Monthly Archives: March 2009

Green Dragon Skipper Mail

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Friday 13 March 2009, 0847 GMT

Green Dragon – Ian Walker (Skipper)

3 milestones today onboard the Green Dragon. First we are celebrating our 3rd birthday of the leg – Happy Birthday Tom Braidwood. Tom project managed the build of the Dragon so perhaps it is appropriate that he celebrates his birthday onboard.

Secondly today marks one month at sea since leaving China. For many of us this is a personal record.

Thirdly we have just passed the ice gate at 45 degrees South and have now set our course for Cape Horn 1900 miles away. Thank God for that – it really didn’t feel right heading North!

The next 4 or 5 days are going to be a real test for navigators and sailors alike. There is a deep low pressure system that will cut across our path with winds in excess of 50 knots in places. This gives an opportunity to sail over the top of the low pressure as Ericsson 3 did east of New Zealand – the question is do you really want to put yourself in the path of these winds? To not do so could leave you in light air or headwinds and losing hundreds of miles. Needless to say we are monitoring the development of this low pressure closely – we don’t have to decide anything just yet.

Life onboard is not too bad at the moment. We saw the sun today and tonight we are sailing under bright stars and a full moon. It’s a little chilly but not as cold as when we were further South. Food as always is a source of most complaints. Yesterday our food bag was missing a meal – something we can ill afford right now when we know we are going to run out before getting to Rio.

We took the last meal out of day 40 as a temporary replacement. We have also started putting the next days food out the night before so the night watches have some snacks. The problem now is that everything is typically gone by breakfast and it is a long day with only 2 freeze dried meals and no snacks. Soon I think we will have to divide everything up between 11 of us so there can be no argument about stealing all the snacks / sweets. To be honest I can only see this situation getting worse between now and the finish.

The great thing now is it does feel like the finish is in sight. In our minds we broke this huge leg down into more manageable chunks. These were the exiting China Sea, The Doldrums, New Zealand scoring waypoint, Ice Gate 1, Ice gate 2, Cape Horn, Finish. As you can see from the list we have 5 down and 2 to go.

Received 0847 GMT 

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Green Dragon. Volvo Ocean Race.

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Thursday 12 March 2009, 0430 GMT

Green Dragon – Ian Walker (Skipper)

We have had a tough time watching the guys ahead pile on the miles as they have ridden a weather system we couldn’t get to. We have been patient, positioned ourselves well and now it should be our turn for a while.

The weather ahead is very uncertain and should provide lots of opportunity for those behind to narrow the deficit.

I think any sailor should be nervous about rounding Cape Horn and I am no exception.

It is pretty cold on deck and down below but it could be a lot worse. The guys are in good form and enjoying the downwind sailing.

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Volvo Ocean race. Green Dragon email

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Tuesday, 10 March 2009, 21:34 GMT

Green Dragon – Chris Main (Helmsman/Trimmer)

Night one of this epic leg from China to Brasil, its pitch black cold and the wind is 20-25 and building, Ian walker turns to me and says ‘you’re up Chris’. I jump on the wheel for my first night drive of a Volvo 70. We had the blast reacher up and the wind built to 30+. We were hitting 30kts of boat speed with water everywhere. I turned to Ian and asked if this was normal, he laughed and said, ‘get used to it’.

Unfortunately this leg has not yet turned out to be the downwind slay ride as advertised on the Volvo Ocean Race website that I had checked only a week before the leg started. Ian had rung me up asking if I was available to do the leg, but more importantly was I stupid enough to agree to do it.

I know we have only passed the half way mark, at last! I am pretty sure that the Volvo Ocean Race website said “headsails will be in their bags for most of this leg”. This had been one of the key reasons I had agreed to come and do the leg. Who wouldn’t want to be blasting downwind for 40 days? False advertising and maybe a little optimism thrown in on my part, not that I’m complaining, so far my last minute adventure with the mighty Green Dragon has been nothing but rewarding.

I turned up to Qingdao two days before the start hoping to have a sail before we left, but the first day was too foggy and second day was too windy. The start day turned out to be just right for my first ever sail on a Volvo Seventy, and with 40 days to Rio the boys reckoned Id have plenty of time to learn the ropes and be well and truly ready to get off!

Rewarding may not have been the right word to describe sailing a Volvo
Seventy. I think Volvo have got it pretty spot on with “Life at the Extreme”! These are some of the extreme experiences you don’t think about prior to having never done a leg … Before hand you think about the sailing, the speed of the boats, big waves, and night-time sail changes etc etc, but the real extreme experience is living in one of these beasts while hurtling round the worlds oceans.

Here is what I have found extreme so far this leg. I think hopping into a bed or rack after your opposite watch person has got out, having spent the last 4hrs sweating like you have been in a sauna, is extreme. Four days of blast reaching is tough. Unable to look forward without a helmet and visor on for fear of your eyelids getting turned inside out is extreme. Can you imagine being hosed down by a fire engine for four hours three times a day for four days?

China was cold and I will know in a few more days how cold the Southern
Ocean is, I suspect extremely! Trying to use the bathroom is extreme. For those keen to get some Volvo experience you could try using the loo in a caravan while being towed around a motorcross track at 100ks.
Sleeping 4 on 4 off is probably not that extreme, but being woken by the ceiling making contact with your head when levitated out of your bunk every ten minutes can be. Making a simple cup o tea can be pretty tough. It’s getting it from the kettle to the cup which is hardest; trying to get it in the cup without pour boiling water everywhere or all over yourself is not that easy.

Wearing the same thermals three or four weeks is pretty extreme, which probably explains the smell inside the boat which is also extreme!!
Freeze dried food is one area where there have been huge improvements over the last few years. Thank goodness is all I can say to that.
Even typing this letter can be tough at times, I am pretty sure the delete button is getting a good workout as you randomly hit keys with each wave.

The sailing is however fantastic and makes up for the inconveniences that life in a Volvo Seventy throws at you. We are hoping things go our way for the next week and we can get round the Horn in good shape and still with a chance to win the leg!! As you can see from the leg so far you never really know what the weather will do.

Here’s hoping it’s downwind to Rio.

Chris Main

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