race
Through authentic and gritty storytelling, we follow sailors on the adventure of a lifetime during the Volvo Ocean Race. We see the sailors evolve through the Earth’s most death-defying races.
The Southern Ocean is the most isolated, relentless place on the planet
Having already scooped Olympic gold and the America’s Cup trophy at the age of just 26, New Zealand’s Blair Tuke is one of the hottest sailing talents in the world – but, as a round-the-world rookie, he knew he was playing by Mother Nature’s rules now. Which, only amplified the adventure.
“In this race, you get to go to places that no-one else sees. I want that feeling, to go somewhere that’s going to push me. You’re an explorer, and it’s an adventure,” he says.
With 10m waves, 50-knot gales and the boat constantly crashing into waves, racing in this mysterious ocean at the bottom of the world isn’t just a physical rollercoaster, it’s an emotional one too.
“In the America’s Cup, you just want to win the whole time, but in a nine-month race, things aren’t always going to go your way. Without a doubt this race pushes you like nothing else in life,” Tuke comments.
And it’s not just the racing which takes its toll. Life on board is so exhausting that sailors consume over 6,000 calories of astronaut-style freeze-dried food per day… and still lose weight.
Stacey Jackson
Team: Vestas 11th Hour Racing
Who is she? Hard as nails Aussie ready to mix it with the guys
4 min
Stacey Jackson at the Volvo Ocean Race
Join Aussie sailer, Stacey Jackson, on one of the toughest legs of the Volvo Ocean Race as they overcome obstacle after obstacle.
You push to beyond tired, and beyond cold
Having already raced around the world once with the all-female Team SCA, tough Aussie Stacey knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she signed up for a second race – but no-one could have predicted the ecstatic highs and crushing lows her team’s journey would take her on.
“It’s hard knowing you’re going to sea for 20 days at a time. You’ve just got to turn that part of your life off and focus on the race,” she readily admits.
Forget everything you know about yachting – life on board these boats is nothing short of brutal. And when the sailors hit the fearsome Southern Ocean, it’s not just temperatures that crash down to zero – there’s no sleep, either. Sailors work in shifts – usually four hours on, four hours off – so rest is hard to come by, and it’s normal to go days and days without any sleep whatsoever. It’s all about finding your limits – and smashing through them.
“You get to that point in every day life, when you think ‘I can’t do it any more, it’s too hard, I’m too tired,’ and you go home and have an afternoon nap or something,” adds Stacey. “But in the Volvo Ocean Race, you push to beyond tired, and beyond cold.”
If you do get some precious time in the bunk, it’s best to nap with one eye open. Sailors sleep with their feet towards the front of the bow, so that they don’t break their necks if the boat hits a whale or an iceberg.
Daryl Wislang
Team: Dongfeng Race Team
Who is he? A race veteran with one win under his belt – and a self-confessed Southern Ocean addict
4 min
Daryl Wislang at the Volvo Ocean Race
Through authentic and gritty storytelling, we follow sailors on the adventure of a lifetime during the Volvo Ocean Race. We see the sailors evolve through the Earth’s most death defying races.
There are so many ways to test yourself, to see how hard you can push, that it becomes addictive
Meet Daryl Wislang. Having done three races, and won the trophy once before, you’d think that this ocean-hardened Kiwi might have learned his lesson – but he still headed back to try and lift the trophy for a second consecutive time. This time, though, he finds that it’s the leaving – not the racing – that’s the hardest part.
“There’s something about this race that’s so much more than winning,” he admits. “But being a pro athlete, husband and father weighs on your mind. In previous races I’ve done things that, now, I wouldn’t do. The risk and reward is too unbalanced.”
When you’re racing at these speeds, through the most remote spots on the planet, each decision is a constant battle between risk and reward. “If something were to go wrong, it’s a long way for help – and your thoughts can’t help but wander home.”
To win the Volvo Ocean Race you’ll need the balance and bravery of a big wave surfer, the rock-solid mental endurance of an ultra-marathon runner and the ice-cold composure of a Formula 1 driver.
“Once you get out on the racecourse, you get into your role,” adds Daryl. “You’ve got one job to do – and that’s making the boat go fast.”
Living life on the edge for nine months is a pressure cooker. Small margins can make a big impact – a split second the difference between winning or losing, or worse, survival. At times, the sailors are closer to the astronauts in the International Space Station than anyone else on earth. If anything goes wrong, thousands of miles from land, only their competitors can help.
Nicolai Sehested
Team: team AkzoNobel
Who is he? A man on a mission to complete this round-the-world race… and win it
4 min
Nicolai Sehestedt the Volvo Ocean Race
Through authentic and gritty storytelling, we follow sailors on the adventure of a lifetime during the Volvo Ocean Race. We see the sailors evolve through the Earth’s most death defying races.
For me, the challenge is to go home at the end. There are so many tough moments that you get used to them
When you make it to the end of an exhausting year-long journey, you might think that the last place you’d want to be is on a boat, eating freeze-dried food, in the middle of the ocean – but for these sailors, life at 45 degrees has become a way of life, and the pull of the waves is strong.
One of Denmark’s top sailors, Nicolai Sehested has been working towards this race for three years, ever since his first round-the-world race was cut short when his team’s boat became stranded on a reef in the middle of the Indian Ocean in 2014.
“This race forces you to grow, it forces you to mature,” he says. “I enjoy being on the edge, being in a spot where you need to deliver, otherwise there’ll be consequences.”
Nicolai’s toughness was tested just after rounding Cape Horn, when heinous conditions saw him knocked down on deck, breaking his nose – an injury that he had to reset himself, with the boat hurtling down waves at 40 knots.
So what is it about this gruelling marathon that keeps bringing the world’s best sailors back, willing to put everything on the line? For some, it’s the pull of the Southern Ocean. “If you’re into skiing, surfing or snowboarding, it’s like the endless downhill run,” says Daryl. “You’re just picking off the waves, surfing them. It’s one of the most beautiful things about sailing.”
Tough conditions are constant on this race but there are many rewards also
© Jeremie Lecaudey/Volvo Ocean Race
For others, it’s the chance to win the race – and achieve a dream. “I’m massively proud of what we achieved, especially with the challenges we faced,” adds Stacey. “But I’d really like another chance at winning this race.”
On a clear day there's nothing better than being in this race
© Sam Greenfield/Volvo Ocean Race
For Blair is was the balance of relishing in the adventure whilst attempting to become the first person to win the Triple Crown of sailing. “My body feels worse for wear, but the life experiences have made me a much better person,” says Blair. “I feel pretty lucky to have done what we’ve just done.”
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